McGrath back where he belongs

TIPPERARY midfielder Shane McGrath is as willing, as easy-going and as frank an individual as ever sat down to chew the fat with the press corps.

In a way, he is representative of this Tipperary team as a group – young, confident, intelligent, no hang-ups about expressing themselves. In a way also, he’s very representative of how that group has performed so far in 2010. Coming off the back of the last two seasons of rapid and impressive progression – Munster champions in 2008 and 09, National League winners in 08, beaten league and championship finalists in 09 after two outstanding challenges against Kilkenny – Tipperary were the almost universal choice as champions-in-waiting this year, the team with the best chance of knocking Kilkenny off their lofty perch.

During the previous two years McGrath was one of the most prominent and consistent of Tipperary’s performers, and while his career was interrupted early last year (the mumps), he recovered in time to star in that All-Ireland final.