Ryan takes positives from Tipp’s League run

This is a fairly startling statistic of Tipperary hurling: Of the U21-powered team that won the 2010 All-Ireland senior title, only six started against Clare in the recent Allianz Hurling League semi-final win.

A big turnover? Yes, says Michael Ryan, involved then and now as a selector, but a welcome development too.

“That’s something I would have been very conscious of, that we hadn’t moved on or blended in enough new guys over the period, and it was very tempting not to because they weren’t an old team bar four or five fellas,” he said. “We’re always talking about the eight U21s we had on the panel in 2010 and they should be there to sustain you, be the core of your team for five or six years.