Brendan Cummins: Limerick's physicality advantage slipping as chasing pack close in

RTÉ GAA analyst Brendan Cummins believes that the chasing Munster pack have managed to bridge the physical gap that John Kiely's Limerick had held over them in recent seasons.

One of the main takeaways from the Treaty’s run of four All-Ireland crowns over the last five years has been their sheer ability to physically dominate opponents, but for five-time All-Star Cummins, that advantage has slipped and has resulted in a high-octane, highly-competitive Munster round-robin series.

Limerick’s season will be on the line next weekend as, following Sunday’s dramatic draw with Tipperary, defeat at home to Cork would leave them out of the running no matter what happens between Waterford and Tipperary in the other fixture.

"I think the physical strength of the rest has caught up a little bit, to be fair," Cummins said on RTÉ's Morning Ireland.

"The strength and conditioning, when you see Limerick players a year or two ago when they got the ball in the middle third, Will O’Donoghue was breaking the line and getting through whereas now they're being pushed sideways and sometimes even backwards.

"They’re trying to play over teams and I think that’s what caught them yesterday.

"Tipperary are extremely good stickmen, when they’re in possession they ping the ball around. Out of possession, normally when a guy comes to you to hand-pass it over your head, for example, the defender will dangle a hurley. Tipperary, they dangle with purpose and they can break and intercept the pass.

"Limerick have come back slightly, but the rest have caught up really, which is the big story here."

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