Just wanted to get back to the most important thing that happened today; Not fans running on to the Pitch, Not a discussion about a referee, (GOD ONLY KNOWS, BEING A GALWAY MAN, I WILL NEVER FORGET 1989 REF. JOHN DENTON, TIPP DIDN't COMPLAIN THEN) So I wanted to Congratulate the greatest team of all time. Happy I was around to witness it all. Well Done KILKENNY.

SAMMYTHEBULL (Galway) - Posts: 1646 - 06/09/2009 18:08:11    417109

congrats to them, great game to watch. their achievement is added to because of the terrific display by tipperary, meaning that they really deserve their title!

it has been a privalege to watch such a great team. today summed them up in a lot of ways. when the chips are down they stood up like men. the fancy stuff in beating waterford and limerick et al is one thing, but today we saw true winners refusing to get beaten by another excellent team. well done!

evangelist (Longford) - Posts: 245 - 06/09/2009 18:43:34    417164

I think the best way of looking at this is the two number 10s.

Tipp's was great, winning ball, making runs, showing a clean pair of heels to Kilkenny defence. Kilkenny's was poor enough.

HOWEVER, Tipp number 10 did not score, Kilkenny's got two points.

Tipperary surprised me. In the second half they DOMINATED for 20 minutes. only one team in it. However they were NOT GOOD ENOUGH to take advantage on the scoreboard. Eleven people scored for Kilkenny, including 3 from Eddie Brennan who didn't have a great game. That's the difference.

Tipperary had Kilkenny out on their feet, and the Cats were making mistakes all over the field. Kavanagh in his 10th final dropped the ball with no-one near him, as Tipp went three up. Next ball Henry Shefflin failed to did it properly. The game looked over, but Tipp were not good enough to get the scores.

P.J Ryan had a big say in that as well.

However Kilkenny are so good that even on a day when they were second best everywhere except in scoring, they only need a half chance.

When they got it they took it. Then they built on it.

Tipperary were great today, and deserve our applause and accolades, although as an Antrim man I know that those do not help. They were the team today, but Kilkenny may have the best team ever.

Great final, some great displays, and roll on next year.

patrique (Antrim) - Posts: 13709 - 06/09/2009 20:07:35    417279

Wouldn't argue too much with your assessment patrique, I thought the 2 missed goal opportunities were crucial. O.K. they were fine saves but in truth they both should have buried well out of reach of the keeper. The sending off which was totally correct and the penalty award which was incorrect turned the game and from there , it was KK all the way. They finished on a high but that will always happen when the tide turns dramatically in your favour. It was great to see such a fine competitive game and it has restored my appetite for hurling. I'm looking forward to next season already.

corkcelt (Cork) - Posts: 4388 - 06/09/2009 20:18:43    417291

Yes, witout a shadow of a doubt and they'll take some beating next year too.

sandman (Wexford) - Posts: 20 - 06/09/2009 20:43:21    417319

Well Done to Kilkenny 32 All Ireland Titles wow.

5 in a Row would not put it pass them.

declan30 (Limerick) - Posts: 652 - 06/09/2009 21:51:36    417393

Best team of all time. End of story.

Pinkie (Wexford) - Posts: 4100 - 06/09/2009 22:10:32    417409

what can you say that hasent been said before?

kerryhurling (Kerry) - Posts: 274 - 06/09/2009 22:19:05    417422

I agree with SAM that John Denton was a very poor referee. However, today's man is up there with Denton. He gave a penalty for charging by the forward and missed two yellow/red cards's incidents on the Kilkenny side. He also missed a blatant push on a Tipperary defender in the lead up to the second 'goal' for 'Kilkenny'. It was a poor performance from the referee, which certainly did a lot to swing the game to the cats.

Oggy (Galway) - Posts: 245 - 06/09/2009 23:37:49    417501

A lot of people moaning about the "penalty".

Power is fouled, ref plays advantage, Power is fouled again. That's when he blew.

Might not happen like that all the time, but the ref was excellent today.

patrique (Antrim) - Posts: 13709 - 07/09/2009 00:52:43    417558

For God's sake Tipp got 18 frees yesterday and Kilkenny got 8 in the whole game and still we were favoured by him. Please show how that is favouritism towards KK. What red/yellow card incidents did he miss.
There is some heap of Bitterness towards this team and its quite sad really. They are the only team to win the Four in a row on the field of play and deserve to be honoured and admired for the achievements.
But I forgot this is Ireland and begrudgery is alive and well

solo (Kilkenny) - Posts: 314 - 07/09/2009 09:31:02    417661

This team is the greatest of all time. What else have they to prove?

