Jackie Tyrrell: Tipp hadn’t the balls to take us on

Tipperary were running scared of Kilkenny during the counties’ great modern rivalry, insists retired Kilkenny defender Jackie Tyrrell.

Writing in his new autobiography The Warrior’s Code — penned with Christy O’Connor — the nine-time All-Ireland winner is scathing of Tipp’s inability to stand up physically to Brian Cody’s powerful charges. And Tyrrell details the methods he used to target Lar Corbett in the 2011 All-Ireland final, a game that swung the dynamic between the teams back in Kilkenny’s favour.

Tyrrell writes: “In fairness to Tipp, they had some fair warriors, guys we did respect. Paul Curran was at the top of that list. Conor O’Mahony was a hardy boyo. Padraic Maher was a real leader for them, someone we always felt we had to stop to take Tipp’s energy away from them.