McGrath setting the bar higher for Tipp

“Ah sure you just go up for the toss, maybe collect the auld cup if ye win,” so often that’s the clichéd response when you put the question of the captaincy to a GAA player.

Not Tipperary’s Shane McGrath. Oh sure, he’ll take the toss, gladly accept any trophy that’s going and would be especially glad to hoist the cup over his head after tomorrow’s Allianz HL final against Kilkenny in Nowlan Park.

For Shane, however, coming from Ballinahinch, a tiny club in the hurling-mad north of the county, there is so much more to being the Tipperary captain than that.

“It’s such a massive honour for me, coming from where I come from,” he said.

“Realistically, we’re never going to be county senior champions [intermediate at the moment] so to be awarded this title, captain of the Tipperary senior team, is just massive. It’s huge for me and my family and everyone close to me around home. It’s a great buzz to be even thinking about leading out the boys the next day.”

He sees the captaincy as an added role, a responsibility that goes far beyond just being at the head of the parade.

“I’d be vocal anyway but maybe unnoticed to myself I’d be saying a bit more to lads. The league is a great time to blood new lads and maybe I’m saying a bit more to those guys because I know how they’re feeling.

“If someone had said something to me in that situation just to drive me on, I know it means an awful lot. Maybe one or two things might make a difference to one lad.”

That’s why he’s so pro-active, taking his example more from rugby than AA, part of his duties now to keep an eye on guys, make sure they’re in the proper state of mind for a game.

“All the great captains, I’d be reading up on what they did. I read about Martin Johnson when he was captain of the England rugby team and just little things he used to do or used to say.

“Before one big final he walked the team out onto the pitch — walked them down. GAA teams have a tendency that if you’re not racing onto the pitch you’re not fully right. I thought, ‘just walking the team out? Have a quick look around at the boys?’. That’s what he did and that’s something I have in my head, that we don’t have to sprint onto the field if we’re ready.”

The problem is though, if he ever does that, walks the team onto the pitch a la Johnson, and Tipperary lose he’ll be castigated!

“Sure that’s the thing, we’d all just do a Usain Bolt on it the next day! He knew too though when the boys were right and before the World Cup final he just looked around the dressing-room, decided he didn’t have to say anything. Hopefully as the year goes on I’ll be able to know that as well.”

One of those days came very early for Shane, Tipperary’s opening league game, a 12-point beating dished out by Cork in Cork. Rather than laying into the lads it was a time, he felt, to be quiet.

“I was as low as I ever was after a game. I had picked up an injury [hand] as well, was forced to come off and I thought I’d be out for a few months with that [initially a suspected break].

“The following day I got clearance on the injury so that was a boost. We just drove it on then in the following week’s training. We knew that would never, ever happen again. I think the Cork boys would agree, it was just one of those days where nothing went right for us. The only way was up, realistically, from there.

“We are a mature bunch now. We’ve played on a lot of big days as a group. We knew we just had to drive it on. We knew things would have to improve.

“Thankfully they did, we’ve reached this stage.”

Which brings us neatly back to tomorrow, a league final against Kilkenny in Nowlan Park.

“It’s an intimidating place to play, no point saying otherwise. There will be a huge Kilkenny crowd there, hopefully a big Tipperary crowd, and I’ve no doubt any neutral within 50 miles will go as well.

“It has the makings of a great game and hopefully it will be. We’ve had good days and some very bad days down there but we’ll be thinking of the good days.

“If they’re not we’ll be blown away again. They’ll know as soon as the ball is thrown in whether we’re up for it or not. They’ll know if you’re 100% committed or not, all great teams will know that. We just have to be or it will be over at half-time.”