Intriguing games in prospect this weekend in Tipperary hurling championships

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As the club championship season revs up a gear, round 2 hurling fixtures this coming weekend will have a major bearing on the three top grades – senior, premier intermediate and intermediate. For first round losers particularly, it’s crunch time, so plenty of intense action is promised.

The Tipperary championship is competitive, though opinions will vary as to the quality. One feature that stands out at the moment is the variety of winners in recent years. Since Sarsfields’ run of success came to a close after 2017 we’ve had six different winners in six years.

Among the main hurling counties, we’re outliers in that regard. Waterford are at the other extreme where Ballygunner this year chase a tenth in a row. They’ve gone over fifty games unbeaten in the Deise championship.

That’s a level of monopoly that’s surely unhealthy for the county but dominant clubs also feature elsewhere. Ballyhale Shamrocks are going for six-in-a-row in Kilkenny, as are St Thomas’ in Galway.

In Cork there’s been a spread of winners in the past three years with St Finbarrs, Midleton and Blackrock all making the podium since Imokilly’s three-in-a-row came to an end in 2019. Clare has been divvied out between Ballyea and Sixmilebridge in recent times, with the clubs sharing four apiece over the past eight years.

Wexford is the nearest to the Tipperary model, where there have been five separate winners over the past six years. Na Piarsaigh have been the strongest force in Limerick in recent seasons but their successes have been disrupted by Kilmallock and Patrickswell. Kilmacud Crokes and Cuala have shared the last four Dublin titles, two apiece.

You can exaggerate the significance of such patterns because ultimately the county team is an amalgam of so many different parts. Nonetheless, the county championship is important to the wellbeing of the game where high and healthy standards feed into the county panel.

Strong club sides are often drivers of the county team, Ballyhale Shamrocks an obvious example in Kilkenny at present. Looking back the years, Portumna in Galway, Birr in Offaly and Newtownshandrum in Cork were others to fill that role.

By contrast some of our recent champions have had little positive impact on the county team, though Loughmore, Borris-Ileigh and Sarsfields might reasonably be excluded from that generalisation. I suspect when different teams are winning the title each year it suggests a sameness among the clubs operating at a modest standard.

Last year, for example, our championship was competitive but mediocre. As it progressed you waited for some side to stand out from the crowd but none did. All the fancied teams struggled with form and Kilruane, unfancied early on, were the ones to eventually show up best.

What the present competition produces is still awaited, though this weekend should provide some indicators.

I often throw an eye at the bookies because they tend to be dispassionate observers weighing up form, looking at past record and present betting interest. At this stage they have Sarsfields at the head of the field on 11/4, followed by Kiladangan on 7/2, Loughmore on 5/1, Borris-Ileigh and Nenagh at 8/1, Drom at 9/1, Clonoulty at 10/1 and reigning champions, Kilruane MacDonaghs at 12/1.

Those figures would suggest that the Tipperary race is an even enough field with nobody standing out and all to play for in the coming weeks. By contrast, if you want to back Na Piarsaigh in Limerick you’ll only get odds of 5/6; Ballyhale in Kilkenny are even less attractive on 4/6.

Looking at the individual groups there are lots of intriguing pairings set up for the weekend. In Group 1 Mullinahone upset expectations in their first round by toppling JK Brackens and that outcome has ramifications. Remember Brackens had their big breakthrough with a first win in the mid last year, so this result will have been a setback.

On the other side Drom/Inch had a two-point win over Nenagh Eire Og, which was a jolt for the north team after retaining their divisional title earlier. Nenagh remain the perennial pretenders, often fancied and more often failing. Some saw more substance to their game this year but others remain unconvinced.

In Group 2 Toomevara had an eye-catching win over Kilruane MacDonaghs in the first round while Moycarkey and Roscrea shared the pot. That first result has people talking up Toomevara, especially the emphatic nature of the ten-point verdict, though others, more cautious, will wish to see more evidence.

It all heaps pressure on the reigning champions, MacDonaghs, who now face a crucial game against newly-promoted Roscrea. It’s certainly uncomfortable for last year’s winners to be facing an existential crisis so early in the season, though the expectation will be that they’ll get back on the horse this time. Toomevara can copperfasten their position with a win over Moycarkey.

In Group 3 Loughmore and Holycross had impressive first round verdicts over Upperchurch and Templederry, so their meeting this time will be for table-top position.

Two years ago, Holycross had to stave off relegation with a last-ditch win over Roscrea and their first round win here would suggest that an up-and-coming team is beginning to find its feet. For Upperchurch, finding a follow-up to last year’s heroics is proving difficult.

On the other hand, Loughmore ran up a big score against Templederry but also conceded 4-18, which would win most games. Still, the Kenyons had to survive a relegation final last year and many see that as their destiny again this season. The Loughmore/Holycross game should be a highlight; Upperchurch will be fancied to get their season back on track against Templederry.

Finally, Group 4 is regarded as the group of death by many as it features a quartet of recent champions in Sarsfields (2017), Clonoulty (2018), Borris-Ileigh (2019) and Kiladangan (2020). Kiladangan shook off the disappointment of their recent north final defeat to topple Sarsfields in their opening bout while Clonoulty and Borris-Ileigh played out a draw. There should be two cracking games in this section at the weekend, with Clonoulty facing Sarsfields and Borris-Ileigh up against Kiladangan.

In all of this it should be remembered that three of the divisional winners have the comfort of a safety net with a guaranteed preliminary quarter-final place if they fail to make the top two from their group. This applies to Sarsfields, Nenagh and Clonoulty. The same applies to Killenaule in the premier intermediate grade following their south final success.

This was a legacy item, retaining an element of the divisional link when the restructuring of competitions took place in recent years. In many ways it was a sop to opponents of the new structures and in the eyes of many it’s of dubious merit.

There’s a significant dividing line in Tipperary senior hurling, with the west and south lagging behind the mid and north regions. The west is really a one-horse town in this regard with Clonoulty streets ahead of the rest. West medals in Clonoulty at this stage are like pocket change.

The south at least has the merit of a competitive local championship where Carrick Swan, Mullinahone and Killenaule will all feel capable of beating each other on a given day.

Elsewhere, there are also many fascinating line-ups at premier intermediate and intermediate levels – too many for inclusion here. That’s a problem of our streamlined championships, with twenty four fixtures in every round, far too many to be covered by local media.