Cathal Barrett: 'If you listen to everything outside the dressing room, what is the point of togging out?'

The Tipperary corner-back said the team had to produce a response to the no-show against Limerick.

Waterford's Dessie Hutchinson is tackled by Tipperary's Cathal Barrett. Pic: ©INPHO/Ken Sutton

Cathal Barrett’s forehead is smeared in vaseline. War paint. Calum Lyons emerges through the narrow Walsh Park tunnel and passes behind Barrett. His white shirt is smeared red. A picture of war.

Lyons had been a picture of electricity throughout the second half. On 68 minutes, he emerged from a thicket of bodies with the Tipperary restart in his paw. Hurtling down the stand side, the half-back arrowed over a trademark Lyons point. Waterford three in front.

Lyons laid on the assist for Jack Prendergast to propel the hosts four in front at the beginning of injury-time. Waterford’s opportunity was now. The opportunity to send Tipperary further into the championship soil.

Tipp were not for burying. They’d been waked and buried enough during the six days previous. Heck, it was a surprise that they hadn’t shown up on the RIP.ie notices at some point following the Limerick laceration.

“It was a massive response,” Barrett says of not only wiping out Waterford’s four-point lead, but piecing themselves back together post-Gaelic Grounds guillotine.

“If you were looking back six days ago around the country you would have said Tipp are dead and buried, there is nothing coming through, and you know yourself what is said after losing a match. But losing the way we did was a fierce rattle to everyone.” 

Waterford's Calum Lyons scores a point against Tipperary. Picture: ©INPHO/Ken Sutton

From rattled to relevant. The point earned has given them a pulse in the round-robin. The point earned showed there is a pulse in this team.

“We showed ourselves we are not the Tipperary that showed up against Limerick. No Tipperary team even showed up against Limerick. We know that. To not put any of the stamp from training in that match was a big disappointment. But we just had to move on.” 

They moved on and moved through the flood of negative commentary that greeted their 2-28 to 0-17 hammering. After six days of hard listening, it was Tipp’s turn to speak. They left it late to clear their throat.

“If you listen to everything outside the dressing room, what is the point of even togging out,” the corner-back continued.

“We don't care what is said outside the dressing room. We care what we say inside the four walls of the dressing room, and what our supporters think of us because obviously we want to bring our supporters with us, so we don't want to be letting them down either.

“We don't want to be letting our families or ourselves down. We did that last weekend, so I think we came out here, gave a good statement and showed good character of ourselves to come back and take a point.

“By no means could you say are we back in it, or could you say we are out of it. We got a point, we have to build for Cork, and see can we get two points there.”