The hurling world has been flabbergasted by Wexford's win over Kilkenny at Nowlan Park yesterday in the League quarterfinal. The dual prospect of a resurgent Yellowbellies side lead by irrepressible Davy Fitz and the end of Kilkenny's dominance has left some hurling observers completely beside themselves.
Case in point, Mr John Mullane. The Waterford hurler and Indo columnist was on the receiving end of a few memorable beatings from Kilkenny over his legendary career. In today's paper, he was perhaps a tad presumptuous when he stated his conviction that yesterday's result means that a return to mediocrity is certain for the Cats. He begins his column like this:
Kilkenny's hurlers should strap themselves into a time machine and prepare for a return to the lean years of the 1990s.
Remember that period when winning a Leinster title was no foregone conclusion for the Cats?
I have a funny feeling [emphasis ours] that Kilkenny are heading back there, to when it was dog eat dog in terms of what they wanted to achieve, and when they had to fight for everything in their own province.
Hold your horses there, John. Kilkenny's league form has been less than stellar, with the loss of Mick Fennelly being keenly felt. But what does League form tell us really? Kilkenny barely survived a relegation playoff in 2015 and won one of the handier All-Ireland's of the Cody era six months later. Clare played with fire at the business end of last year's League, hammering Kilkenny and beating Waterford in a replay only to falter badly in the Championship.
While pundits yearn badly for the end of the Cody era, history tells us that the loss to Wexford is exactly what Cody will have wanted ahead of their reprisal on June 10. He now has a stick to beat his players with in training, and he'll have a plan for Wexford. Kilkenny may look unusually vulnerable this spring, it's probably safest to wait until the summer ends to dance on their grave.
