LONG READ: Tipperary must produce big performance in crucial clash

There are times when Tipperary’s hurlers resemble the girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead. When they are good they are very, very good, but when they are bad, they are horrid. Swinging through extremes has become a county trait.

That 15-point defeat to Limerick fits the pattern. It was one of those days. Last year we were humbled twice by Cork, by 10 and then 15-point margins in league and championship respectively. Then in the All-Ireland final we repaid Cork’s 15 points in what was a 30-point turnaround. We don’t do half- measures.

In 2019 we pendulumed similarly. Kilkenny felt the pain of a 14-point All-Ireland lesson but only after we’d suffered a 12-point hit to Limerick in the Munster final. Liam Cahill is familiar with the trend. In 2018 his Under 21 side caught a 13-point pasting from Cork in the Munster final; we rebounded to beat them by three in the All-Ireland decider. At times there’s no rationalising such swings.

Encouragingly, these heavy hits tend not to be knockouts. We reset, absorb the lessons and come back stronger. That, at least, is the hope ahead of Sunday’s visit to Walsh Park. For both Tipperary and Waterford the stakes are extremely high.

It may sound strange to be using words like crunch and crucial ahead of a league game in early March, but that is the reality. It’s Waterford’s final round and if they lose, they’re relegated alongside Offaly. A defeat for Tipperary would likely leave us facing similar jeopardy in our last round against Kilkenny. A win will see our status secured.

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The stage is set then for what should be a full-blooded affair. Given the requirements, and with championship day edging ever closer, Liam Cahill’s scope for experimentation is gone. This is a must-win assignment, so full focus is needed from all.

The management will be without the suspended Willie Connors and we’ll be watching to see if the injury list has shortened. Ronan Maher was an unused substitute for the Limerick game and if he’s ready to resume on Sunday it will be a major boost. Robert Doyle is said to be close to a return also, with some suggestion that Michael Breen’s injury may take longer. In the forward line Jason Forde returns from suspension.

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Waterford’s form thus far in the league has been erratic. They put in a feeble effort against Cork in the opening bout but then turned over Limerick impressively in round two. Subsequently they did enough to see off Offaly and were unlucky to lose by the minimum to Kilkenny in Nowlan Park. Last Sunday’s eight-point defeat to Galway left manager Peter Queally baffled.

Consistency has been lacking then with Waterford but on a day when they hit form, they can be a match for any side. The Ballygunner players are back in action and Tadhg de Burca returned as a substitute against Galway. A return by Austin Gleeson is reported to be imminent also. On home turf and with league status at stake, they’re likely to throw everything at this game.

Our historic record against Waterford is lopsided. The counties have met on 50 previous occasions, with Tipperary ahead on 36 wins. Waterford had 11 victories and there were three drawn matches. The teams last met at Semple Stadium in March 2023 when Tipperary won by 4-23 to 0-25; Jake Morris hit a hat-trick of goals.
Tipperary need to produce a big display here and I think they will.

Elsewhere, Derek Kent’s election as the GAA’s 42nd President was widely expected, though the margin of victory certainly wasn’t. There was an anticipation that the Wexford man would be ahead after the first count and that John Murphy would then be eliminated and his second preferences distributed.

In the event there was no need for a second count as Derek Kent had 30 votes over quota, leaving Ger Ryan and John Murphy trailing badly in his wake. With 61% of the available votes, Kent’s victory was the widest margin of recent times.

I feel deeply disappointed for Ger Ryan, whose contribution to the association in various capacities over the years wasn’t reflected in this voting. He joins a growing list of Tipperary candidates who have come up short in their quest for the top job at Croke Park.

Expressions of admiration for his courage in taking on the challenge are, I’m sure, of little consolation to the Templederry man this week. These can be bruising contests, with nothing to show at the end of it all. I suspect the margin of the result will be the most disappointing aspect.

In other business at Congress, I was delighted to see the attempt to push the All-Ireland finals forward by a few weeks meet stonewall opposition. The widespread disapproval of the move was obvious in the days and weeks leading up to Congress. It was rightly seen as an assault on the club calendar.

The top table eventually saw what was glaringly obvious and pulled the motion. That was a pity. We needed to see the figures. Some suggested that it could be up to 90% opposition, so withdrawing the motion was a face-saving exercise. Anyway, it should be the end to that particular argument.

Or maybe not. Certainly not if people like Donal Óg Cusack have any influence. The proposal for August All-Irelands has just been blown out of the park and Donal Óg is urging Derek Kent to embrace the same failed suggestion. It sounded a bit like those Japanese warriors still holding out in the jungle years later, unaware that World War 2 is over. The ship has sailed, Donal Óg.

Congress’ rejection of this proposal was a welcome endorsement of the split season. The concept has its vocal opponents in the media – Donal Óg isn’t alone – but what we saw at Croke Park last weekend was grassroots sentiment having its day. People countrywide see the benefits of the split season and are not prepared to tolerate any clawback.

Since the split season was introduced attendances at club games have increased very significantly. That should be no surprise. You now have a clearly defined club season, with games being played in summer conditions. The fans respond.

Also, commercial revenue in the GAA has increased majorly in recent years, despite the shortened inter-county season. All the indicators, therefore, suggest that the split season model is a success. Yet the detractors continue to fight a losing battle.

In other Congress moves the football-style dissent rule was introduced into hurling. Dissent will now be penalised by bringing the free forward 30 metres. Prior to this, dissent could be punished by advancing the ball 13 metres, so the change merely increases the punishment by just over doubling the distance.

Of course, the old rule was regularly ignored, so I assume there will be more emphasis on enforcement this time.
What brought little comment was the fact that the rule will also apply to sideline personnel and will include any dissent shown at half-time. This could mean restarting the second half with a free being awarded. Zip it, will be the message to players and mentors alike.

Finally, the motion to return the All-Ireland minor finals to their role as curtain raisers to the senior finals in Croke Park was heavily defeated. The experience of recent minor finals as standalone events was a strong argument against the proposal. Just think of Tipperary’s minor wins at Nowlan Park in 2022 and 2024.

Would they have gained anything by being played in front of a sparsely populated Croke Park? Then there’s the financial and access factors, where more partisan followers can attend and for much less than they’d pay on All-Ireland final day.
All we need now is a change back to Under 18 in place of Under 17, something Croke Park has so far resisted.