It was evident for everyone to see after 10 minutes of the Bord Gáis Energy All Ireland U21 semi final between Kilkenny and Derry that there was only going to be one winner; the Cats.
Kilkenny cruised past Derry to book their first All-Ireland final since 2012, by claiming a 52-point victory (8-35 to 0-7).
Kilkenny were 3-1 on the board after 10 minutes to Derry's solitary 0-1, and at half time the score read for sorry reading, as Kilkenny were winning 5-12 to 0-4.
The massive gulf between the two sides was of no benefit to neither Kilkenny or Derry, the Derry hurlers will find it tough to recover from the battering that they received today, and it wasn't much use as preparation for the Cats before a final.
The standard of opponent today was actually below the level of matches that Kilkenny would have in training.
Where does the GAA go from here is anybody's guess because clearly the system is broken if a team can get to this stage of the competition and get an absolute hiding.
Normally a semi final would be a close competitive game, between two of the four best sides to have reached this stage, and not a completely embarrassing one sided affair.
Kilkenny will now be awaiting the winners of the other semi final between Galway and Limerick which is taking place this evening.
It is fair to say that many were unhappy and embarrassed for everyone involved:
This is embarrassing, unfortunate and unfair to BOTH teams. In the All-Ireland Under 21 Hurling semi-final, Kilkenny have scored 7-31 so far
— Des Cahill (@sportsdes) August 19, 2017
How can this be allowed happen? Change the system.
FT in the All-Ireland Under 21 semi-final:#Kilkenny 8-35 #Derry 0-7— Des Cahill (@sportsdes) August 19, 2017
What purpose is this serving to promote hurling.@officialgaa pic.twitter.com/uzmxrbcS35
— joe quaid (@JoeQuaid) August 19, 2017
Kilkenny 8-35 Derry 0-7 What good is that for either side? #farce
— Seamus Duke (@SeamusDuke) August 19, 2017
Ulster champions have won one semi since it started in 1964 and then lost the final by 22 points. System is broken.
— Kieran Cunningham (@KCsixtyseven) August 19, 2017
This isn't promoting Ulster hurling in the slightest.
— Kieran Cunningham (@KCsixtyseven) August 19, 2017
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