Can the League Famine be ended?.
By Noel Dundon
It’s hard to believe that in the storied history of famed Thurles Sarsfields, only three of their men have had the honour of lifting the league silverware for Tipp – Mickey Rattler Byrne in 1956/57; Tony Wall in 1959/60 when Tipperary and Cork last met in a final; and the late, great Jimmy Doyle in 1964/’65.
So, that puts current captain Ronan Maher in a unique position as he heads into the decider against Cork in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday for that sold out spectacle.
Sold out – that’s how a lot of supporters feel alright with all of the tickets for this much anticipated clash having disappeared in minutes. You would have to have sympathy for supporters who try to hold down a day job and cannot get online to buy tickets during their hours of work. Expect Tipp to be well out-numbered on Sunday.
Yes, Croke Park would surely have been a better option and the question has to be asked, at what stage are agreements between counties put aside for the betterment of the common good? Headquarters would have been close to capacity considering the two finals on offer – Cork and Offaly are stone mad for hurling at the present time, and Tipperary and Waterford would have travelled in strong numbers too. So, the GAA by allowing Páirc Uí Chaoimh to be selected as the venue has denied itself the chance to almost double capacity.
Yes, I know it’s not as simple as all that, but it really ought to be. The Association should be matching demand with supply. Sadly, on this occasion, the ordinary supporter has been let down again.
But back to the game. Can Tipperary end a famine even greater than the one halted by Babs’ Babes back in 1987 when they bridged the 16 year Munster championship chasm? To do so would be a fine achievement and would see Ronan Maher accompany the likes of Eoin Kelly (2008), Tommy Dunne (1999 and 2001), George Frend (1993/94), Pa O’Neill (1987/88) and Paddy Williams (1978/79) as the leading men outside of the golden era of the sixties which helped Tipp establish the ‘league specialists’ moniker.
Victory would also give Tipp a 20th title and would rebalance the win/loss ratio to 50/50. A 40th final for Tipp then and a chance to go one title clear of the chasing pack from across the border in Kilkenny – they have won five titles in the time since we won our last one, by the way. We have lost five titles since 2008 – in the same period Kilkenny have lost three so we can clearly see how that Cody era brought the Cats well up the pecking order into second place.
Cork have also lost five titles since their last victory in 1998 – on home turf, they are highly fancied to bridge that sizeable gap and it will take a mighty effort to stop them. We’ll see.
Football championship kicks off.
The Tipp senior footballers will kick start their championship campaign next weekend when they entertain Waterford in the first round. Philly Ryan will be hoping that the experience gained by his new charges in the league will stand them in good stead for what is a potentially tricky clash. We would expect to defeat Waterford, but that has not always happened and the management team will be very conscious of extracting the best possible performance from their players if they are to emerge with a championship win.
Minor worries for Woodlock and Cummins.
We’ve had cause of late to laud the success of underage teams in Tipperary, especially in second level competitions. And, the expectation was that this success would transition into the blue and gold jersey with relative ease. Didn’t happen last week though with the U20 side falling poorly in the opener in FBD Semple Stadium, followed by a similar fate for the minors who were somewhat more unlucky.
The U20 showing gives cause for real concern though and the fact that they travel to Cork next leaves them with one hell of a mountain to climb. Both management sides will point to having been without vital panel members due to other commitments, but that situation should be rectified now. It will be a busy few days for the senior boys in the U20 squad – never will their leadership be required more than in that battle on Leeside – only a few days before they travel south again for the league final. Big games on the horizon then.