Hurling Nation: Time for Munster's 'zugzwang' weekend
In chess, things reach a point where a player is reduced to hopelessness: no winning moves left. Zugzwang they call it.
The Munster Hurling Championship is reaching that point: hurling's zugzwang.
Tipperary face Clare in Semple Stadium, the last two All-Ireland champions meeting with the threat of a long winter hanging over the loser. Hurling Nation will take the gambit and lean with Tipp, cautiously.
If Tony Kelly, Shane O'Donnell and Peter Duggan all hit top speed the picture changes, but Clare's defence has looked vulnerable. Tipp have forwards, young and old, capable of running amok like foxes in a hen house.
Cian Lynch returns after seeing red against Cork
On Sunday at the Gaelic Grounds, Limerick and Waterford face off. If it wasn't for bad luck, the Deise would have no luck at all. They have played well so far without a win and even worse for them Limerick have found their mojo and have the magicians Lynch and Gillane back in the fold.
Mojo plus magicians equals Treaty victory.
Things are intriguing in Leinster, not a sentence we say often and not entirely true, but Offaly and Kildare have given us a bit of spice.
Is fearr leath builín ná bheith gan arán!
Offaly's task against Wexford tomorrow will be made harder without Charlie Mitchell and we miss Charlie the best. Wexford have been patchy in this campaign; the Faithful's return to health has been almost as well flagged as the Yellowbellies' decline. Tomorrow could rubberstamp both.
Galway are eyeing for wins from four in Leinster
Dublin travel to Salthill having so far done what would be expected of them. Galway have zest and a wider spread of scoring options. A home win.
Kilkenny and Kildare in Nowlan Park feels short on romance. Kildare were superb for a half against Galway the last week and it would be a shame to see them slip into McDonagh Cup hurling after adding so much to this Leinster Championship. The stripey ones won't lose sleep over that though.
Final point. If we needed more evidence of how the GAA continues to fail hurling with nobody minding the game in Croke Park, this weekend, again, proves it. The only live hurling this weekend is behind a GAA paywall.
Hurling Nation understands RTÉ requested the Tipp-Clare game. Incredibly though, the GAA chose subscription money over visibility. This is a policy of using hurling to promote profit instead of using profit to promote hurling. Convince us otherwise.
Former great John Mullane spoke this week about the lack of visibility for hurling in Waterford. He mentioned that Waterford have not played hurling in June or July since the Covid era. Kids need to see hurling to want to play the games.
A few years ago we were promoting the 'If She Can't See It, She Can't Be It' campaign. This weekend you must subscribe to it to see it. Soon, children in this country will receive 104 World Cup matches free-to-air. What they see is what they dream of becoming.
Has FIFA a better strategy and feel for growing a sport than the custodians of hurling do?
Dónal Óg Cusack was speaking on Morning Ireland.
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