Limerick 2007 v 2018: The final result will dictate whether alterations are smart or not
The last time Limerick were in an All-Ireland final they ran straight into Kilkenny’s rotor blades.
The Cats won that 2007 decider comfortably, 2-19 to 1-15, having bagged two early goals.
Dave Moriarty was the Limerick fitness trainer that day in 2007 and is well placed to track the changes in hurling — and Limerick — since then.
“The current team are mentally strong, they’ve had Caroline Currid working with them and she’s a top-class sports psychologist,” says Moriarty. “I’ve met her on a number of occasions and she’s done great work. The usual worry is the possibility of the lads playing the game 20 or 30 times in their heads before it actually throws in on Sunday; that’s something she would have spent a lot of time on.
Going back to 2007, the run-up to the final was full of emotion. There was such a buzz around the place, but then the whole season, don’t forget, got off to an unbelievable start.
A fair point. You might not need reminding of it now, but Limerick played out three terrific games, with Tipperary in the Munster championship early that year which kindled their season and set the template.
“The trilogy with Tipp, and winning that, was huge, because at that point Limerick hadn’t won a championship match in six years.
“That generated a huge buzz and the whole season was built on emotion, on a raw will to win, to do their best and workrate. Pure honesty.
“I think the current squad, the foundations are probably a lot stronger. I say that tongue in cheek, but they would have had success at minor and U21 level, so there are more foundations there. Going back to the mental side, they’ve been able to dig themselves out of holes time and again: They went down to 14 men against Cork in the Munster championship, but managed to get a draw; when Kilkenny got the goal against them in Thurles they dug their way out of that; and in Croke Park, when they were six down against Cork, they came back.
That shows a huge amount of mental strength and fearlessness.
Moriarty points out clear changes in hurling since 2007: “Things have evolved so much. Back in 2007 Gary [Kirby] did some of the training sessions, I did other parts, and it was left mostly to the two of us. Nowadays, there are so many people in the backroom staff who want the players, for instance. The sports psychologist will want the players, the nutritionist wants them, the performance analysis crew; there’s a draw on the players which has to be managed.
“I believe the team are going up on the train on Sunday morning, which is what they’ve done for the last couple of visits to Croke Park. In 2007, we went up the night before to the Dunboyne Castle, so it was different.”
Here the questions start, of course. Do you keep the players at home in their own beds the night before the final or overnight in Dublin and enjoy a shorter trip to Croke Park? Moriarty agrees that all of these choices are reverse- engineered as right or wrong from the result of the game itself.
Completely. It’s not an exact science. Some people like to go up the night before, while others prefer to sleep in their own beds. There are pros and cons to both choices. If you win, everything is a great choice, but if you lose everyone says you should have gone for the alternative.
Limerick stayed consistent in 2007 at least. Emotion had been the driver since the first Tipp match, so why change in the run-up to the final?
“Exactly, and that was true, but now the game has changed completely, even though that final’s only 11 years ago. Tactics weren’t a big issue then, for instance, though I remember a few of the players coming to myself and Gary prior to the semi-final against Waterford. They wanted our half-forward line to push more into midfield, into a more defensive role, in order to create a big gap in front of the full-forward line. We were trying to learn lessons from that year’s Munster final, and the move worked out a treat. Brian Begley won the long balls that came in, he won a penalty, he got a goal himself.
Hurling nowadays, though, is completely orientated towards tactics. There are 60 or 70 puck-outs in a game and possession from those restarts is vital, so much work goes into that, and that’s the extent to which the game has changed in those 11 years.
There are constants, however. Kilkenny were a more experienced team in 2007 than Limerick, as Galway are now. The Cats were keen on an early statement of intent, the kind of start that Galway got last year against Waterford, for instance.
“We got those sucker punches in the opening couple of minutes, when Kilkenny got those two goals,” says Moriarty. “I work with Eddie Brennan, who would have told me over the years that their goal was to get out and get a good start, to put Limerick away early.
“We fought back to a certain degree, but we could never get ahead. Something that’s very underrated, though, is another point Eddie would have made over the years. He says when Limerick came out in 2007 it was the loudest roar he ever heard in Croke Park, and given the number of All-Ireland finals and other big games he played in, that’s some statement. I’d hope it’s the same Sunday.”
Is that something — the noise, the light, the assault on all the sense — the players can be prepared for, or is it something that just needs to be experienced?
Talking to the likes of Shaughs (Andrew O’Shaughnessy), Stephen Lucey, Ollie Moran, they never experienced the roar, the atmosphere that day.
"The march around, meeting the president, I think you have to experience all of that to make it into a positive for you. That said, I think Limerick have a great opportunity if they don’t let the occasion get to them and given the amount of work that Caroline will have put into them over the weeks, I think they won’t. We didn’t have anything like the same level of sports psychology. I remember bringing Paul O’Connell in to speak to the squad on the week of the All-Ireland, but that was about it in terms of coping mechanisms for what hit us coming out on the field, but I don’t think anything replicates the atmosphere, the events of an All-Ireland final Sunday.
The experience of being there will be of some benefit to Galway.
“However, Limerick are well capable of matching them physically, for instance; a lot is being made of Galway’s size and strength, but Limerick can match up to them in those areas as well as hurling ability.
“I give Limerick a great chance. It’s a great opportunity for them.”
