By Kevin Egan

A rising tide in Cork hurling carried Kieran Kingston’s Rebels all the way to Croke Park this afternoon for the county’s first All-Ireland senior final in eight years, but his team crashed into an immovable cliff face in the first half of this afternoon’s contest against Limerick, as they fell to a 16-point defeat.

As he reflected on the game in the immediate aftermath, Kingston’s assessment was very simple – that the county’s recent minor and U-20 successes were extremely welcome, but the yardstick by which Cork hurling will be judged will always be their flagship senior team.

“Huge credit to Limerick, huge congratulations to Limerick. I said at the press conference before the game that we were going up against a team that was the best I’ve seen since the great Kilkenny team” he said afterwards.

“We know how good they are, they’re unlucky not to have four All-Irelands in a row. From our perspective, it was like trying to stop the tide with a bucket. They were just at another level to Cork today. We’ve got to be honest and say that.

“We had 13 guys playing in their first All-Ireland final today and we came up here on the back of a lot of talk around Cork hurling. The minors winning last night, Noel Furlong and his team, the first time in 20 years, and the U-20s won the last two after 22 years, which was great.

"The seniors getting to the final was another bit of momentum, I suppose, unexpectedly. But it’s really not until we starting performing at this level that we can say that, ‘Yeah, Cork hurling is in a good place.’ It’s great to have underage titles, many counties have had them before, but it’s when you start winning at this level that you say, ‘Cork are back.’

The challenge in the coming years will be to blend the undoubted talent coming up through the ranks in the county with the best of the existing senior panel, and Kingston said those senior players now have to try and make sure that they come out of this game as better players for the experience.

“They’re young but young sides have won before in Croke Park” was his immediate response.

“We came up here with belief – I said before the game that I do believe in this group. Today was a chastening experience, no question about that, but we came up against a team at another level to us today.

“I do believe that this team will be successful and, when they are, it’s days like this will make them stronger. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and I think today will make these guys stronger.

“They certainly will come up under no illusions the next time they get here – and there’s no guarantee you’re going to get here next year or the year after, because it’s a long road to get to an All-Ireland final any time”.

For today however, he was eager to simply acknowledge the brilliance of the opposition.

“When we got the goal, they reacted very well. They’re an exceptional team – there’s no team would win what they have in the last four years, five years, if they weren’t an exceptional team, it’s not possible.

“The media were raving about Dublin footballers when they won four-in-a-row and Limerick were a puck of a ball, or a disputed 65, from four-in-a-row, three Munsters and two Allianz leagues.

“We have to acknowledge that. They’re a fantastic team, no question about it – really well-managed, a humble group, and I said it before, the way they conduct themselves after a win off the field is as good as they do on the field.

“There’s great credit due to them, their families and their management team. There comes a team when you have to take your hat off and say, ‘Well done, we were beaten by a much better team,’ and that’s life, but it’s not nice.”