National Forum

Hurling Championship 2026

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Replying To bloodandbandage:  "Good man Viking. I knew that inserting the word 'comfortable' would draw you out! Injuries, players not committing, etc. etc. ; )"
I thought about replying myself but we lost and had a poor year which is a good job too. What happened Offaly yesterday is no good to anyone.

Doylerwex (Wexford) - Posts: 4578 - 22/06/2026 16:17:17    2681297

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Replying To Tadhg2020:  "I dont think that's true at all. Both teams are stacked with hurling talent from 1 to 20+"
It is true, and I said above that Cork and Limerick are stacked with good hurlers, so we agree on that.

My point is that that the quality gap between Clare/Galway and Limerick/Cork doesn't lie so much in hurling artistry or technique. It lies more in the areas of pace, mobility, non stop running past people, in relation to Cork, and in the areas of size, physical power, athleticism, mental strength and supreme fitness levels, in relation to Limerick.

For further example, the Tipp team that 'generally' won 3 allirelands 2010-2019 absolutely couldn't hack it post 2018, against this 2018-20?? Limerick side. Why? You're not going to tell 'hurling man' anywhere, that those Tipp sides hadn't hurling skill on a par with what Limerick had. They had, but were still being comprehensively thrashed because of Limerick's level of physique, power, athleticism, supreme fitness levels, game planning, mentality, team preparation etc, budget perhaps? Limerick 2018-20?? took it to new levels on a number of fronts, and here we are in 2026 with two contenders for McCarthy Cup.

Pope_Benedict (Galway) - Posts: 4821 - 22/06/2026 18:39:55    2681328

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Replying To Pope_Benedict:  "Was it 20+ years ago you said it, i wonder. That's a silly point. Offaly are 'uncompetitive' for at least 20+ seasons, and Wexford's decline is notable for a somewhat similar duration. Certainly the decline of Offaly and Wexford was notable long before Galway entered Leinster in 2009. I trace the decline more to Cody's arrival in KK in 1999. His insatiable appetite for winning and more winning; and thrashing teams where possible, seemed to drive Wexford and certainly seemed to drive Offaly into hurling decline."
Saying Wexford declined is wrong

Because outside of the 1950s and 1960s (And maybe the 1970s to some extent), this is where Wexford have traditionally been (Albeit at the low end of the range now)

And regarding Offaly, they didn't decline either, they had 20 glorious years from around 1980 to 2000 and they've pretty much had nothing outside of that, this is near enough their best team outside of that time period

ElGranSenor (Wexford) - Posts: 1399 - 22/06/2026 20:13:14    2681340

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