The Limerick hurlers put in arguably the greatest 35 minutes in the history of hurling today to defeat Cork and win their second consecutive All-Ireland 3-32 - 1-22. Limerick v Cork was billed as a match between a juggernaut and a rising Rebels team with plenty of momentum, but it was clear after ten minutes that Limerick play the game at a level that has never been reached before.
It's Limerick's first-ever two in a row. Though the final points differential was 16, the result was determined by the time Fergal Horgan blew for halftime. During a summer where Cork won two U20 All-Irelands plus the minor All-Ireland, Limerick again staked their claim to be the greatest team of all time.
This was total hurling on a level that had never been seen before.
Limerick v Cork: a performance of historical proportions
It was obvious from the throw-in that Limerick meant business. The magisterial Cian Lynch scored after 18 seconds. Minutes later, man mountain Geróid Hergarty bagged his first of two goals.
Cork look feisty, and when Shane Kingston scored 4th goal of the season, it seemed like we might be in for a game. However, you can only trade blows with this Limerick behemoth for so long. Limerick won the second quarter 1-10 to 0-5 points. They went into halftime with 3-18 on the scoreboard. They scored a total of 3-16 to win the 2018 All-Ireland over Galway.
It was a performance of staggering proportions. 10 of Limerick's 14 outfield players had scored before halftime. 3-16 of that 3-18 came from play.
Limerick's final score of 3-32 is the highest total of any team in modern times, in the 70 minutes game. Kilkenny scored 3-30 in the 2019 All-Ireland.
72 minutes on the clock and Pat Ryan's point takes Limerick to 3-31.
It's the biggest ever score in an All-Ireland hurling final. It beats Kilkenny's 3-30 in 2008 and Cork's 6-21 in 1970. pic.twitter.com/5vqcbdr3yy— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) August 22, 2021
For Cork, it's now seventeen years since they've won an an All-Ireland. The future may be red but in order to get to the top of the mountain, they're going to have to figure out how to dislodge this very young and very hungry Limerick team. This was the first Limerick v Cork All-Ireland but we reckon it won't be the last.
