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.