Banner Beating
By Noel Dundon (Tipperary Media)
A week that began in defeat for the Tipperary senior hurling team, ended in defeat also as a miserable Munster campaign came to a welcome end. But, the in-between bits are where the real news is at – the success of the minors and U20’s gives great cause for optimism at a time when we could do with every boost we can get. So, it is with much hope that we will set sail for UPMC Nowlan Park on Saturday evening next for the All-Ireland U20 Final – the scene of a real snatch and grab against the same Offaly opposition in the minor grade a few years ago.
Offaly have impressed so far in the championship, winning a testing Leinster campaign. But, so have Tipperary and the victory over Cork in the final in Limerick on Friday was stirring, spirit-lifting stuff – especially as it is fair to say that it was somewhat unexpected.
Few outside of the Premier County gave Tipp a chance of overturning the Rebels for a second time in the campaign, but Brendan Cummins’ men held their nerve and the brilliant winning score from Darragh McCarthy was worthy of the occasion – it took some guts from the Tipp boys to see out the win and even if we got away with a certain ‘ghost goal’ it’s probably fair to say that the Tipp lads deserved their silverware. Well, we would say that, wouldn’t we!!
The minors produced a brilliant display also to win the John Doyle Cup for the very first time and how fitting it was that Cathal O’Reilly should be the first captain to accept it – the Holycross Ballycahill man has been a tremendous leader for this team and the homecoming in Holycross on the Monday evening was late, but memorable as Slievenamon rang out in the John Doyle Centre.
The Tipperary conveyor belt is still moving but the real challenge now is to bring those players through in the best manner possible. That means ensuring that they are looked after in terms of strength and conditioning, coaching and engaging in the same kind of approach which has yielded silverware at underage. That approach intensifies greatly at senior level and the key to continuity is ensuring that the players are up-to-speed with their S&C and not having to play catch-up if they happen to be called into a senior squad.
Inter county careers are getting shorter – players now are over the hill by the time they reach their early thirties so we have got to ensure that they are ready to hit the ground running once they get a senior call-up, rather than putting them through heavy S&C schedules to catch them up. S&C can take two years to get to peak conditioning and by bringing the players to that stage earlier in their careers, we get the maximum from them.
While there has been much criticism of the younger players on the senior panel failing to make an impact, it should be remembered that Tipperary has invested much in these players already and to cut them adrift now would be foolish. Players need time to get to the level – Jake Morris is a case in point. It has taken him a few seasons to get his body into the kind of shape an inter county player needs to be. He is not the finished article but he is working very hard to get there – by a country mile, he was Tipperary’s most effective forward against Cork.
Tipperary hurling is at a crossroads right now and without doubt there will be some who will walk away from the blue and gold jersey. They need to be congratulated and thanked for their efforts, no matter what level of success they achieved and how elevated their status has been. Being an inter county player is no joke – it requires incredible commitment, application and dedication – win or lose, the effort is the same. So take a bow, those who are bowing out.
The baton will pass on to others in the coming season and new leaders will have to emerge. Ronan Maher is the leader supreme right now but he needs back-up and support to steady the Premier ship and win back the support of the people – it has been a source of great embarrassment to have been out-shouted in FBD Semple Stadium by visitors over the last fortnight. Tipp supporters need to look in the mirror too, rather than just calling out players.
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