What can be learned from Munster Round Robins past

By Shane Brophy

In what is the fifth iteration of the round-robin format of the Munster Senior Hurling Championship which began in 2018, it is still a small sample size as regards what can be learned of what is needed to progress to stay alive for the All-Ireland Series.

Best Record

Overall, in the four campaigns so date (not including last Sunday’s results) despite Limerick having won five provincial championships in a row, albeit three have been in the round-robin format as 2020 & 2021 were straight knockout due to Covid restrictions, Clare have the best record, amassing eleven wins, one loss and four losses (23 points) from their sixteen games.

Limerick have suffered the same number of losses, but they have recorded three draws and nine wins (21 points) showing just how hard they have been challenged in their own province.

Cork is the next best with seven wins, three draws and six losses (17 points) while Tipp have recorded five wins, three draws and eight losses (13 points), with Waterford having the poorest record with just two wins, one draw and thirteen losses (5 points) but all five points have been won against Tipperary.

Limerick are the only county that have finished in the top 3 in all four of the round-robin championships while Clare and Cork have missed out on just one occasion with Tipperary emerging in 2019 & 2023, while Waterford still have to finish in the top three.

First game

A lot of store is put on getting off to a good start to have the best chance of finishing in the top three, however, it is not imperative. In two of the three years, that Clare have progressed to the next phase, they recovered from losing their first-round games to Cork in 2018 and Tipp in 2023, going into win their next three matches in each campaign to finish top of the table and into a Munster final.

Cork is the only team to have lost their first two games in the round-robin, both at home to Limerick and Clare in 2022, but subsequent wins away to Waterford and Tipperary were enough to see them emerge in third place in the table.

Tipperary are the only team to have won all four games in a campaign, in 2019, but it counted for little as they were beaten in the Munster Final by Limerick.

Bye in round 1

With five teams currently in the competition, there is always a team not in action on any given weekend, and this year it was Tipperary’s turn to be the odd team out on the opening weekend. That can be looked at one of two ways going into their first game with Limerick next Sunday, coming in fresh or coming in cold.

From the four round-robin campaigns so far, teams coming off the bye in the opening round have a record of won two and lost two, Waterford and Limerick both losing in 2018 & 2019 but Clare and Cork winning their first games in the last two years.

Where that game is played makes no difference as the wins were; Clare (away v Tipp) and Cork (home to Waterford), while Waterford (away to Cork) and Limerick (home to Cork) so being at home or away hasn’t been an issue.

Home Advantage

Limerick have the best record in terms of using the TUS Gaelic Grounds to their advantage having won six and drawn one of their eight home games to date, their only loss coming against Cork in 2019.

Clare has the next best home record with five wins, a draw, and two losses at Cusack Park, both losses coming at the hands of Tipperary.

The fact that all counties are so familiar with FBD Semple Stadium means Tipperary have no distinct home advantage and it shows in their record where they have recorded just two wins, both in 2019, along with two draws and four losses.

In the new Pairc Ui Chaoimh, Cork have recorded an even record of three wins, two draws and three losses while this is just the third campaign in which Waterford have a true home advantage following the refurbishment of Walsh Park, after playing all their games in 2018 & 2022 away from home. However, prior to last Sunday, home advantage has yielded just one win from four games, that in 2022 against Tipperary with losses in their three other games.

Winning Margins

Strangely enough the competitive nature of the Munster Championship isn’t shown in the winning margins as there have been a lot of one-sided games. The average winning margin in 2018 was 5.6 points with the biggest being Limerick’s eleven-point success over Waterford.

2019 was the least competitive championship with a thirteen-point average recorded in the eight games, with Tipp beating Waterford by twenty and Limerick beating Clare by 18. However, things have improved since with the average winning margin falling to 8.1 points in 2022 and a record low of 4.25 last year where there were no double-digit defeats with two draws and three games won by just one point.

Top 3

Such is the competitive nature of the Munster Championship that no team can look beyond the province, so finishing in the top three is the initial target for all. So far, a minimum of four points is needed to finish at least in third place.

Limerick finished in that position with five points in 2018 with Cork progressing with four points on two occasions in 2019 & 2022, although the first one they pipped Clare on score difference, while last year Tipp finished in third place on four points.