Tipperary hurlers are unknown quantity in their clash with strong favourites Waterford
Liam Cahill's Waterford are riding the crest of a wave
Jason Forde will be taking the frees for Tipperary in tomoorow's Munster senior hurling championship game against Waterford. Picture: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
Tipperary have never lost a Munster senior hurling championship game to Waterford at Walsh Park but that record is at imminent risk on Sunday, as the Deise are red-hot favourites in what will be the 47th championship meeting of the counties.
How Tipperary’s stock has plummeted! From a position of perennial championship contenders over the past decade and more, we now find ourselves in the bottom reaches of betting tables. You’ll get odds of 18/1 on Tipperary winning this year’s championship, behind Limerick, Waterford, Cork, Galway and Kilkenny. Only Clare, Wexford and Dublin are rated worse. It’s a lowly position.
Of course, our rating is evidence-based. Already facing into a transition phase, our position was worsened by injuries and other opt-outs for various reasons. The recently concluded league series underlined our difficulties, so expectations are lower than they’ve been for many years as a new championship campaign begins.
By contrast Waterford are riding a wave at the moment. The recent league win endorsed what has been an upward curve since Liam Cahill first took charge for the 2020 season. What’s sometimes forgotten is that he took over at a time when Waterford were at a particularly low ebb.
In 2019 the Deise failed to win any of their four games in Munster. In the process they conceded a total of 7 goals and 104 points, ending with a score difference of minus 52 points. They were utterly humiliated.
In their game with Tipperary that year they lost by 18 points. The game was played at Semple Stadium and ended 2-30 to 0-18. That happened a mere three years ago but it feels like an entirely different era now.
Of course, stating that we’ve never lost a senior championship game to Waterford at Walsh Park is slightly mischievous because we’ve had very few meetings with them at that venue. We won there in 1969 with a team that had the core of the side that would take All-Ireland honours two years later.
Our last championship engagement there was in 1996, where we survived a stiff enough examination before coming away with a modest three-point win, 1-14 to 1-11. There are some interesting snippets relative to Sunday. Liam Cahill on that occasion crossed paths with a certain Stephen Frampton, now one of his selection team. It was Cahill’s finest year in the jersey, winning an All-Star award at season’s end. He scored 1-2 that day in Walsh Park.
Elsewhere Colm Bonnar turned in a fine performance at number six. There’s been a lot of change in the intervening 26 years.
Waterford in their present iteration are generating quite a buzz in the hurling world. Their style is flashy, full of running and high on energy, as well as focused on goals. It’s a contrast to Limerick, for example, in recent years where their game press came further outfield and they were content with huge point totals rather than necessarily driving for goals.
But it’s not all run and rush from Waterford either; there’s a very solid core to their team. Prunty and de Burca offer a very stable anchor at the heart of the defence. Jack Fagan has adjusted well to wing back duty and they have options, with Calum Lyons still to fully return to half back, from where he starred in the past.
Iarlaith Daly is likewise on the comeback trail from injury and his brother Carthach made a huge impression against Cork in the league final. They’re young, upcoming and with sound lineage as nephews of Borris-Ileigh’s Jerry and Timmy Stapleton from the 1980s.
Cahill has options. A chastened (presumably) Austin Gleeson is again available and Jamie Barron is another name constantly referenced as an awaited returnee following injury. With a full hand, Cahill has big calls to make.
In attack the likes of Stephen Bennett and Dessie Hutchinson can be match winners but the supporting cast isn’t bad either, especially the likes of Patrick Curran and Mikey Kiely, whose development is progressing apace.
Stitch it all together and you have quite a formidable force, one with a tailwind of success now driving them on.
Against that, Colm Bonnar has so many unknowns that even Donald Rumsfeld would be hard put to list them all. We’re going to have starting debutants on Sunday, the only issue is how many. I think they’ll opt for Brian Hogan in goal but the only certainty on the full line is the in-form Cathal Barrett. On league showing you’d expect James Quigley and Craig Morgan to complete the line, unless that’s seen as too raw a formation for such as championship opener.
