Liam Cahill: 'Hurling is a religion in Tipperary. I'm happy we're one of the three out of Munster'

Cahill repeatedly thanked his players for the unwavering support they showed him when results were far less kind than the season-extending win secured on Sunday.

TIPP TOP: Tipperary manager Liam Cahill has thanks his players for their support. Pic: ©INPHO/Bryan Keane.

Nowlan Park seems a strange place to start Liam Cahill’s reflection. But that is where the Tipp manager brings us. He brings us back to last year’s All-Ireland minor final.

In June of last year, Tipp went down and turned Kilkenny over on their home patch to secure a second All-Ireland minor crown in three years.

Cahill was a delighted Tipp spectator. He was also an embarrassed Tipp spectator.

“Leaving Nowlan Park, I was so happy to be a Tipperary man, but I was also so embarrassed that our flagship team didn't set that trend, that we had to rely on a group of younger players in Tipperary to show us the Tipperary way.

“The reality of it is there are big standards here in Tipperary. When you don't adhere to them, there are consequences.”

Little over a month before that minor success and following the conclusion of a winless Munster round-robin campaign, Cahill was asked about his future. The question was a consequence of three defeats - two pulverisings - from four outings.

Now emerged from those difficult times, Cahill repeatedly thanked his players for the unwavering support they showed him when results were far less kind than the season-extending win secured here.

“They've really stuck with me. They've really supported me. They've gone after everything they've been asked off. They've backed me to the hilt in what I had to do.

“The people supporting them, I've asked more of them, and they've come to the table. Everybody has worked extremely hard and I'm just happy now that we're one of the three out of Munster.

“It kind of opens up our season now to go aggressively, minimum, into the All-Ireland series and see where it takes us.”

Victory here and progression out of Munster was challenged by a third-quarter six-in-a-row from Waterford to tie matters at 0-20 to 1-17 on 51 minutes. The same as Ennis, Tipperary summoned a response. Responses that weren’t in the locker 12 months ago.

“Look, that's a sign of everything that has been done. There have been big questions asked of everybody here.

“Hurling is a religion in Tipperary. It's so, so important to everybody. To be fair, we - management, coaches, everybody involved - just didn't represent that jersey correctly last year. We just didn't and it weighed very, very heavy on us over the winter.

“We recovered massively well from the League final to put in four huge rounds in the Munster Championship, especially Round 2 with 14 players in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. We really showed the mettle and resilience that are in these players.”

The final quarter recovery here had the Munster U20 winning pair of Darragh McCarthy and Oisín O’Donoghue to the fore. McCarthy won and converted frees. O’Donoghue sniped a decisive 1-1. The goal assist came from McCarthy.

“They bring energy to the set-up. They bring no fear because they have no baggage. They're probably that little bit more in touch with the way the game has evolved as well.

“The last two and a half years has been difficult because there has been a lot of work to do to go after a little element of culture, a little element of the way our game style was, to change it to come in line with what needs to happen to take on the big teams.

“The key was to get the right players in the dressing room that would embrace that. Now that we have a mix of a number of younger players with the real, real, genuine, more experienced cohort, it's a lovely balance at the moment. It's something that I believe over the next couple of weeks that we can get a little bit more out of as the championship unfolds.”