Mick14 (Limerick) - Posts: 766 - 07/09/2009 09:31:47    417665

I was there and thought that Kirwan was generally a bit slow to make up his mind but that from a neutral perspective that if anything Tipp were getting the breaks from him and it was Kelly's frees that more than anything else kept them in touch. Having said that the penalty was not a penalty (was a foul but well outside) and that was arguably the turning point although I think Cats were about to cut loose anyway. Great game to watch and without doubt the greatest team anyone alive has seen. Don't think there can be any argument about that. Let's hope they all, including Brian, retire now!

hurlingdub (Dublin) - Posts: 6978 - 07/09/2009 10:05:00    417704

have to aggre with corkcelt here, two goal chances missed will be rued for a long time. callinan should have buried it into the far corner

premierman21 (Tipperary) - Posts: 429 - 07/09/2009 12:57:14    417913

no this kk team is over- rated. look at the teams that they have been playing in the finals for the last few years. limerick and waterford are not near good enough to have got to finals had the standard in general been better. cork were getting on when kk won their first of the 4 in a row. fair enough they beat a good tipp team but whatever way you want to look at it tipp outplayed them. how can you be the "greatest ever" when you get outplayed by the "second" best team of the time. whats to say this kk team was better than the cork team who one the 4 in a row. in general the standard of hurling hasnt been good the last few years. kk have been in a handy provence the last few years with no competition except this year. offaly and wexford have been going backwards and galway are still only building. waterford and limerick were never good enough to win it the last few years. same with clare. cork are way past it and need to revamp their team. tipp were the only proper challenge kk got on their way to the 4 in a row and kk should have lost. so going by the logic here the tipp 09 team so be called the second greatest team ever. dont think so. cork are the greatest hurling team of all time. 30 all-ireland is unbelievable if you take into account the provence they have alway had to come out of compared to kk

32_4_1 (Meath) - Posts: 4201 - 07/09/2009 13:13:06    417935

Four all irelands in a row. Seven this decade. Have beaten every munster hurling team in a final this decade. More all ireland sthan any other county. The two greatest hurlers playing at the moment on this team (Henry and Tommy). Undefeated in 18 championship matches. An averag escore of something like 28 points per championship match. 5 league titles and 9 Leinsters this decade also. And we have gombeens from Meath discounting them.

Puddersthecat (Kilkenny) - Posts: 1692 - 07/09/2009 13:39:13    417975

32_4_1

7 All-Irelands, 9 Leinsters, National League success. Nobody can top it, nobody. The point about Munster being more competetive is a different argument - when it comes to Kilkenny V Munster teams, only Cork have matched and beat them this decade. Analyse it all you like, this is the greatest hurling side ever. Personally I think Tipperary were the better side for 60 minutes yesterday & had they won, nobody would have complained. But they got 2 gilt edged goal chances and failed to score. Kilkenny got theirs & scored. It was one tiny difference between the sides, but just enough for KIlkenny to win.

Kilkenny play the game on the limits, they use tactics that live on the edge of the game, but as Richie Bennis said in 2007 it is something teams need to aspire to, not fear. You hear all these things from people who have played against them like under high balls they push your helmet down over your eyes, they jump with one hand going for the ball, the other round your neck and they stop you from playing. They can isolate a player and hurt him, they thrive on physicality and they defend like their goal is life itself. But it's all within the rules of the game and unless there are rules brought in to stop these tactics, I don't see a lot wrong with what they do. Teams need to match this and very few can unless it's like cork in 2004, denying them the ball so those tactics never come into play, or Galway in 2001 & 2005 who stood up to the physical aspect and exploited Kilkenny weaknesses.

In short, they're the greatest, some achievement. But this Tipp team will go on to greatness, they are a class outfit and I hope for their sake Sheedy sticks with them.

slayer (Limerick) - Posts: 6526 - 07/09/2009 13:46:09    417984

32_4_1 ... I would argue with you that only for a very good Cork team. KK would have 9 in a row.. Now theres a thought.. They are without doubt the best team in the history of the game.. Only 2 players yesterday for KK would be happy with their shift PJ Ryan and tommy Walsh and they still beat a Tipp team firing on all cylinders.

MURPHB33 (Dublin) - Posts: 166 - 07/09/2009 13:49:52    417990

Well said pudders - wasn't going to dignify their comments with a response.

solo (Kilkenny) - Posts: 314 - 07/09/2009 13:52:21    417992

ye because the standard in hurling dropped this decade apart from the 2 years cork won it. it makes kk look better than they are

32_4_1 (Meath) - Posts: 4201 - 07/09/2009 13:55:15    417997