Anthony Daly: Tipperary to tiptoe quietly through the front door

Tipp are heading into this campaign with a chip on their shoulders. They've had a full 14 months of listening to the theory that Kilkenny did Tipp the biggest favour in their history by taking Limerick out of the equation last year

Sat, 31 Oct, 2020 - 17:30

Anthony Daly

A while back, when I was doing one-on-one interviews for the Irish Examiner podcasts, I asked a member of the Tipperary backroom team if he’d be interested in sitting down for a chat on Zoom. Even though the championship was weeks away, and I promised I wouldn’t ask him any questions about the current set-up, he politely declined.

“Ye are the new Kilkenny, kid,” I quipped in jest. “Say nothing, and keep saying nothing.”

Brian Cody and Jim Gavin have certainly changed the dynamic of how the top teams conduct their business in the media, because every manager has followed their lead. You can’t argue with that mentality, especially when you look at what Kilkenny and Dublin achieved. It’s easy for everyone else to think, ‘Well it works for them, so why should we give them an advantage by being so open with our opinions?”

I was a little taken aback when the request was turned down but I also fully understood where it was coming from. Liam Sheedy used to work in the media, but I could still picture him saying: “Hi, I don’t care how we do it but I want back-to-back, so shut yere mouths.”

Tipperary are All-Ireland champions but, outside of that inner motivation to win successive All-Irelands for the first time in 55 years, Tipp are also heading into this campaign with a chip on their shoulders. As well as getting a clipping from Limerick in last year’s Munster final, they’ve also had a full 14 months of listening to the theory that Kilkenny did Tipp the biggest favour in their history by taking Limerick out of the equation in the All-Ireland semi-final.

Now, Tipp have had seven more days to listen to the expressed belief that Limerick — despite Clare’s inadequacies — have gone to another level again. Have they? I know Sheedy and his army certainly won’t think so, especially when they’ll feel they can get after a vulnerable looking Limerick full-back line.

Clare only exploited those cracks once last weekend, when Limerick showed naiveite for Ryan Taylor’s goal, and I’m sure plenty of questions will have been rattling around in John Kiely’s head last Sunday night. ‘Did I learn enough about my full-back line? Is Barry Nash, who grew up as a forward, fully comfortable back there? Could I try Barry on the wing and push Paddy O’Loughlin back into the corner?’

Conversely, Sheedy and Tipp will believe they have their answers to those questions. They’ll think they can expose those cracks into a canyon and that there are green flags on offer with Seamie Callanan and John McGrath inside.

Limerick will certainly have the advantage of having played a game but freshness, and avoiding injury, is a huge part of this championship for Tipp. That was obvious in the challenge games they played, none of which were against any of the other top eight sides in the Liam MacCarthy.

I also believe Tipp will have benefitted more than any other side from the longer break, and the subsequent revised championship format. Even as All-Ireland champions, and the confidence which stems from it, that round-robin provincial format is still an absolute minefield. I’m being honest when I say that Tipp may not have even come out of Munster if they faced that format last May.

Limerick have to deal with that quick turnaround, which is as much mental as physical. You have momentum and form but it’s still not always that easy to mentally come down, before then quickly getting back up to the right pitch again within seven days.

Everyone says Limerick won at a canter last weekend but, the more I thought about it, that wasn’t the case. Limerick blew Clare away when they ramped up the intensity but where was that intensity in the first half? Tony Kelly’s genius apart, the sides were still level at half-time. Clare had the deficit down to one point entering the third quarter. If Clare hadn’t faded in the last 10 minutes, a 10-point hiding may have been a five-point defeat. Would it then qualify as a hammering?

Tipp will have a serious look at how the Clare half-back line held their ground in the first half, which enabled them to stay in the game. Clare still coughed up 12 points from play to Tom Morrissey, Gearóid Hegarty, and Kyle Hayes but Tipp will have guys like Dan McCormack and Patrick ‘Bonner’ Maher rattling into those Limerick half-forwards. So Tipp will ask far more serious questions of the Limerick system than Clare were able to, especially when you look at the class, power, and experience Tipp have in their half-back line.

Both teams are loaded with power and physique so it will be a massive physical battle. There are so many proven warriors on show that we could be in for an epic but you also can’t ignore the different age-profiles of both squads. Tipp have the class, playmakers, and finishers but Limerick have that package too, plus the legs and athleticism to boot. That’s why this is a game-breaker for Tipp’s season. Are they built for the long road of the qualifiers?

I know as a manager that you have to gamble, and even though he has platoons of young talent, you can see that Sheedy is gambling by sticking with his tried and trusted lieutenants. His attitude clearly is ‘Four games to secure back-to-back’.

It would definitely copper-fasten Sheedy’s status as one of the great managers but the Tipp lads desperately want it too, especially the older crew. A lot of them have three All-Irelands but if they’re to be remembered in the same iconic vein as former Tipp greats, winning successive All-Irelands will certainly move them into that pantheon.

Going through the front door is the best way for Tipp and, while I still think Limerick will appear around All-Ireland final day, I fancy Tipp to get there tomorrow even if it takes longer than 70 minutes.