THE STATS DON’T LIE, BUT WE’RE READY THIS TIME
Tipperary have failed to defend their All-Ireland crown on the last five occasions but aiming high in the League may help them this time
THE morning after the night before. A cross section of those gathered in the foyer of the old Burlington Hotel tells you everything about Tipperary’s All-Ireland final triumph. Celebrations that stretched into the wee hours are writ large on the faces of various supporters and players alike who are still happily chewing over the bones of a thrilling victory against Kilkenny.
Michael Ryan though, has the fresh bounce of someone who could be on a relaxing mini break in the capital. Already, it’s about getting everyone else on-message. He doesn’t need a historian to remind him that it’s 1964-65 since the county last defended an All-Ireland senior title. So he sets out his stall straight away.
‘We will certainly keep our feet on the ground. We are renowned in Tipp for getting carried away with ourselves when we win – we’ll see how we get on with that. In our backroom team, we have very, very strong people, very mature people. I think we’ve learned a lot of hard lessons over the years that we need to manage victory a lot better than we have done.’
The manager’s sentiment is echoed in the words of captain Brendan Maher. ‘In 2010 we won and there was a lot expected of us. We didn’t get the success in the following years and we want to change it this time,’ he said.
If Tipperary want to title the year ahead, it may as well be ‘defence of the realm’.
So where did it all go wrong in the previous 52 years, or the five failed attempts to hang on to the Liam MacCarthy Cup?
Eoin Kelly was there for the last two. When it comes to 2011 in particular, he believes a bit of revisionism has taken place since Tipperary fell to Kilkenny in an All-Ireland final rematch. He explains how their own small historical footnote was overlooked because that decider went the wrong way.
‘I know when we won the All-Ireland in 2010, Tipperary, never mind an All-Ireland in the following year, hadn’t won a Munster final since 1964-65. So we actually broke a small obstacle right there in 2011 by winning a Munster the year after winning the All-Ireland,’ said Kelly.
‘That was a small goal that we had. So when we came back, yeah, the long-term goal was winning the AllIreland. But we had short-term goals as well. And I remember that year too – the League is always taken seriously by Tipp but definitely the Munster Championship that year was a big goal.
‘And we won it. Won a hard one. Because to win three games in Munster – go back on the records, only a few teams have won Munster after coming through the quarter-final stage. Maybe three or four teams in the last 20 years popping up. So that was significant.’
The county’s all-time leading Championship scorer has a keen sense of the county’s inability to kick on after success.
‘Here’s one statistic. After the 2010 All-Ireland, Tipperary lost their first League game in 2011 to Kilkenny, 1-17 to 1-11 under lights. Go back to 2001, first League game below in Thurles. Nice crowd, Limerick came to town, I don’t know was it 2-13 to 1-12, and won it by a goal and a point,’ said Kelly.
‘So in those years Tipperary lost their first League game after winning an All-Ireland. I think Michael Ryan is nipping it in the bud. I think he’s saying, “let’s attack the League”. If some of his players finish their careers without League medals, they will be disappointed. Because it’s a prestigious medal.’
Tipperary have changed that much already by bludgeoning Dublin by 16 points at Croke Park last Saturday night.
‘It’s February, and already there’s talk of All-Irelands. I think that’s where the thing can be lost amongst supporters, which then feeds into players who are hearing this and that. All I’ve heard from Michael Ryan who has stated a message loud and clear on television last Saturday evening, that two of his current panel have League medals since 2008: Darren Gleeson and Séamus Callanan. If you meet a few people that are interested in hurling, they will relay that statement back to you. So you can see Tipperary are firmly set on performing in the League.
‘Staying on as manager too means that for the pre 2017 season, he had a big handle on preparation and let’s say, more importantly, the celebrations. Have no doubt about it, there is a three or four-month period where there are medal presentations, holidays, social events, and listening about 2016 can weaken the mind. But I think Michael Ryan has tried to counteract that early,’ added Kelly.
Cork have usually been the bane of Tipperary’s life when it comes to title defences, spoiling the party three of the last five times, most famously in 1990, when the ‘donkeys don’t win derbies’ comment by Babs Keating became the stick with which to beat the champions. When Tipperary won again in ’91, it just made that gap year all the more galling.
Tipp have good reason to target a League run this time around. In fact, it’s easy to join the dots between
‘LISTENING TO ALL THE TALK ABOUT 2016 CAN WEAKEN THE MIND ’
League success and corresponding All-Irelands, if not in the same year but certainly index-linked; 1964-65, a double that mirrored September glory; 1968 set up the ’71 Championship; 1988 prefaced a brace of AllIrelands; 2001 generated momentum under Nicky English all the way to the steps of the Hogan Stand.
For all the awkwardness created by the change of management after 2010 with Liam Sheedy stepping down and Michael Ryan and Éamon O’Shea going too, Kelly still points to how the team purred under Declan Ryan in high summer when they obliterated Waterford in the Munster final.
‘I can only answer this in relation to 2011,’ explains Kelly. ‘We probably peaked in the Munster Championship. Our seven goals opened everyone’s eyes to, “well how do we approach this Tipperary team?”. Dublin went very defensive in the semi-final. We only scored a goal that day. Lar (Corbett) poked one over the line. (It) Wasn’t a fancy goal. I’d say Kilkenny then looked at our movement and set up tactically to stop us.’
Did they get caught by over-playing their hand? Should they have kept something back?
‘You can’t do that in hurling. You have to go for it. If you score seven goals and can score nine, you’ll score the nine. Kilkenny were way hungrier, more tactically aware in the 2011 final, and we were left chasing the game always. They hit the ground running. We were like rabbits in the headlights.’
This time around, Tipp want to hit the ground running.