Cork hurlers played a huge part in a Munster Hurling Championship for the ages

WITH the group stage of the hurling championship in Munster and Leinster now completed, it's time to reflect on the happenings of the past number of weeks.

Not for the first time, the round-robin series in Munster produced fare that was as compelling as it could possibly get.

In fact there is a case to be made that it was one of the best Munster championships of all time.

Leinster did provide us with some drama and when the season is concluded the victory of Westmeath over Wexford will rank very highly as being one of the stories of the year.

Not in this observer's time can one recall such a sensational comeback, Westmeath trailing by 16 points at the interval against one of the big traditional hurling counties and somehow ending up in the winner's enclosure by two points.

Has there ever been such a major turnaround in a provincial championship game? If there was I would love to know.

Neither side progressed to the All-Ireland series but it could be said that game saved the entire Leinster championship from being put down as a fairly mundane competition.

The final between Kilkenny and Galway may yet provide us with a game that we can fondly recall at season's end but from an overall perspective, there has been a stark contrast between what was on offer in both provinces, the Leinster championship being far more predictable in how it would unfold.

Not so at all in Munster. For donkey's years, we have marvelled with the intensity, tension and everything else that has been associated with it as long as we can remember.

GOLDEN GIFT

In the aftermath of the games featuring Cork and Clare and Limerick and Tipperary, Anthony Daly described it as the golden gift that just keeps on giving.

How could anyone argue with that viewpoint and only the Ulster SFC can come anywhere near it for sheer drama?

The older generation might make a case for the straight knockout competition and they can recall some thunderous days in the last century when the rivalry between Cork and Tipperary surpassed everything else.

But that was then and this is now and of all the decisions taken over the years by the GAA, the one to bring in this current group stage format has been one of the best ever and long may it continue.

And, of course, we still have two more potential epics to look forward with both provincial finals.

The Munster championship rarely fails to deliver and the great beauty of this season's competition is that going into the final round of games in the group stage three counties were still locked in a battle to contest the final alongside Clare.

Clare's resurgence after their opening-day loss to Tipperary has been one of the big stories thus far and for that they deserve immense credit as they now hope to end a 25-year famine in the province.

Some pundits have made the point that such is the intensity of the Munster campaign that by the time it comes around to participate in the All-Ireland series a county can be half knackered.

They point to Clare's massive input into last season's Munster final against Limerick, another epic that went to extra-time. By the time they faced Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final, they had nothing left in the tank.

Apart from the Leinster final, the leading counties in that province don't face the same intensity in a lot of the group games and are that bit fresher later on in the season.

Former Waterford great, John Mullane writing last week stated that the contrast between Munster and Leinster is just chalk and cheese as regards atmosphere, regards attendance and the quality of games.

That's an opinion shared by the vast majority and the situation in Leinster has reached a stage where it's nearly an inevitability that Kilkenny will meet Galway in the final.

In Munster, while Waterford didn't really measure up this season, it can be safely said that on any given day one county can beat the other, the playing field far more level.

MISSING IN ACTION

An interesting aspect of this season's Munster campaign is that all five counties have been hit by serious injuries that have ruled some top performers out for a protracted period or for the entire season.

Waterford's cause was not helped by the loss of arguably their best hurler, Tadhg de Búrca.

Nobody is saying that things might have been different if he was around but his loss to their defensive structure was immense.

Tipperary had to cope with the absence of Jason Forde who was in the best form of his career and his ability from the placed ball has to be factored in.

Cork have been hit harder than most counties with captain Sean O'Donoghue only returning from injury against Clare and last year's captain, Mark Coleman, didn't pucked a ball this year. Blackrock's Alan Connolly is in a similar situation and his absence certainly reduced the options up front, especially with Robbie O'Flynn going off against Tipp.

Sean Finn's absence from the Limerick defence has been considerably felt while Clare's Aidan McCarthy was marked absent for their encounter with Waterford. But that's been the story of every championship campaign, key personnel not being able to participate.

All that makes it imperative that your squad is able to cope with those absentees.

In the modern game, every position on the field requires adequate backup, those coming in close to the status of those they are replacing.

One major absentee can make a huge difference and that's where squad depth has never been more important.

Clare v Limerick and Galway-Kilkenny will decide which two teams will be two of the four participants in the All-Ireland semi-finals.

With an extended break before those games, there's a school of thought that might suggest that the qualifying route might be a better option.

Here's one who never went along with that theory. In any sporting arena, the only route to embark on is the direct one.

It's been a hurling championship to savour, particularly in Munster but who knows, the best might yet be to come.