LIMERICK HURLING MANAGER John Allen seems to be enjoying the 90s-style hurling summer as much as any of us.
And why wouldn’t he, with the Treaty facing into a Munster SHC decider against his native Cork on Sunday week following their shock win over Tipperary last time out.
Tipperary must now face into a daunting make-or-break qualifier in Nowlan Park against champions Kilkenny.
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“It’s great, it’s fantastic for hurling,” Allen told reporters at the Limerick press night yesterday evening when asked about the wide open championship.
“The fact that we beat Tipperary, Cork came in as underdogs and beat Clare, Dublin started poorly and are now in a Leinster final having beaten Kilkenny. Now we have Kilkenny and Tipp. It’s like the television series — Tales of the Unexpected. You have a new programme because it has been a series of unexpected.”
The St Finbarr’s clubman, for his part, fancies the Premier in the elimination clash on Noreside tomorrow.
“I think Tipperary might win it,” says Allen. “The rest would have done them good and the fact that we beat them will also have done them good. When you lose you do much more forensic reviewing then when you lose. I think they will have certainly forensically taken their team and their performance apart in that Munster semi-final and maybe now we’ll see that there’s more they can do or there is a different combination of players that they need to pick to beat Kilkenny.
“Kilkenny have a lot of injuries again, three weeks in-a-row, not going very well. I think it might be Tipp’s turn.”
Despite the action in the Marble City in the next 24 hours, Allen’s focus remains taking on Cork and his old colleague Jimmy Barry Murphy. And the All-Ireland winning manager says Limerick have no real injury concerns at the moment.
“Nothing serious as of now anyway. Paudie O’Brien has a bit of a hamstring tweak and James Ryan has a bit of a hand problem, but nothing major or nothing that we’re worried about. Something could happen the last night at training as we all know, it could happen in the warm up, but generally everyone is fine,” he says.
'It's like Tales of the Unexpected' -- John Allen on this year's hurling championship
LIMERICK HURLING MANAGER John Allen seems to be enjoying the 90s-style hurling summer as much as any of us.
And why wouldn’t he, with the Treaty facing into a Munster SHC decider against his native Cork on Sunday week following their shock win over Tipperary last time out.
Tipperary must now face into a daunting make-or-break qualifier in Nowlan Park against champions Kilkenny.
“It’s great, it’s fantastic for hurling,” Allen told reporters at the Limerick press night yesterday evening when asked about the wide open championship.
“The fact that we beat Tipperary, Cork came in as underdogs and beat Clare, Dublin started poorly and are now in a Leinster final having beaten Kilkenny. Now we have Kilkenny and Tipp. It’s like the television series — Tales of the Unexpected. You have a new programme because it has been a series of unexpected.”
The St Finbarr’s clubman, for his part, fancies the Premier in the elimination clash on Noreside tomorrow.
“I think Tipperary might win it,” says Allen. “The rest would have done them good and the fact that we beat them will also have done them good. When you lose you do much more forensic reviewing then when you lose. I think they will have certainly forensically taken their team and their performance apart in that Munster semi-final and maybe now we’ll see that there’s more they can do or there is a different combination of players that they need to pick to beat Kilkenny.
“Kilkenny have a lot of injuries again, three weeks in-a-row, not going very well. I think it might be Tipp’s turn.”
Despite the action in the Marble City in the next 24 hours, Allen’s focus remains taking on Cork and his old colleague Jimmy Barry Murphy. And the All-Ireland winning manager says Limerick have no real injury concerns at the moment.
“Nothing serious as of now anyway. Paudie O’Brien has a bit of a hamstring tweak and James Ryan has a bit of a hand problem, but nothing major or nothing that we’re worried about. Something could happen the last night at training as we all know, it could happen in the warm up, but generally everyone is fine,” he says.
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All-Ireland Senior HC John Allen Roald Dahl Cork Limerick twist in the tale