The five-in-a-row is a quest in hurling. Cork did four-in-a-row from 1941-44 but were defeated by Tipperary in the Munster semi-final in 1945. This Kilkenny were already acclaimed the greatest team ever and were expected to be the first to win five on the trot.
A year previously, Kilkenny edged Tipperary in a tight encounter. Tipp were the better side and if it wasn't for goalkeeper PJ Ryan making numerous saves, the Premier County would've been out of sight. They rallied in the face of adversity when Benny Dunne was sent off but two late goals - a controversial penalty from Henry Shefflin and one from substitute Martin Comerford - secured a fourth title in as many years.
Tipperary hadn't won an All-Ireland since 2001 and after a poor showing in the 2000s had a crop of gifted, young players to drive them forward. TJ Reid was Kilkenny's youngest player at 22 but the Tipp fifteen featured Noel McGrath (19), Patrick Maher (20), Michael Cahill, Padraic Maher, Brendan Maher (21) and Gearoid Ryan all younger. Would youthful exuberance beat the wise old heads?
FIRST HALF
Elite sport is all about risk taking and that's what Brian Cody did on Henry Shefflin. Arguably the greatest player of all time, he injured his cruciate ligament in the semi-final win over Cork and it was unknown if Shefflin would be fit for the final. He passed the test but the first free he took was an abysmal effort well wide of the posts. It was only a minute in but it was bound to motivate the Tipperary players.
Both sides traded frees, Tipp's talismanic captain Eoin Kelly knocking over his first three efforts and Shefflin raised a white flag but his third shot was desperately short of the target. It was Kelly's third free that the first goal would come. A long puckout was expertly caught by Shane McGrath in midfield and he launched a direct ball towards the edge of the square. Lar Corbett was up against Noel Hickey and the Thurles Sarsfields forward won his duel and fired the sliotar into the net.
It was only 10 years ago but the direct game was still such a feature of hurling. Wing-backs caught the ball and would clear up the field, not trying to play through the lines or run with the ball that Calum Lyons or Kyle Hayes will today. Only 10 minutes had been played and Tipp were up 1-6 - 0-1.
The six Kilkenny fowards are now some of the best ever but the Tipp backs dominated them. Reid hit a shot too high to not be a goal and too low to not be a point, allowing Brendan Cummins to deal with it. Then, the Shefflin experiment would come to an abrupt end. He evidently wasn't match fit and could not continue. Substitued after just 12 minutes, his limping exit across the field, met with a handshake from Shane McGrath, would be representative of Kilkenny's performance.
Full-forward Richie Power took over free duty and missed his first shot but scored on his second try. Aidan Fogarty put the ball between the posts in 16th minute for Kilkenny's first point from play. The Kilkenny forward line was not its usual threatening self. That cut the deficit to four but Tipp never felt in danger from their bitter rivals.
Kelly was as reliable as ever from placed ball and his fourth free came from a passage of play that saw Padraic Maher, Noel McGrath and Brendan Maher combine. Tipp's youngsters played with no fear and had learnt a great deal from last year's heartbreak. Brendan Maher picked up some good positions on the left and the work he and both McGraths did around the middle was the platform Tipperary built from.
Tipperary had only created one goal chance through Corbett but Kilkenny had another when Eoin Larkin ran at the Tipp defence. Eddie Brennan was waiting to his left and the ball was passed out to him but, uncharacteristically, he pulled his shot wide. Kilkenny trailed by six and if Power was more efficient on frees, the lead would've been much less.
If this match was today, Kilkenny would've come out a different side after the water break but there was no change in their fractured display. TJ Reid was their best forward, scoring his first of three from play in the 24th minute before Noel McGrath wriggled past the Kilkenny half-back line. With 'Bonner' Maher to his left, McGrath opted to kick the sliotar but despite being a brilliant dual player, it was woeful. A pass to Maher could've resulted in another goal, and McGrath normally makes the right decision in attacking areas.
Power was getting better at frees, hitting over two more points to bring the difference down to just a goal. It would be the next free that would be remembered forever, though. Larkin was adjudged to have fouled corner-back Paddy Stapleton and Cummins came forward to take it. The legendary goalkeeper, behind his own 45m line, hit a monstrous point over the bar. His only ever point but on reflection, it seems Larkin was the one being fouled by Stapleton.
