O’Mahony and Tipp try not to let tactics get in way

TO what extent do tactics work in hurling? Apart from the game itself, that’s an interesting sub-plot to tomorrow’s Munster SHC final in Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

Under innovative manager Davy Fitzgerald, Waterford have become probably the most tactically-driven team in the championship, while Tipperary — well, if we’re to believe centre-back Conor O’Mahony, it’s still mostly very much off-the-cuff for the All-Ireland champions.

Asked if the perceived weakness in the Waterford full-back line was something they would have targeted tactically this week, he responded: “Not really, not yet anyway. As any team you look at the full-forward line as being the main scoring threat, they’re the boys closest to the goals and it’s going to be no different whether it’s Clare, Cork or Waterford. Our three boys inside are going to be closest to the goals and we’d probably expect them to do more scoring than the half-forwards.”

What about goals, which have become something of a hallmark of this Tipp team – surely they work hard on that in training, getting in early and breaking a team’s spirit, a la Kilkenny?

“Not really, it’s natural instinct,” he claimed. “It’s up to the player — if the chance is on and the player acknowledges it, he’s going to go for it, no one is going to say, ‘why did you go for goal?’. If it’s not, he’ll just take the point or give it to the man in the best position. We create goal chances by giving it to the man in the best position. It’s about not being selfish as a forward, it comes back to the unit and working hard for each other.

O’Mahony is well aware of Fitzgerald’s approach of course, playing under the former Clare All-Ireland-winning keeper for a few very successful years in LIT, and was impressed with his methods, his attention to detail particularly.

“Any time we played Fitzgibbon Cup he had all the other team studied, he knew who he wanted man-marked, what tactics we were going out with on the day — he had everything prepared. The Fitzgibbon Cup finals are played off over a weekend so he might have only one night to study, but he’d be up all night.”

And what, pray, might he have been telling Waterford centre-forward Shane O’Sullivan about O’Mahony this week?

“He could have a long list! We look after our own house, we’re not really going to get too bogged down on Waterford. We’ll give the few minutes to study what they’re strong at and try to counteract that, but ultimately we have to look after ourselves and get ourselves ready.”

Picture: Conor O’Mahony: Has worked under Fitzgerald. Picture: Sportsfile