Crisis? What Crisis

September Road:  Limerick claimed one scalp during the past three senior hurling championship seasons - and that was against minnows Kerry. A pathetic return for such a talented side.

Last year, they even had the advantage of playing their Munster championship tie with Waterford and the subsequent qualifier clash with Tipperary at home.

Playing at the Gaelic Grounds, however, didn't seem to help much.

Yesterday, in contrast, a new, revitalised team took the field in the heartland of Tipperary and came within a whisker of leaving with the spoils. Confidence has returned and when it comes to the replay, one suspects the Gaelic Grounds will count for much more this time around.

So what's changed? We think we have the answer. They had a crisis, it came to a head, and now they're enjoying the benefits of its aftermath.

Limerick, as every hurling fan knows, have lurched from one controversy to another over the past three seasons, a period in which three managers - Eamonn Cregan, Dave Keane and Pad Joe Whelahan - departed, with Joe McKenna the latest to pick up the reins.Whelahan stepped down as recently as last March, and many Limerick supporters were by then wondering just what else could possibly go wrong. Hurling in the county seemed to have entered meltdown.

What many failed to take into account at the time was that hurling loves a crisis - and benefits from it.

And we have two recent examples as proof - as if you would doubt us . . .

Offaly

Babs Keating probably became more valuable to Offaly hurling after he left the manager's job in July 1998.

Following that season's Leinster final defeat, Keating coined the scathing and now-infamous description of his players as "sheep in a heap". It caused uproar in the county and the installation of the rather less-well-known Michael Bond as Keating's successor.

While the controversy and the mid-stream resignation undoubtedly threw the team into chaos, motivation immediately ceased to be an issue, and following a relatively easy stroll past Antrim in the All-Ireland quarter-final, Offaly beat the reigning All-Ireland champions, Clare, after three and a half hours of hurling - with Johnny Pilkington leading the forces in the drawn first game, Jimmy Cooney unwittingly helping in the second game by blowing for full-time several minutes early and Stephen Byrne making some spectacular saves late in the third game, the refixture in Thurles, which the Faithful County won by three points.

A fortnight later, Offaly played their eighth game of the 1998 championship, meeting Kilkenny again and with Keating's comments still ringing in their years. The final score: Offaly 2-16 Kilkenny 1-13.

We suspect Offaly have forgiven Keating by now, but have Kilkenny?

Cork

Despite losing the All-Ireland final to Kilkenny, Cork hurlers had good reason to look back on the 2003 season with satisfaction. After all, it had all begun so badly.

The previous winter the panel had taken the unprecedented step of withdrawing their services, citing issues such as loss of earnings, training equipment and match tickets as the reasons for their "strike".

It is no exaggeration to say the move threw Cork GAA into turmoil. But after just over two weeks of claims and counterclaims the crisis was resolved.

Donal O'Grady was appointed hurling manager the same month. With progress on their grievances being made off the field, the players were free to focus on more pressing issues.

After rather easily accounting for Clare, Cork overcame Waterford in Semple Stadium in the 2003 Munster final, before reaching the All-Ireland final after two games with Wexford.

Born out of the crisis was a new-look Cork team bursting with passion. The Rebels were back in business and Kilkenny would only be able to delay for another 12 months the team's claiming of the All-Ireland title.

See? Every county should have a hurling crisis. It moulds teams and focuses minds. And it's why we're tipping Limerick for great things.

Now, if it only worked for football too, we'd be tipping Sligo for Connacht, Tipperary for Munster, Antrim for Ulster and Carlow for Leinster.

Quote of the weekend: - "I picked up a Kildare paper during the week. I don't know if the reporter is here, but what he thinks of Wicklow football he should go home and bury his head now because Wicklow were the best team out there today." - Wicklow manager Hugh Kenny