'It's just shrewd management' - Jason Forde praises Tipperary's use of sweeper in All-Ireland hurling final

Forde took great satisfaction in seeing Liam Cahill get his due credit after a difficult 2024 season.

SWEEPER'S A KEEPER: Tipperary Hurler Jason Forde demonstrating the importance of healthy eating and hydration for peak performance. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Trying the same thing and expecting a different outcome was not the hill Liam Cahill was going to die on in this year’s All-Ireland final.

A sweeper system was supposedly anathema to him and his devious deploying of Bryan O’Mara in that role means his Tipperary sides will likely never be trusted by their fellow hurling bluebloods to play conventional again.

But as Jason Forde says, something had to change. Notwithstanding Darragh McCarthy’s early red card in the Munster game, Cork had put seven goals past them in their two previous meetings and seven in the semi-final win over Dublin alone.

When the management presented the team with the game-plan the week before, Forde saw the logic in it.

“I wasn't shocked, to be honest. A lot of the Tipperary teams I've played on since I came into the thing, I don't think we've ever kind of gone with a plus-one ourselves.

“We've found ourselves in that situation a number of times where other teams have maybe deployed a sweeper and you end up with an extra back.

"For a lot of lads, it probably wasn't anything new. Bryan O'Meara has played that role for UL for a good number of years and he's well equipped to do it because he's such an athlete being able to cover ground and stuff.

“You saw that they [Cork] opened us up for goals in the league final and in the Munster championship, so we had to do something to try and counteract that. Byran played it superbly well. He covered off that side of the field and mopped up a lot of ball. I just think it was really clever from the lads."

It meant the unwritten man-on-man rule of engagement with Cork and Kilkenny was breached but the current location of the Liam MacCarthy Cup is all that Cahill needs to say about that.

As Forde argues: "I suppose it's horses for courses and you have to see what you're coming up against. Liam did say, and it probably threw people off maybe in the week before, that a Liam Cahill team never played with a plus-one. It's just shrewd management and fair play to Liam for doing it.

Safefood, in collaboration with the GAA, today launched 'Fuel Their Game', a new suite of resources designed to support youth players, parents, and coaches in making informed food choices to enhance their Gaelic games activity and overall health and wellbeing. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

“It wasn't a pride thing with him that he'd never do something like that. He was seeing what's the best way I can set up this team to be successful. Next year I'm sure it'll revert back to 15 on 15 for most games. Again, it's just whatever way you can work it to give yourself an advantage."

Forde took great satisfaction in seeing Cahill get his due credit after a difficult 2024 season. Ditto strength and conditioning coach Angelo Walsh who too had come in for some criticism the season previous.

“I honestly did think that we were fitter this year. Maybe it comes back to all that management team kind of working together in sync that we didn't pick up as many injuries.

"I think we were very lucky this year in terms of the injuries that we had barring my own (Silvermines) club-mate Mikey Corcoran getting injured the week before the All-Ireland. That's important that you're keeping your best players on the field as well.

“Just personally delighted for Angelo because he did come under the pump a lot last year after we got knocked out. I think he's more than shown what he's capable of doing this year.”

And obviously there was immense satisfaction for the players too who had also felt the brunt of the negativity that followed their early championship exit in 2024.

“I don't think motivation was going to be an issue anyway,” recalled Forde, who confirmed he will be “raring to go” for a 14th senior season with Tipperary next year.

“We got in the neck from a lot of people in Tipp. We’re a mad hurling county and people don't be shy about letting know what you haven't done so well.”

At 19, Forde’s fellow inside forward McCarthy’s 1-13 in the All-Ireland final was a precocious display not seen by a teenager at that stage since Shane O’Donnell in 2013.

Having 24 seasons of experience beside him in Forde and John McGrath helped but the pair were careful not to overwhelm him.

“We'll obviously be having different discussions and stuff like that,” said Forde, “but Darragh’s kind of a carefree kind of a fella anyway, so you don't want to be kind of bog him down with too much.”

* Jason Forde was speaking at the launch of Safefood’s “Fuel Their Game” collaboration with the GAA, a new suite of resources designed to support youth players, parents, and coaches in making informed food choices to enhance their Gaelic games activity and overall health and wellbeing.