Liam Blanchfield sends Ronan Maher to the turf with shoulder for every Gael in Kilkenny

Conan Doherty

No-one had Kilkenny to win this.

This was the game for Tipp to assert their dominance over the Cats – that crowd up the road who already had their moment in the sun.

This was the day they finally rolled into Nowlan Park and came away with a victory and a cruel message that would put a rejuvenated Kilkenny outfit back in their boxes.

Kilkenny were written off before this league campaign started. Two games in and two defeats to Cork and Clare, they were written off further.

They were written off against Wexford in the semi-finals and, coming into the league final, their chances were barely even written about.

Jesus, you’d nearly forget it was Kilkenny.

One scintillating second half later and the rest of the country have once again been forced to sit up.

You’d only call it a comeback if they weren’t doing this sort of thing for years.

And so, with Walter Walsh running bloody riot, with Eoin Murphy producing the save of the season and the roar of Nowlan Park back to its fiercest, they all conspired to find the pulse of Kilkenny hurling and to show the country that the black and amber are alive and well.

On The GAA Hour before the game, Lee Chin had Tipperary to win. Cheddar Plunkett had Tipperary to win. The bookies had them odds-on favourite too.

But perhaps the most successful county in Ireland will never be overlooked so hastily again.

"The Cats are back!" – Laoch na hImeartha TJ Reid.
Scór inniu: 0-15@KilkennyCLG 2-23 @TipperaryGAA 2-17
Sraith na Seaimpíní Cill Chainnigh!!!#GAABEO #AllianzLeagues pic.twitter.com/ImKWScgGaJ

— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) April 8, 2018

It was almost as if they were playing with anger at being disrespected or at least anger that anyone could ever forget the stock and pedigree that produces 15 players lucky enough at any one time to wear that most striking jersey.

And, in injury time, it was almost as if Liam Blanchfield struck a blow for every man, woman and child in the county when he put everything he had behind one almighty, bone-crunching shoulder tackle that put Ronan Maher to the Nowlan Park sod.

With the Cats in the groove, the favourites being tossed around and the home crowd baying for more blood, Blanchfield seemed to summon every bit of pain, frustration and might that he could to not only absorb everything Maher had to throw at him as the opposition player lined him up, but he was able to let it all explode with devastating effect to turn the elements on Maher and send shockwaves through all of Tipperary.

With one classic, hard, fronting up of a shoulder, Blanchfield was the personification of Kilkenny hurling there and then.

They’re standing tall, they’re standing strong and how fucking dare anyone try to put them on their arses again.