Final will be a close run affair, says Sheedy

WHAT’S the difference between winners and losers? What is it in individual competition that separates Tiger Woods from the rest in golf, and in team competition, separates Kilkenny from the rest in hurling?

One of the cliches of sport is that, on any given day, any individual or any team can be beaten, so – what’s the difference? Consistency, that’s what. Tiger Woods doesn’t beat himself, neither do Brian Cody’s Kilkenny; every time they take to the arena they are ready, focused, andremain that way until the final shot, the final whistle.

Then you look at Waterford, surely up there with Kilkenny, then Cork, as one of the best teams of the past decade, but with no All-Ireland title to their credit. Why? Because they couldn’t replicate their brilliance,either individually or collectively, on a consistent basis. Year after year Waterford would feature in the game-of-the-season, usually as winners, but year after year they eventually lost, often to inferior teams.

Now, Waterford look to have been joined in the inconsistency stakes by Tipperary, whom they meet in Sunday’s Munster final, in Thurles.

Last year, their first under Liam Sheedy, Tipp swept all before them in the early months, winning the Waterford Crystal, the National League, the Munster title, before meeting Waterford in the All-Ireland semi-final. In what was their poorest display of the year they gave Davy Fitzgerald’s side a head-start of six points, recovered to take the lead entering the final quarter, then slipped again and lost.

Fast forward to 2009. In the league final against Kilkenny, Tipperary took an eight-point lead in the earlyminutes of the second half, but ended up losing in extra-time. In the Munster SHC first round, again early in the second half, Tipp went seven points clear of Cork but were left hanging on at the finish. Against Clare in the semi-final, and yet again early in the second half, Tipp went nine points clear, and yet again – well, you get the picture.

You would think then that the major challenge facing Liam Sheedy Sunday, as Tipperary manager, is to knock that inconsistency out of his charges.

And yet, he argues, it’s not that simple.

“If you’re playing teams of the calibre of Cork and Clare, they are going to have periods of dominance – this is the reality of sport. There’s no team going to go out and dominate the opposition for 70 minutes. Take the Lions in the second test – in the first half it was all the Lions, in the second half it was all South Africa.

“When you’ve got teams that have the calibre of player that Tipp and Waterford possess, or Clare or Cork or Limerick, they are going to have periods of dominance. The important thing is what you get on the scoreboard in those periods of dominance.

“We got ourselves into winning positions and then we had periods of the game where the opposition came at us. The most important thing for me as a manager is that the character of the team has been tested severely in the last two outings; in both instances we were hanging on. With five minutes to go on the clock the tide was in the opposition’s favour, and in both instances the team came out on top, the guys came off the bench and we got the result. There will be highs and lows in every match, it’ll be the same on Sunday.’’

All true, of course, every word; it’s often been said, and bears repeating – Munster hurling is a minefield, every team capable of beating the other. It’s a prestigious championship in its own right, still highly prized even in the modern era by every Munster county, and of course it now carries the added incentive of an automatic semi-final place.

He agrees: “That’s a massive prize for the winners, but the most important prize at stake is the Munster title. As Tipperary people and as champions we would love to put back-to-back Munster titles together. The added incentive – for both teams – is that you qualify for an All-Ireland semi-final. It’s a double carrot.”

Could also be a double-edged sword, however; one of the excuses offered on behalf of Tipp last year was that while Waterford were battling their way through the qualifiers, Tipp were sitting idle for five weeks, which could have explained their cold start in the semi.

It doesn’t happen with Kilkenny, however; long wait or short break, they are always ready. That’s what Tipperary need, this Sunday and every Sunday, that kind of consistency, that’s what Sheedy will need to instil into this squad.

The problem for Sheedy and Tipperary, however is it is Waterford who provide the opposition and on their day, Waterford can be simply unmatchable.

“A class side, class hurlers, a very, very potent forward line and they really showed what they’re capable of doing in the replay against Limerick. When they find their stride they’re a very difficult team to beat,” is the Tipp manager’s assessment.

He added: “We know what’s ahead of us. I keep on saying it – Munster is typically the puck of a ball. Every match we’ve played this year we’ve had our moments where we’ve been very, very good and we’ve had our moments where the opposition got on top. It’s probably going to be similar again. I’d be very surprised if it’s not puck of the ball stuff because that’s generally what Munster championship is. The lads are just mad to get a crack again at a Munster final.”