Kilkenny, Tipperary were rivals long before 2010

It’s best practice to ignore the self-serving agendas of sporting organisations. But the comments of Tipperary’s county chairman, Sean Nugent, on the rivalry between his county and Kilkenny, in a recent interview with Jackie Cahill, deserve a response.

The rivalry between the counties is as old as the association. A glance of the records shows that both counties, hurling strongholds, have had a rivalry typical of neighbouring counties.

Such a rivalry is a fact of sport: players from both counties have been competing against each other at club, county, and inter-provincial level since the formation of the association.