Hurling Power Rankings #3 — Waterford wobble while Wexford wonder
In a mad two weeks of action, Kilkenny and Waterford are brushed aside as Wexford and Cork turn the Championship on its head.
12 Carlow 11 Laois
10 Offaly
This is a bit unfair, dropping Offaly one spot while Dublin sit back and do nothing, but as we now look forward to the qualifiers you have to wonder if Offaly can do much more, while you’d have more faith in an albeit horrendous Dublin side to cause an upset. Last week #9
9 Dublin
See above. Last week #10
8 Limerick
Limerick await the qualifiers. You can never rule out the Shannonsiders, and they could definitely get the rub of the green in the draw, but right now they’re the most unfancied of the Munster sides after a dismal enough loss to Clare. They could yet make a run of it, but not enough to consider dropping Waterford past them.
7 Waterford
Well, if you had told us last week that Waterford would still be #7 after the Munster semi-final, we would have been fairly surprised. Cork were blistering, dominating the Déise all over the field. So much was expected from this Waterford side and were just waiting to pop them up into the top three and into the All-Ireland conversation, but if the ship can’t be steered through the qualifiers then Waterford are in big trouble.
6 Kilkenny
Another team we were waiting patiently to pass judgement on. Since the start of our ranking, they’ve been in third all along, purely on reputation and the expectation that they would be in a Leinster final. Instead, Wexford demolished them and layed down the marker as the biggest dark horse in years. Kilkenny were sluggish, out of sync and far from the Cats we’ve come to love (or hate). The qualifiers await, but the fear factor may be losing its terror. Last week #3
5 Clare
Clare leapfrog one spot as Munster finalists and Kilkenny regression. They’ll fancy themselves against Cork, no doubt, and have the forwards to do damage that Waterford just could not. They’ve seen Cork put two excellent but similar performances back to back, they’ll be ready. Last week #6
4 Tipperary
Reputation goes a long way, for sure. Dismal against Cork in Munster, but still ahead of Clare purely because you’d expect Tipperary to have more of a say come the business end of the Liam McCarthy, which is what we want to gauge these rankings on. A good draw in the qualifiers and Tipperary will be back in the mojo soon.
3 Wexford
An incredible display against Kilkenny rockets Wexford into third place. They were fantastic, Davy Fitzgerald have been ticking like a well oiled machine and they have the blend of brute athleticism and hurling skill that other counties are lacking. They won’t fear the dainty Conor Whelan and talismanic Joe Canning in Croke Park, they’ll go out to bully the Tribesman just like they did Kilkenny, and if they did triumph would it actually be a huge surprise? Last Week #5
2 Cork
Cork have backed up our claim as the #2 team in the country at present with a fantastic win over Waterford, proving their defeat of Tipperary was far from a fluke. With extremely talented hurlers from 1–15, a system that’s hard to defend against and now a Rebel county full of momentum, Cork are well and truly back. The Munster final against Clare in Thurles is going to be one to remember.
1 Galway
The unanimous best team in the county floated past Offaly in the Leinster semi-final. Their star players are in top form, the only negative you could think of is their Leinster preparation hasn’t been competitive and they risk getting caught out against the battle hardened Wexford. Still, they’re the League champions and have the best player in the country — barring a disaster they should be here for another while yet.
