Winning isn’t the defining metric

IN ALL FAIRNESS

Now we know how Offaly felt after the 2022 All-Ireland Minor Hurling final. Being on the receiving end of a smash and grab raid has to be one of the hardest things for a player, mentor and supporter to process.

It is both the cruelty and beauty of sport that just because you play well and lead for most of a game, it’s never over until the final whistle sounds and Nenagh CBS found out the hard way on Saturday. The worm always turns and just like Nenagh won their first Harty Cup with a last gasp goal to shock Ardscoil Ris in 2024, they were on the receiving end at the hands of St Kieran’s College in Rathdowney.

Losing a Croke Cup semi-final is hard enough, but it is doubly so with the carrot of an All-Ireland final at Croke Park, and for it to be ripped from their grasp for the second time in three years, particularly for the likes of Eoghan Doughan, Austin Duff, and Joe O’Dwyer who played in both semi-final defeats, they must think it just wasn’t meant to be. That’s certainly one way of easing the pain as they and their teammates couldn’t have done much more over the last couple of years to try and emulate the 2012 Croke Cup winning team.

Still, they have won both of Nenagh’s Harty Cup successes and that can never be taken away. The hard part is that coming through Munster is an achievement in itself. This year, Nenagh beat Ardscoil Ris, Cashel Community School, Midleton CBS, Thurles CBS, and St Flannan’s of Ennis to win the Harty, and that is before they try and beat the best in Leinster and Connacht to win an All-Ireland.

Both those provinces might get annoyed by the store put on winning the Harty but it is the openness which makes it great. There is no guarantee that Nenagh might get to a Harty final next year to have a chance of competing for the All-Ireland, whereas there is a strong chance that St Kieran’s College, Kilkenny CBS (now CBC), Presentation Athenry and St Raphael’s Loughrea will be in the Croke Cup quarter finals next year, and indeed in most years. Their route to Croke Park is easier and a lot shorter.

Much like the senior inter-county hurling championship, there isn’t anyone in Munster who would change the structure of the Harty when you get crowds of seven-thousand people for the final as was the case this year, even if it improves your chances of winning the All-Ireland and it certainly won’t be an easy watch for Nenagh players on St Patrick’s Day to watch the final on TG4; it would be understandable if most opt to distract themselves with something else on the day, which there will be plenty of.

Winning is the cherry on top but for Nenagh CBS, off the back of Thurles CBS and Cashel winning the last four Harty Cup’s between them, shows that Tipperary are doing a lot of things right in terms of developing players. You have to be competitive first to give you the chance of winning and that has been the case, certainly since the academy system was restructure and the link up with Setanta College was formalised in recent years.

That schools’ success has led to two minor All-Ireland’s and one under 20 successes, as well as another final appearance in that grade. Most other counties would crave for that level of success. It doesn’t come by chance nor should it be taken for granted. St Kieran’s dominance of school hurling in the last decade hasn’t translated into senior success for Kilkenny. It takes work and focus to bring players through, you can’t afford to take your eye off the ball, as is the hurling parlance.

It's the same in every sport, rugby included. Nenagh Ormond have endured a tough year in division 1A of the All-Ireland League with their relegation confirmed last Saturday but they will be all the better for the experience of testing themselves against the very best.

The likelihood is it won’t be a one season wonder with the under 21’s coming up just short in the Donal Walsh Trophy final on Sunday, showing that the next generation is coming.

It is bearing the fruits of the decision over a decade or so to move the club’s underage teams from East to North Munster, pitting themselves against the best of the Limerick clubs from under 14 up. The best rugby players in North Tipperary now don’t have to go into Limerick to play at the next level. Nenagh Ormond are now the third best club team in Munster, only Young Munster and Cork Constitution are ahead of them, ahead of both Garryowen and Shannon, that’s how far they have come.