Tipp eyes focus on Cats
Earlier this season, Tipp lost to them in a cracking League final and twelve months ago they again came out on the wrong side of another marvellous contest.
"Yes, we have every incentive to get the better of Kilkenny this time. You can argue that we had them on the rack in the League final and you can say this and that. But, the fact is that we lost that game. The score at the moment is 2-0 in the last two meetings. The team speech will be very easy that day," he comments.
"Coming from the high in the League final we got a rude awakening from Clare. We got mixed up between League hurling and championship hurling. I think that Kilkenny-style hurling as opposed to Clare's style would be different. You really have to dig deep against Clare teams, which we know from over the years. But, we didn't dig deep that day in Pairc Ui Chaoimh! When we went to the well, it was dry.
"Thankfully, we have turned the corner and we are back in the semi-final. Our form hasn't been wonderful, but we're winning matches. We're struggling to see off teams in the closing stages and definitely that's an area we have to work on."
Sheedy, who had been the analyst with Tipp FM after retiring from inter-county before Michael Doyle brought him in as a selector, is unsure at this stage if Tipperary are better placed to go all the way. "There was a real dip in form against Waterford in the Munster final last year and Clare this year. While they won easily against Offaly last year, our form hasn't been totally different so far," he states.
"We all know what Kilkenny are capable of on the day. But, we know what we are capable of, too."
They also know that they need to achieve a greater level of consistency, pointing out that against Galway in the previous round they 'got sucked into a bit of a battle'. On Sunday, when Offaly finished with two late goals, Sheedy says they were thankful for the fact that they had a bigger cushion at that stage of the game. "There was a bit of a deflection for the first goal and that seemed to give Offaly a bit of impetus. Some questions started to arise again, just like in the Galway game. Definitely, it's something to work on, but you're not going to walk into an All-Ireland semi-final without having some areas to improve in."
While Kilkenny are generally regarded as the team to beat, he feels that themselves and Cork have been the form teams. "They won the two provincial championships and they are at a level above us. They are entitled to be up there, but that doesn't mean the boys below them aren't going to have a crack."
Injured Phillip Maher, operating behind the scenes, is glad to have a small involvement. But, he is finding it hard to come to terms with his situation.
"If I had got injured earlier in the year, I don't think I'd be around the place. But, I found it hard to just go. I give out the water to the lads and throw out the sliothars and it's nice to go to the matches. I have been there for the last four years and it would have been hard to walk away when you were coming in three or four times a week.
"Of course it does get harder when they're getting closer and you are not part of the team. But you have to take the good with the bad. I had a couple of good years myself. We won the All-Ireland in 2001 and I was delighted with that. I want to wish the lads well."
In full agreement with the management view that Paul Curran has settled in at full-back, Maher says that his form in training over the last three years had been impressive. "He always kept me on my toes. He had a great year with the club last year and I was saying it before I got injured that he should come into the team somewhere he was that good.
"Luckily for him, but unfortunately for me, he got in at full-back and he's hurling brilliantly there. He has been very solid for the last three or four matches. You couldn't ask any more of him."
Meanwhile, Maher is resigned to the fact that he needs lots of time to get over his knee injury, having suffered a minor setback after surgery. "I'm starting to build the leg up slowly with small weights. I'm going to take my time, I won't rush it. I'm looking to next year rather than this year."
His colleagues continue to prepare for the game. Explained captain Brian O'Meara: "Things could only get better after (the defeat by Clare). We were atrocious, deserved the criticism we got, but we still haven't fully made up for it. We have a big match in a couple of weeks and that's a test we've failed the last three times we met them. We're hoping to turn that around."
Biggest of those failures was in last year's All-Ireland semi-final. In the most testing game Kilkenny had in their run to All-Ireland honours, Tipperary succumbed and lost by four.
O'Meara said: "Kilkenny haven't been beaten in competitive hurling in nearly two years, won two National League titles, unbeaten in Leinster for years, All-Ireland champions. Until they're beaten, they are the team. This is another opportunity for us to have a crack at them, but whether we can beat them, turn it round in our favour, that's another day's work.
"We're a bit behind Kilkenny at the moment and the way things are going, they'll be hot favourites, the team to beat. They look impossible to beat, but we'll give it a rattle."
Talking down their chances also was Tipp's outstanding wing-back Paul Kelly. "We get another opportunity against Kilkenny, they stole the league final off us I suppose, but we'll have to up our performance an awful lot if we're to beat them. They were excellent in the Leinster final, Wexford stayed with them for the first half but they just pulled away in the second. We're going to have to get back to the standard we were at in 2001 if we're to have a chance. We haven't hit those peaks yet, but we're working towards the day we do click."
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