De La Salle will struggle to live with champions

De La Salle v :Portumna:THIS HAS the potential to be one hell of a match, provided De La Salle can withstand the hell. Or else it has the potential to be one long mismatch

Because rarely has a hurling team travelled to Croke Park for an All-Ireland final in such a commanding position and surrounded by such a heavy air of domination. But then Portumna are no ordinary team. It’s not just that they’re defending champions, seeking the first back-to-back club titles since Birr in 2002-03.

It’s not just that they beat Ballyhale Shamrocks 5-11 to 1-16 in their semi-final, thus crushing the team deemed most capable of stopping that title defence. (That was the All-Ireland, according to some commentators.)

It’s more about Portumna’s attitude and spirit. The Galway champions are unquestionably one of the finest club teams of their generation, but it would be wrong to base that on the equally unquestionable individual quality of their most famous brothers, Joe and Ollie Canning, and Damien and Niall Hayes.

What makes Portumna an extraordinary team is their ability to gel easily and orchestrate their style of hurling throughout the field – or as Seán Moran of this newspaper commented after their semi-final, “dazzling individualism set like diamonds in a 24-carat collective display”.

They’re also hugely versatile. Joe Canning was typically dazzling when hitting 2-5 against Ballyhale, while Damien Hayes, complete with walkabout beard, hit 2-1.

Yet eight players contributed a score, and the work-rate throughout the team was universally exceptional.

“There is no ‘I’ in team and no ‘us’ in team,” declared Damien Hayes after the semi-final. “We are the ultimate team and we work for each other and we are all about each other.”

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out what De La Salle need to do to give themselves any hope of victory: Portumna hit Ballyhale with 2-2 in the first six minutes, and the Kilkenny champions never recovered.

De La Salle simply can’t afford to surrender that early.

The Waterford champions have upset a few bigger teams in getting to their first All-Ireland final, yet were nearly upset themselves by Cushendall in the semi-final – sneaking through by two points after extra time.

There is decent pace and experience in their defence, although against a team like Portumna, that’s only part of it. They’ll also need eyes in the back of their heads, particularly as Canning likes to play with his back to the goal.

As Ballyhale realised, you can’t take you eyes off anyone in the Portumna attack – or else.

Would you like to be Stevie Brenner in Croke Park this afternoon?

What is inevitable then is that De La Salle will pack their defence early on, with Brian Phelan likely to reinforce the half-back line, while at the same time do the best to ensure midfield is crowded out. It’s essential De La Salle limit the amount of ball going into the Portumna attack, or at least the quality of it.

Assuming they manage that, they then have to ensure they get their share of scores at the other end. Portumna will score goals, that’s a given, so it’s up to De La Salle to get a couple of their own.

John Mullane is playing some of the best hurling of his career, and whether he plays at full forward or centre forward he’ll be the target man.

After that, Dean Twomey, Páidí Nevin and, of course, Phelan, who is the supreme artist with the placed ball, will need to take every chance they get.

Manager Owen Dunphy has given David Greene a starting place at corner forward in place of James Quirke, the only change from the semi-final, but no matter what way he deals his cards, it’s impossible to see how De Le Salle can match the artillery of Portumna.

From a spectator point of view, the best advice is to go early, because it could all be over very soon. Portumna are 1 to 8 favourites, at worst, with the bookmakers, and while that might sound a little crazy, it’s not without foundation.

Perhaps the scariest thing of all is that if Portumna do win a third All-Ireland in four years they’ll already be thinking about defending it again next year. That’s the kind of team they are.

DE LA SALLE (Waterford): S Brenner; A Kelly, I Flynn, M Doherty; D Russell, K Moran, S Daniels; B Phelan, C Watt; P Nevin, J Mullane, L Hayes; D Twomey, D McGrath, D Greene.

PORTUMNA (Galway): I Canning; M Dolphin, E McEntee, O Canning; G Heagney, M Ryan, A O’Donnell; E Lynch, L Smith; N Hayes, K Hayes, A Smith; D Hayes, J Canning, C Ryan.