League title can boost Tipp to bigger prizes, insists Flynn

A TRIP to Australia is the prize awaiting the winners of the Allianz Hurling League, but Tipperary defender Alan Flynn insists a long-haul holiday is the last thing on the minds of Premier County players. The winners of Sunday’s League decider at Nowlan Park will play All-Ireland champions Galway as part of the Sydney Irish Festival in November. However, Flynn claims that beating Kilkenny this weekend is Tipp’s only focus. ‘I haven’t even thought of that [trip to Australia],’ said the corner-back. ‘It would be nice to go there but we need to win a League, that’s more important. It has been a long time. Séamie Callanan is the only one of us who has a League medal. You saw what winning the League did for Galway last year, it drove them on. And that’s the way that we want to go.’ Flynn has been one of the finds of the campaign for manager Michael Ryan. The defender made his debut in the opening round of the League against Clare and has grown in confidence over the spring. He underlined his importance to the team with a wonderful last-ditch block to deny Limerick a certain goal in the first half of last Saturday’s semi-final. In his early 20s, the Kildangan native has put down a marker to become a defensive mainstay, but dismisses the idea that he is now established within the team. ‘You are only as good as your next game,’ Flynn said. ‘I will stay going as long as I have the jersey and give it all I can. And hopefully come Championship, I will still be there but we have a League final to look forward to first and we will see how that goes.’ Following their disappointing year as defending All-Ireland champions, Ryan has spent the spring ensuring he has a lot more options in his squad. Flynn’s clubmate Willie Connors, an underage star, made his first start against Limerick, an illustration that Ryan wants to give a chance to as many young players as possible with the round-robin format meaning they will play four Championship games in four weeks. ‘If you get the jersey, it’s up to you to hold onto it,’ Flynn explains of the dynamic within the Tipp dressing room. ‘You are not a bad hurler if you are in the Tipperary squad — that’s the way we look at it. Every day we go up to Dr Morris Park, we put in the hard work. ‘It is good to have competition. I think we have used nearly the whole panel over the League. Willie came in against Limerick and had a great game. If you get the jersey, it is up to yourself to hold onto it.’ And the appearance of Kilkenny in a League final will sharpen the minds of Tipperary players. ‘We haven’t beaten Kilkenny in Nowlan Park in a long time. We didn’t do ourselves justice the last time. We took the foot off the pedal,’ added Flynn. There’s no better time to redress recent history than this Sunday.