Plus ca change. There was very little movement in hurling’s top tier in 2021, as evidenced by the fact that seven of the teams in our rankings retain the same positions as they held 12 months ago.
Cork made the most progress, as would be expected after reaching the All-Ireland final having been eliminated in the qualifiers last year, while Galway have fallen sharply on the back of their worst Championship showings in years.
Although they laboured through the League and relinquished their title, Limerick were untouchable for most of the Championship and were particularly awesome in the first half of the All-Ireland final.
Their brilliance apart, it wasn’t an especially memorable Championship though the return of crowds was most welcome.
After two years of a knockout provincial system and qualifiers, the Championship will revert to a round robin format in Munster and Leinster in 2022.
1 Limerick (1 last year)
The fact that Limerick gathered a record 12 All Stars this year speaks to their dominance and, in truth, Nickie Quaid, Dan Morrissey and Aaron Gillane all had strong cases for inclusion too.
Even the great Kilkenny and Dublin sides that dominated hurling and football respectively for much of this century never had credible claims for a player in every single position on an All Star team in a given year.
That’s a reflection of Limerick’s strength but also on the chasing pack, from which there appears to be no team with strong title credentials in 2022.
Limerick showed in the first half of the Munster final that they are vulnerable on occasions and a drop-off on their own part next year is more likely to be their undoing than anything else.
2 Waterford (2)
Didn't progress as far in the Championship as last year but that was largely down to the fact that they ran into Limerick at the semi-final stage.
Although they were very much outplayed by Clare in the opening round in Munster, their form for the rest of the summer was of a high enough standard to declare them best of the rest once again this year.
Liam Cahill’s decision to stay on rather than take charge of his native Tipperary bodes well for the spirit in the camp though winning silverware is the priority now. Limerick are a considerable roadblock to doing that but Waterford are as well placed as any should they slip.
3 Cork (7)
It may have ended with a drubbing in the All-Ireland final but 2021 was very much a positive year for Cork hurling.
The senior team’s progress to a first final in eight years is one thing, but a couple of under-20 titles were won along with a minor crown after Cork had gone 20 years without an All-Ireland win of any sort at underage level.
The Limerick defeat meant that Cork have now entered their longest drought without a senior All-Ireland but the level of talent that is emerging suggests that it will end in the coming years, albeit 2022 may be too soon.
4 Kilkenny (4)
For the first time ever, Kilkenny lost All-Ireland semi-finals in successive years and are entering a seventh year without the Liam MacCarthy Cup, the longest gap since Brian Cody ended the previous seven-year itch when winning his first All-Ireland in charge back in 2000.
They retained their Leinster title though enjoyed a good deal of fortune when slipping past Wexford after extra time, while Dublin were weakened in the provincial final.
Cody could easily have steered them to another All-Ireland final given that Kilkenny weren’t too far away against Cork but you couldn’t have made a compelling case for them troubling Limerick.
5 Tipperary (5)
Although Brendan Maher is the only player to have departed along with manager Liam Sheedy, Tipperary’s defeat to Waterford in the All-Ireland quarter-final had an end of an era feel to it.
A tremendous showing in the first half of the Munster final suggested that their season may be going in a rather different direction but they couldn’t live with Limerick in the second half and Waterford had too much for them. A period of transition beckons.
6 Clare (6)
They suffered as a result of a highly questionable refereeing decision in the Munster semi-final against Tipperary but to say that it was the winning or losing of the game would be a stretch.
Mixed the good with the bad and could easily have wound up in a final given that they were unfortunate against Cork. Like a lot of those around them, they have the measure of anyone on their day - bar Limerick.
7 Dublin (9)
Pulled off their first victory of note in a couple of years when beating Galway but flattered to deceive thereafter, albeit illness and injury did them no favours in the Leinster final against Kilkenny.
Results from this year, and indeed previous seasons, suggest that the Leinster Championship is particularly weak just now with all of its participants eliminated as soon as they came into contact with Munster opposition, with Cork sending Dublin packing in the quarter-finals.
8 Wexford (8)
Even if the Leinster Championship was somewhat incidental to the All-Ireland race this year, Wexford certainly wouldn’t have turned their nose up at winning it and they will reflect on how the Kilkenny game slipped away from them with much regret.
It was always going to be a long jaunt through the qualifiers after that and they made a swift exit at the hands of Clare, with Davy Fitzgerald’s five-year reign ending at the hands of his native county.
9 Galway (3)
Henry Shefflin faces an immediate rebuilding job as he takes the reins in Galway, with their two displays in this year’s Championship offering conclusive evidence that the core of the team that delivered the 2017 All-Ireland title is spent.
With Galway continuing to stockpile minor titles of late, it appears as though Shefflin will have decent material to work with in the coming years though contending strongly for an All-Ireland next year seems unlikely.
10 Laois (10)
Laois appeared to be in freefall following the departure of Eddie Brennan but, as injuries cleared up, finished the year strongly by beating Antrim in a critical qualifier game to preserve their top tier status, while almost springing the shock of the year against Waterford.
They managed to retain their place in Division One by beating Westmeath too and with Clough-Ballacolla’s progress to a Leinster final, Laois carry a bit of momentum into 2022. They must harness it this time, however.
11 Antrim (-)
A bitter pill for Antrim as, after a progressive League campaign, they made the immediate drop to the Joe McDonagh Cup having only won promotion from that competition last year.
Even in a shortened season, they couldn’t maintain their early form and were well beaten by Dublin before going down to Laois in the all-important game. Darren Gleeson will have it all to do to lift them for another McDonagh Cup campaign in 2022.
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