Ryan admits mistakes in meltdown

Former Tipperary boss Declan Ryan admitted yesterday his side should have changed tactics 10 minutes into the second half of the All-Ireland hurling semi-final debacle against Kilkenny.

Ryan also conceded mistakes were made during his two-year spell in charge. But he defended Tipperary’s overall approach against Kilkenny — and insisted he had never experienced a better half-time dressing room atmosphere as a player or manager.

Tipp had come from five points down to lead by a point at the break, before Kilkenny opened up in merciless fashion in the second half to win by 18 points.

Ryan opted to deploy Lar Corbett, scorer of three goals in the 2010 All-Ireland final between the sides, in a direct man-marking role on Tommy Walsh, which was an obvious attempt to unsettle the Kilkenny wing-back.

What developed was a much-talked about sideshow that also involved Corbett’s Thurles Sarsfields clubmate Pa Bourke and Kilkenny defender Jackie Tyrrell.

Ryan, speaking to Tipperary Mid-West Radio, reflected: “There’s been a lot of comment by other experts outside of management and players about Lar’s game-plan. I could say it worked very well for 45 minutes and the Kilkenny backs were at sixes and sevens and that’s why we scored 1-3 prior to half-time. If I was to take criticism on it, and I believe there’s some out there, no doubt it would be that we should have changed it around maybe 10 minutes into the second half.”

Ryan added: “There’s a lot of comment about what Lar was at there during the game. It’s been a difficult enough time since the Kilkenny game but in my time involved as a player or as a manager, I haven’t been in a dressing room at half-time where things have been better.

Ryan, winner of three All-Ireland senior medals as a player, guided Tipperary to successive Munster SHC crowns in 2011 and 2012.

But Tipp lost last year’s All-Ireland final against Kilkenny and suffered the county’s worst championship defeat since 1897 when the ancient rivals met at the penultimate stage of the 2012 season.

That defeat brought the curtain down on Ryan’s spell in the hot seat and he has now urged his successor to learn from the mistakes of his regime.

Ryan said: “I don’t think there’s any great panic in getting a new management team in place. I think the important thing is that you get someone in who’s maybe going to learn from the mistakes that we made over the last couple of years, and no doubt we made plenty of mistakes.

“I’m well aware of that but as the saying goes — the man who never made a mistake never made anything.”

Ryan also defended his decision to bring his squad to Bere Island in Cork for a tough boot camp just three weeks before the Kilkenny game.

He admitted that the timing of the get-together could have been better as the weekend clashed with a number of local club fixtures but insisted that the Bere Island experience was “absolutely fantastic”.

He said: “We went down for a bit of team bonding and it was absolutely fantastic. The more experienced players on the squad said that it was the best training session that they ever did, the best team bonding session that they ever did. And these are guys that have been around since 1999, 2000.

“The proof of it was that you had Pa Bourke scoring 6-3 on that same weekend and you had exceptional performances from Pádraic Maher, Michael Cahill and Lar for their club (Thurles Sarsfields). Our own men in Clonoulty-Rossmore played very well that weekend in a challenge against one of the top teams in Munster.

“Maybe the timing of the weekend wasn’t exactly as good as it could have been but like any job, you learn as you go along Speaking on Mid-West Radio, Ryan also thanked family, friends and neighbours for their support in the aftermath of the Kilkenny game.

He added: “I’m not one for the social media networks but I believe there has been some criticism on it there. I think it’s important for people to understand the amount of time and effort put into it there. I heard criticism at first hand of the previous management in 2008 after losing the All-Ireland semi-final and particularly after the Cork game in 2010, when we were beaten by 10 points.

“I was well aware of the type of criticism that’s out there and what management get when you’re not successful. Putting two Munster titles back to back and getting the team to an All-Ireland final has been seen as a failure by some Tipperary people but the real loyal supporters know the huge amount of work that we as a management team put in there and the huge amount of sacrifices that the players make.”

Ryan has also backed the current group of Tipperary players to win another All-Ireland title.

He said: “There’s huge talent there, there’s no doubt about that and there’s another All-Ireland in this team.

“We have to be mindful as well that we’re living in a time when maybe the greatest team of all time is playing the game and have to bear that in mind.”