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Clare and Kilkenny's Allianz hurling league opener was a cracker but as Jamesie O'Connor told us today, the Cats 5-20 to 5-14 victory over Tipperary yesterday surpassed it.
The former Clare hurler is delighted with the standard and competitiveness in Division 1A and 1B.
But he also noted changes in Kilkenny's style after a difficult 2013.
"Yesterday, I thought there were plenty of times when defenders coming out with the ball were looking to offload the pass and there were runners on the shoulder. I just thought Kilkenny mixed the long and the short more so than previously," said Jamesie who reckons that Brian Cody has looked at applying elements of the style used by Clare and Cork to the traditional Cats' tactics.
"The same tenets still apply in terms of the importance of winning primary possession. The work-rate of the Kilkenny forwards yesterday was savage and certainly the last two goals both came from ferocious pressure applied to the Tipp defenders."
Jamesie thinks Tipp look good going forward but has major concerns about the lack of ball winners in the half-back line as well as the porous defence.
Our own Diarmuid Lyng was in studio and cast his eye over Dublin's win over All Ireland winners Clare and was impressed by how they turned things around after a disappointing opening weekend.
Image: Tempers flare off the ball in Nowlan Park ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne
