I'd imagine that there was a lot of head-scratching going on in Tipperary yesterday morning.
Having produced an encouraging performance, albeit in defeat, against Waterford, they were woefully lacking in so many fundamental areas against Clare.
They had no fire, passion, pace or energy. It was a really bad performance all round and while I accept that they’re in a transitional phase and are mixing youth with experience, there has to be more bite to them than was apparent on Sunday.
It looked like they were playing a challenge game where you’re not too worried about the outcome.
Colm Bonnar deserves to be given time but he can’t be happy with the lack of intensity from his players. Win or lose, you’ve got to fight for every ball and Tipp failed to do that.
Progression in the Championship may be beyond them now but, regardless of that, they’ve got to show more against Limerick and Cork.
I wouldn’t want to take from the Clare performance either - it was really good. For the first time in an age, I saw a good variety to their play between running it, playing it short and playing it long inside to Peter Duggan, who had a great first half.
Two of the goals came from winning the ball in defence, running it, passing short and then there was up to 50 yards of space in front of the Tipp goal, which was incredible really.
Ronan Maher won’t have been happy with his tackle on Ryan Taylor for the first goal. Maher’s one of the best defenders in the game but he should have seen the danger earlier and fouled tactically. Sometimes you have to be cynical.
All told, I was delighted with Clare’s first half but the intensity dropped thereafter. They need to show that fire and variety in their play for the 70 minutes though I accept that the game was over at that stage and they had done what they had to do.
A worry for Clare would be the number of goal opportunities that Tipperary created. While John Conlon did well at centre-back, he wouldn’t have been my choice as man of the match because he didn’t help his inside line enough.
I felt that Clare needed either Conlon sitting or an extra player coming into the defence at times and it’s something that they’ll need to brush up on because they can’t afford to give those chances to other teams.
Elsewhere, Rory Hayes was tremendous in defence and continues to improve, while it was great to see Shane O’Donnell back.
His use of the ball was terrific, along with his workrate. He plays a lot of club hurling in the half-forward line and will get better with more games.
Clare are set up nicely now for Cork in Thurles next Sunday and it’s a significant advantage that they’ve had a game there already, compared to having to go to Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
It’s far from an ideal situation for Cork but I can see both sides, with the revenue that the Ed Sheeran concerts will generate badly needed.
Cork need to tighten up and show more fight but I can see Clare hitting Duggan that bit more on the edge of the square and he could be the difference in what I expect to be a very tight game.
Waterford can test Limerick further if they absorb lessons of Saturday
I was at the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday for what proved to be the game of the weekend.
I really hope that Cian Lynch’s injury isn’t serious as we all want to see him back showing off his vast array of talents, and while his departure was a blow that Limerick ultimately absorbed, along with several other absentees, they were under the cosh in the first 20 minutes and Waterford deserved to be in front.
They held a two-point lead coming to half-time and it could have been more but Limerick getting ahead of them before the break was a blow.
Aaron Gillane was central to that. The space they were able to create for him was incredible and makes it next to impossible for any defender to cope.
I felt that the Waterford half-back line stood off their men too much in the second half, particularly Tadhg de Burca. The clever move of Tom Morrissey to centre-forward left De Burca unsure as to whether he should stay tight, given Morrissey’s ability to score from distance, or help the full-back line, which needed extra cover.
The space that Limerick created on puckouts was also very noticeable and, yet again, Nickie Quaid’s ability to pick the right option time and after time shone through.
My view from the outset has been that Limerick will win the All-Ireland but there are a few lessons there for Waterford that, if heeded, will make it interesting should they meet again.
Finally, there were suggestions that Gearóid Hegarty should have been sent off for persistent fouling but I think referee Sean Stack just about got it right. Two yellows would have been over the top but, still, Hegarty needs to keep his hands lower when tackling.
Misses will haunt Wexford
Wexford will have been very dejected by Saturday’s loss to Dublin given the chances they had.
They took 25 shots from play and took just 10 of them while there were two good goal chances that they let slip. All told, it was an opportunity missed.
Donal Burke was outstanding in all facets of the game for Dublin, while Danny Sutcliffe was all over the field and caused Wexford endless grief.
Still, while Dublin are a decent side, they won’t be happy with the performance overall. They were lucky to get over the line and didn’t threaten the goal enough.
Wexford will win their next two games and then it’s all eyes on their trip to Kilkenny. It’s daunting but a win there is not beyond them.
Galway and Kilkenny to reveal their true selves this weekend
As expected, Kilkenny made light work of Laois but now the serious stuff starts with a trip to face Henry Shefflin and Galway on Sunday.
We’ll have a better idea if they are serious contenders then.
Galway had a similarly routine victory over Westmeath but I’m not sure Shefflin will have learned much from it.
The Wexford game will be his reference point. He won’t have been happy with that display and will expect much better things against his native county.
Galway still retain a lot of All-Ireland medalists and, like Kilkenny, this is a massive game in terms of showing us where they really stand.
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