I’d expect, and hope, to see Seamus Kennedy somewhere in defence; in terms of pace and experience he ticks two boxes that others don’t. Ronan has to be leading from centre back and then you have the likes of Robert Byrne and Dillon Quirke chasing wings.
I wouldn’t be as dismissive of Brian McGrath as others – pace is only one aspect of the game. It reminds me of the old Franz Beckenbauer line; “you might beat me in a sprint from A to B but I won’t start at A.”
Or Mick McCarthy’s answer when asked about the pace of a certain Schillaci: “how fast can he limp?”
Above: Westside believes Brian Hogan will start in goal for Tipperary in Sunday’s opening game in the Munster senior hurling championship against Waterford
Our midfield is another known unknown. You have Dan McCormack, Barry Heffernan, Noel McGrath, Michael Breen and Alan Flynn, so you take your pick. As a link line between defence and attack it’s central to the action nowadays, either as a creator of chances or as a stopper of running moves by the opposition. It’s a role that requires huge stamina these days.
In attack I’d assume that Forde, Kehoe and John McGrath are going to start. Then you fill in the others. Bonner Maher on his return, one assumes, will likely start on the bench. Conor Bowe may have done enough to earn a debut and then you have Paul Flynn and others in the mix. It strikes one that after the starting fifteen the bench is going to be quite bare.
The bookies are offering odds of 2/1 on a Tipperary victory, which is quite a gap in a two-horse race; Waterford are at 9/4 on. In our recent record versus Waterford there’s quite a dichotomy between league and championship. In the league we’ve shared the last ten meetings, five apiece. However, in the last ten championship clashes the record shows seven Tipperary wins, two losses and one draw.
We hardly need reminding of last year’s championship clash at Páirc Uí Chaoimh and the various twists and turns that ultimately saw us on the wrong side of a 4-28 to 2-17 scoreline. In hindsight it was a game that could have veered either way. The missed goal chances were big on the Tipp side of the ledger, as well as the phantom penalty that nobody bar the referee saw.
Somehow, I don’t think a shootout will be to our advantage; Waterford have too many aces in that style of game. We’ll hope to keep it tighter, close down their running style as much as possible and make it more of a battle. It’s going to require huge energy and stamina to counteract their game but the one certainty is that if we’re stand-offish they’ll really punish us.
One encouraging angle to highlight here is that the pressure is on Waterford and traditionally they’re not good in these situations. Being hyped up is the last thing they need as a county and some of their own are doing them no favours on that front. We’ll hope the hyping continues and that they feel the full force of expectation.
From Tipp’s perspective all we can hope for is a team that’s fit, focused and fired for the occasion, and if it still falls short then so be it. Already there’s a sense that the Clare game the following week will be the real crunch.
Elsewhere it will be interesting to see how the other counties fare on the first weekend of action. How Cork respond to that league final experience will be fascinating to watch when Limerick come to town. Cork, like ourselves, are the underdogs here and they really face a fight or flight situation. I expect fireworks from them, if nothing else.
Elsewhere Kilkenny will probably stroll past Westmeath, Dublin will be too strong for Laois and Galway will be fancied to take down Wexford. Leinster certainly looks more straightforward, where the Galway/Wexford tie is the most appealing.
Finally, well-earned congratulations are due to Declan Ryan and Clonoulty Rossmore on their great win over Cappataggle in the junior B final last weekend. It’s been a remarkable campaign featuring some incredible comebacks in previous games. This time they got away early and won from the front.
Okay it’s junior B, not the most glamorous of grades, but for these lads it will be an unforgettable memory that they’ll never lose. The bonds made here will last a lifetime. In many ways it represents the very essence of what the GAA is about; it’s about parish and identity and the fellowship of lads chasing a common cause, bravely refusing to bow and loving every second of it. Well done to all involved.
I’m sure Joe Tuohy will have been thrilled with the Clonoulty win. I enjoyed a great old chin wag with Joe and Eleonore during the week, when all things GAA and topical were dissected. Great company with two very well-informed hurling people.
P.S. Thanks to Seamus O’Doherty as ever for all the statistics – the best in the business.
