A WEEK OUT from the All-Ireland hurling final, Limerick played an in-house game in the Gaelic Grounds. 

Such was Cian Lynch’s electric form during that match that Gearoid Hegarty felt his own place on the team was in doubt against Kilkenny.

The 2020 Hurler of the Year was unusually quiet in the All-Ireland semi-final win and found himself replaced before the end.

As it transpired, Lynch went down with a bad ankle injury which saw him ruled out of the final. Hegarty delivered a masterful display, striking 1-5 to finish as top scorer from play for the third successive All-Ireland decider. 

“We had an A v B game last Sunday, and he was absolutely (flying),” said Hegarty at the Limerick team hotel yesterday.

“To be honest with you I honestly think I mightn’t have been starting yesterday, because he was going so well. Because I was obviously not good in the semi-final, Kyle (Hayes) got man of the match, Tom (Morrissey) played better than I did in the semi-final, and Cian was actually going so well.

“Maybe it’s a question you might ask John, but I was getting the vibes that I was in trouble. 

“So it’s funny how it goes. Look, he went down late on in the A v B and he had been absolutely lifting it. Our heart went out to him because he had worked so hard to get back after the Waterford game this year.

“In fairness he is an incredible man, he never has the head down, there is never a bad vibe around him, he’s always just so positive.”

It’s been a summer of misfortune for Lynch. He suffered a bad hamstring tear against Waterford in the second round of Munster and his only appearance of the championship came as a late sub against Galway.

To prevail in Munster and the All-Ireland without a player of his quality was quite the achievement. Hegarty feels it’s a testament to the strength in depth Limerick possess. 

“I think it’s incredible what we’ve done without him,” said Hegarty. “He’s the best hurler in Ireland, in my opinion.

“So he’s obviously our best player. If you take the best player out of any other team in the country, can they take that loss as well as we did this year? And I’m not so sure can they.

“I think it is an incredible compliment to the 36 fellas that trained all year. Some of those games we play in training, they are the hardest thing you will ever do.

“I do be going away from training sometimes thinking, ‘I don’t know if I’m able for this any more.’ They are just so hard. I make it my business to go around to the subs and the lads on the extended panel to just thank them, because they have us so well prepared.

“I honestly think that’s why we have been so successful, you see (David) Reidy’s impact in the semi-final, (Conor) Boylan came on and got a great score yesterday, Peter (Casey) came on, it’s 100 per cent why we’ve been so successful.

“We have a next man up mentality. We were all devastated for Cian when he went down last week, I knew he was in trouble because I was right beside it. I thought he was after breaking his leg, to be honest.

“But you just give yourself 30 seconds and you just have to go again. That’s sport, that’s the way it has to be, people go down all the time, obviously a sickener when it’s your best player but that’s the way it has to be.”