ROYALS RUMBLED BY RAMPANT DONEGAL

DONEGAL will contest just their fourth ever All-Ireland final after administering a sobering dose of reality to Meath yesterday.

- BY PAT NOLAN

Robbie Brennan's side have been the story of the Championship, albeit spoiled somewhat by the scale of this defeat, as Donegal ran up 3-13 in the second half to better their 1-15 after halftime against Monaghan in the quarterfinal.

It was like a throwback to the days when the Ulster and Connacht champions were often cannon fodder coming to Croke Park for an All-Ireland semifinal after winning their provincial title, unable to bridge the very obvious gap that existed to the best in Leinster and Munster in a 20-year period from the mid-70s to mid-90s.

In the end, Donegal’s win was the biggest in a semifinal since Cork crushed Mayo, also by 20 points, back in 1993. There hasn't been a more comprehensive semifinal win since Kerry had 22 points to spare on Monaghan back in 1979.

But if those counties were ill-prepared for what they were facing having competed in a second rate provincial Championship, Meath arrived with a burgeoning pedigree after beating Dublin, Kerry and Galway in this campaign.

It was a hitlist that would be sufficient to win an All-Ireland in most seasons, but the beatings that many felt Meath had coming to them before now all came at once here.