Tipp rule out Cork U21 switch request

Tipperary would not accede to a Cork request to put back tomorrow’s Munster U21 hurling final by 24 hours.

The two counties meet in the provincial decider at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, three days after Mark Coleman, Darragh Fitzgibbon, Shane Kingston, and Robbie O’Flynn lined out for the Cork seniors in their Munster final win over Clare.

Following their Munster U21 semi-final victory over Waterford a fortnight ago, Cork made contact with provincial bosses to request the decider be played this weekend, July 7/8, as opposed to Wednesday, July 4. Munster Council ruled this out as Sunday, July 8 was set aside for a potential Munster SHC final replay.

Cork then asked could the U21 final be provisionally fixed for this weekend and in the event of a draw in the senior decider between Cork and Clare, the U21 fixture would revert to its original slot of July 4. However, the Munster Council rejected that request.

Determined to give their senior players as sizeable a recovery period as possible before returning to U21 duty, Cork appealed for the game to be put back either 24 or 48 hours. Tipperary, however, were not agreeable.

Mark Coleman and Darragh Fitzgibbon played the full 70 minutes on Sunday, with Robbie O’Flynn replacing Shane Kingston after 59 minutes. Three more U21s — David Griffin, Tim O’Mahony and Jack O’Connor — were on the bench for the seniors at Semple Stadium.

For Coleman, Fitzgibbon, and Kingston, tomorrow’s game will be their seventh outing in six and a half weeks.

Last year, Cork acceded to a Tipperary request to move their Munster minor semi-final replay. The Cork and Tipp minors, under the watch of current U21 bosses Denis Ring and Liam Cahill, drew their Munster semi-final on a Thursday evening. Immediately after the game, it was announced the replay would take place 40 hours later. There followed discussions involving members of both camps and while Tipp asked for the replay to be switched from Saturday to Monday, Cork initially refused, only to perform a U-turn the next day.

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