Cummins: Limerick not driven by external factors

Brendan Cummins says that Limerick’s determination to better themselves is what has taken them on their current very successful run.

John Kiely’s Shannonsiders will aim to become the first senior hurling outfit to lift the Liam MacCarthy five times in a row next month.

Before that though, they can claim a record sixth Munster SHC crown in a row, surpassing three previous Cork groups that have managed to do five.

Clare are the challengers in Thurles on Sunday afternoon, a side who beat Limerick in last year’s Munster round-robin but, crucially, haven’t been able to get one over on the Treaty men in the provincial decider.

What sets Limerick apart? For Cummins, who was speaking on the RTÉ GAA Podcast, it’s the drive that Limerick have

“You’d always look at an external stimulus to get you going as a team,” the former Tipperary goalkeeper said.

“In fairness to John Kiely and [Paul] Kinnerk, their magic really has been that the team has to get better, the individual has to get better, therefore, we’ll win. Rather than looking for anything externally.

“As a group we need to get better every year, not that we need to be motivated to win six in a row; can you beat your stats from the last match? Can you beat your metrics from the last game?

“Can you get more hooks, blocks or tackles? Can you use the ball more efficiently that we did in the last game? That’s been the key, that they haven’t ever really looked ahead to the prize.

“They’ve said, ‘as a collective we are going to get better every single year’, and that’s what they’ve done. If the pack can catch up and beat us well then that’s great.

“They’re not going to be motivated by external factors like winning Munster finals. That has been a big secret to the longevity of the group and the consistency that they’ve shown.

“The race is always against yourself when you get to that level. You know you have the best horse in the race so why compare yourself to any of the rest of the teams?

“Compare yourself to being better than your previous performance.”

Cummins, who won two Celtic Crosses and five Munster medals between the sticks for Tipperary, the victory the last day against Waterford was a perfect example of what Limerick are capable of when they cut loose.

“The last 15 minutes against Waterford they were two points up playing against the wind. You’d say to yourself, ‘uh oh, there’s bother here.’

“Next thing they turned on the jets and that was that.”

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Watch the Munster Hurling final, Limerick v Clare, on Sunday from 3.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to commentary on RTÉ Radio 1