Time for Tipperary Under 20 hurlers to 'write a new chapter,' says manager Brendan Cummins

As he fine tunes his team’s preparations for this Saturday’s All-Ireland final against Kilkenny at UPMC Nowlan Park (3pm), manager Brendan Cummins says there are two sides of the coin for Tipperary’s Under 20 hurling team.

“Since we took over four seasons ago, the key priority has been the development of players so that they’re ready to take the next big, massive step of being called into Liam Cahill’s county senior panel,” he says.

“We’ve played in three of the last four Munster finals (winning two). That gives players the added experience of big games, which they will need to handle the pressure and intensity of senior hurling.

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“Overall, that’s a very good stepping stone for the development pathway. And if success comes along as well for us that’s brilliant, as it helps with the players’ confidence. Hopefully more players will progress onto the senior team next year or the following year”.

The path to the Tipperary senior team has already been walked by Darragh McCarthy, Oisín O’Donoghue and Sam O’Farrell, who will be key players in Tipperary’s bid for All-Ireland glory on Saturday.

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Has it been difficult for him and the Under 20 management team to manage the workload of those players, along with their commitment to the senior panel?

“Not really,” says the Ballybacon/Grange clubman.

“Liam Cahill and I have a great relationship and we talk regularly enough. The pathway is clear for all the players”.
He says that McCarthy, O’Donoghue and O’Farrell are with the seniors all the time.

“They are in that set-up and there are no blurred lines. Thankfully, Liam Cahill gives them back to us before matches. When they come back to our panel they give us a huge boost because they are very vocal and great leaders.
"It's a win-win situation”.

Tipperary’s return to the final provides them with the opportunity to atone for their defeat in last year’s decider, when they were beaten by Offaly by six points (2-20 to 2-14) at the same venue.

Tipperary have several survivors from last year’s panel, including their three current senior panellists, along with players such as Eoin Horgan, Podge O’Dwyer, Aaron O’Halloran, Mason Cawley, Adam Daly, Cathal English and Conor Martin.
“We hope that the experience of last year will stand to them,” says Brendan Cummins.

“But the lads are fully aware that last year’s game is gone and they have to write a new chapter”.

He says that newer players such as David Ryan, David Costigan and Adam Ryan have also given them a big push.

“The competition for places is such that some players from last year may not make the panel for this year’s final. While gutted that they haven’t been able to make it so far, we haven’t had one ounce of anyone giving out.

“A lot of what has driven the group forward is the attitude of the panel, outside of the players on the first 24.

“There’s bound to be a lot of disappointment if you were on the team last year and you’re not on it this year. But there’s always time and room for development. Darragh McCarthy couldn’t make the minor team a few years ago and now he’s a senior player”.

The manager is pleased that they have had a week longer to prepare for the final than they did twelve months ago.
“We’ve had a couple of weeks to prepare properly for the game and we’ll need it, because Kilkenny are really impressive. We hope we’ll have enough done to get us over the line.

“There’s no doubt that Kilkenny have a big, strong, physical team with unbelievable hurling ability. We played them in a couple of challenges earlier in the year and we know there’s a big challenge coming down the road. It will be a great test for our group.

“Getting a performance from our team is going to be the key, and hopefully we’ll get a couple of lucky breaks here and there”.

Reflecting on his team’s provincial campaign, he says that “Clare had a good look at us in Sixmilebridge in the early stages (a game that his team won by 3-21 to 0-21). That game wasn’t a true reflection of Clare and they subsequently beat Limerick, Waterford and Cork.

“They had huge momentum going into the Munster final. With 15 minutes left, we were down a few points but the lads didn’t panic, they tried to do the right thing all the time. Clare really stifled us for long periods but we got a few breaks here and there”.

He agreed that his team had shown great character to win (on a 3-19 to 1-20 scoreline) but he added, “that game is gone now and we have to look forward”.

With Kilkenny enjoying home advantage in Nowlan Park, the final represents something of a trip into the lion’s den for Tipperary.

With the Tipp seniors also going well in the championship, Brendan Cummins is hoping that supporters will travel with “plenty of blue and gold” on Saturday.

“Our supporters are as good as any other county’s. They will need to mobilise on Saturday and we hope they do”.