‘We’ll take a bit of beating’

Laois 4-9 Tipperary 3-17

Defeats of Offaly, Wexford and Antrim in 2012 shepherded the county into the last round of qualifiers before Down halted their ambitions with a five-point win in Mullingar, so this win against a side considered to be among the better ones in the second tier carries extra weight.

Tipp’s footballers have all too often played to paltry crowds in their own county, but the presence of Eamon O’Shea’s hurlers on the same Saturday bill here provided a more appropriate soundtrack to such a meaningful day.