IT WILL be repeated ad nauseam – this wasn’t an accurate reflection of Limerick hurling (when really it was). “On the day” will be the first three words out of the mouths of those associated with both camps.

This has all been recorded before, quite recently in fact.

Nobody wants to win this easily. Nobody wants to perform so miserably. It ruins the sporting spectacle for the 43,808 paying customers. It leaves an empty feeling.

Similar nose-dive matches have already occurred in Croke Park this season with Donegal and Dublin footballers capitulating in the face of Cork and Kerry progress. It was celebrated that Dublin and Waterford hurlers stayed within two goals of Kilkenny.

On the best days, Gaelic games hold their own against all other field sports. On the bad days (usually deep winter not mid-August) it is hard viewing.

If somebody makes another excuse now it would be a shame so we understood Justin McCarthy’s decision not to visit the media room after this match – 24-point defeats should not elicit excuses easily.

One of the first lessons learnt as a reporter is to always cover the rear exit. McCarthy had to board the coach home at some stage. Not exactly a media

darling and having just experienced a seventh All-Ireland semi-final defeat as a manager (two with Cork and four with Waterford), the welcoming smile he gave to a gaggle of journalists seemed surprisingly genuine. It wasn’t an old lion approaching vultures stooped over a juicy carcass.

No, it was just a hurling man surveying the wreckage of another defeat in a lifetime of winning and losing.

“Amateur sport,” he reminded us while shifting no blame on to his team.

“Tipperary haven’t come over-night. They have done a lot of work. I remember Tipperary five or six years ago. They had development squads and were putting together teams . . . They had a network to go up along the line from under-16 to minor to under-21 and that’s all having come to fruition.”

Preparation in the lead-in is nearly always near perfection after a team gets walloped. That is simply known as circling of the wagons.

“God no, preparation was outstanding. The mood was great. The fellas attitude was outstanding. We trained exceptionally well, but we came up against a team that was very clinical and is probably two years ahead in terms of preparation and development.

“They have won two Munster championships. They won a national league and when they got a chance at success they weren’t going to leave it behind them.”

What about the traditional Limerick approach of roughing up the opposition before out-hurling them. We saw neither. We saw nothing resembling hurling.

“Well, they are a very elusive team. They are very quick on their feet. Very good positional sense. Great vision as well of getting the ball into the extra man. You can’t always tackle them the way you’d like.”

Is this the end of this Limerick team? And, just for the heck of it we asked, is it the end of Justin McCarthy?

Neither question resulted in a revealing answer from the 64-year-old. He is strongly expected to continue a rebuilding process in the Treaty City next season.

“Disappointing, yes. I mean we had our own plans in place before the game and we thought it might work out, but, in fairness, we made mistakes here and there which they capitalised upon. We missed a few chances and then we were on the back foot after 20 minutes. By half-time, the game was as good as over.”

By full-time, the Limerick team that promised so much as a group of under-21s looked a spent force. When Lar Corbett wheeled away in celebration after his first goal on 57 minutes Stephen Lucey flung a broken hurley into the net.

He didn’t seemed interested in claiming a replacement stick. Sometimes hurling can be cruel.