Minutes later, Cummins had a free from a similar range but it dropped a short. It turns out he accidentally took the first effort with his puckout hurley which gave him more distance. The little things were going Tipperary's way, like a thrown ball from Michael Fennelly that resulted in Gearoid Ryan tapping over. Tipp had reestablished a six-point lead but this Kilkenny side were too good not to turn up.
Just before half time, Larkin made another rampaging run at the Tipp backs. Full-back Paul Curran was fixated on the ball that he didn't see Power peel away from him. Such clever movement from the Carrickshock man and Larkin made the pass just at the right time. Power smashed into the roof of the net past Cummins. He added two frees in injury time to make it a one-point game. Tipp were good value for a 1-10 - 0-7 lead but it had quickly vanished.
SECOND HALF
The Tipperary faithful didn't have to wait long for the second goal. Gearoid Ryan arrowed a ball into the hand of Noel McGrath, and Tipperary now had a three-on-four situation. Corbett made a run on the right and McGrath, a visionary, hand passed through to Corbett taking out all four Kilkenny defenders. John Tennyson threw his hurley but nothing was stopping Corbett, another strike straight past Ryan.
McGrath is a wonderful playmaker but two minutes later, he would add the third goal. Cummins hit a long free that dropped in the area. Nobody picked up the ball and McGrath, making a late run, was unmarked and flicked the ball into the net. 10 minutes into the second half and Tipperary were up by seven.
Tipperary let a six-point advantage go down to one and after four unanswered Kilkenny points - two Power frees and the others from Reid and Derek Lyng - only a goal separated the sides. But the goal chance never came from Kilkenny, nor an onslaught. Tipp were in control and were not going to lose it like last year.
Time was whittling away and it was Tipperary who surged forward. Seamus Callanan, another of the kids, came off the bench and scored two fantastic points off his left and right side. TJ Reid was bizarrely subbed off for Mulhall but it didn't matter in the end. Power and Tennyson missed frees as the weight of the clock ticking towards the final whistle grew heavier on the Kilkenny players. Compared that to Eoin Kelly, who never missed a free. They played the match, not the occasion.
Points from Power and substitute John Mulhall were cancelled out by Tipp substitutes Benny Dunne, who earned redemption from the red card, and Seamus Hennessy. The match was into injury time and Kilkenny were six down. Corbett became the second ever in modern times and first since Cork's Eddie O'Brien in 1970 to score a hat-trick in a final when he set himself and guided the ball in from 'Bonner' Maher's pass.
Michael Rice's point thereafter was meaningless and when the final whistle was blown, Tipperary rejoiced. Liam Sheedy had stopped the drive for five. Kilkenny hadn't shown up and Tipperary obliterated them. Kilkenny's starting forward line scored 1-5 from play when Tipperary got 4-3. Goals changes games.
THE LEGACY
The 2010 All-Ireland final is the most watched GAA match in history, peaking at 1.236 million viewers.
Six days after the final, Tipperary trounced Galway 5-22 - 0-12 in the U21 All-Ireland final with the three Mahers, Noel McGrath, Michael Cahill and Seamus Hennessy starting, as well as unused sub Brian O'Meara and future intercounty players James Barry and John O'Dwyer.
The future of hurling seemed to be blue and goal but Kilkenny recovered and knocked Tipperary out in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. The two met in finals in 2011 and 2014 with Kilkenny winning both but Tipperary got revenge in 2016 and 2019.
In 2020, the young Tipp players are as important as ever to the side. The Mahers, Noel McGrath and Seamus Callanan remain from a decade ago and so do TJ Reid and Richie Hogan - on as a sub in 2010 - for Kilkenny.
Nobody has come close since Kilkenny to doing the five-in-a-row. The Cats did back-to-back All-Irelands in 2011 and 2012 and 2014 and 2015 but nobody has done a three-in-a-row. Tipperary's 2010 triumph prevented a seven-in-a-row from Kilkenny which would've been fully deserving of the greatest team ever. Unlucky lads.
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