Austin keeping the faith as Tipperary bidding to topple mighty Kingdom

FOUR years on and Phillip Austin recalls with clarity his daunting introduction to senior inter-county championship football.

June 2006 saw Tipperary turn up in Fitzgerald Stadium to face the hosts in a Munster semi-final and Austin found himself in the company of Marc O Sé for the afternoon.

“That game down in Killarney was my first senior game. It was a big step up. Marking Marc O Sé was a hard task and as a young fella I found it difficult. We lost that and that’s the way it’s been when I’ve played Kerry.

“I’ve never beaten them.”

On Sunday, Austin attempts to end that losing streak. Tipperary welcome the All-Ireland champions to their own backyard in Semple Stadium for the Munster opener, yet are better-equipped to compete than when Austin started out.

This spring has seen Tipperary rub shoulders with elite sides in Division 2 and despite ultimately suffering relegation, missions in the likes of Crossmaglen and Newry helped further their football education.

“The standard of football we played in Division Two will stand to us. I think we could have, in a way, pushed for promotion. We were unlucky with a few games we lost by a couple of points. A problem was our starts in the matches – we never really started well. That has to be improved on Sunday if we’re going to stand a chance.”

The highlight for the county this spring was away from the senior grade, when their U21 side edged out Kerry for a momentous Munster football triumph. Austin suffered his own share of disappointments at that grade and seeing senior teammates like Ciarán McDonald and Sean Carey succeed left him hugely heartened.

“It gave us a big boost because we have five or six U21s with the seniors. They’re very exuberant. They come in and they give great spirit to the team.

“When you see them able to go down there and beat Kerry, it gives us heart.”

Tipperary’s revival in the last few years has been orchestrated by the arrival of John Evans to the helm. Austin enthuses about the Kerryman’s input.

He said: “John Evans has given us a lot of belief that would not have been there in the past. I think he made us realise that we are talented. It’s like an X-factor he has. He’s able to gel us together and we’re able to work together and the style of football (he promotes) is second to none.”

Austin’s own performance graph has travelled in an upward curve since Evans installed him at centre-forward. There, he has helped alleviate the scoring pressure on Barry Grogan but a persistent cramp problem has hampered progress.

“I have this cramp problem that I seem to get at the end of games. We’ve been looking at different ways of trying to sort it out. It always comes at county level because of the bigger intensity to club level. About a year and a half ago it first cropped up and we still haven’t been able to rectify the problem. It’s a mystery.”

Austin hails from Borrisokane in the hurling heartland in the north of the county and he featured prominently with the small ball in contesting the 2006 All-Ireland U21 hurling final with Tipperary.

But football has proven a stronger lure these last few years.

“I’d probably be more of a hurling man with the club at home but I love football. I love playing football with the boys and under John Evans it’s a pleasure to play. He makes you feel good about yourself. It’s a big game for us on Sunday. We’re the underdogs but we’re looking forward to it.”