Kelly says there’s no questioning Tipperary hunger for titles

LET no one try to tell Eoin Kelly that because of the back door route to the All-Ireland championship the Munster SHC has lost its lustre.

True, the Celtic Cross is still the Holy Grail, but when it was put to the Tipperary captain that it would be a pity to see Waterford’s elegant and long-serving wing-back Tony Browne finish his career without that precious All-Ireland medal, Eoin wasn’t having any of it.

“It would be fair going if Tony finishes his career with five Munster medals,” he countered.

“Everybody would love to see Tony win an All-Ireland because he deserves one, but in sport you have to take the good with the bad.

“His goal would be no different to ours — if you look at Brendan Cummins, he’s our longest serving member and he has only three Munster medals in his back pocket having given 15 or 16 years. I’m as hungry for this game, to be honest with you, because it’s a big game.”

He speaks from bitter personal experience. Back in 2000, still a minor, he broke on to the Tipperary senior team and the following year saw him pocket the full collection: Munster, All-Ireland and National League. He even won an All Star, the first of six, along with the Young Hurler of the Year award.

However, the good times ended abruptly, to the point where Kelly was beginning to despair.

“To tell the truth I was, because we went from 2001 to 2008 without winning any silverware, never mind an All-Ireland. If you ask any players, you want to win silverware, that’s why you train, you want to win trophies and that. A trophy will be on offer on Sunday and that’s what will be driving us on. A lot of us went through hard times, went through those days when we didn’t win.

“In the past decade Waterford top the pile for the number of Munster titles won — they have four, Tipp and Cork have three each. Tipp have won eight Munster titles in the last 40 years — 32 years there where they didn’t win a Munster final, so the supporters will realise it’s a massive game for us. If there’s not hunger there among the Tipp players and supporters I don’t know where it’s going it be.”

Considering that prior to 1971 Tipperary were winning Munster titles for fun, with seven in the 60s alone, Kelly has a point.

Waterford are the current Munster champions and this crop of Tipp hurlers can’t afford to turn their noses up at a provincial crown.

“A lot of the younger players had a lot of underage success, and they’re not used to being beaten,” he said. “All of that adds to a player’s mindset and mentality. But one thing I’m going to harp on about — and it’s a pleasure inside in training — is the hunger that they have; they don’t talk about what they’ve done in the last game, it’s the next game.

“Shane Bourke was there in the league, I remember that day above in Salthill when he scored 3-4 against Galway. I was sitting watching the game and wondering would we be permanently sitting here, and that’s the reality of it.

“We have a couple of subs there to come on — Benny Dunne came on against Cork and banged in a goal, we had Pa Bourke to come on as well. And it’s not even about scoring, it’s about doing the sensible thing with the ball, it’s about taking the right option, and they’re giving the right ball.

“Some subs come on and think they have to score four or five points — it’s about teamwork and hunger, and maybe we didn’t have that some seasons ago.”

They have it now, in spades.