Tipperary 'spirits are high' as Tipperary gear up for Galway semi-final clash

Tipperary star Roisin Howard says the squad is relishing the opportunity to take on Galway in this Saturday’s Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship semi-final at UPMC Nowlan Park.

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Howard, one of the most experienced players in the panel, believes the team is in the perfect place heading into the weekend.

“Yeah, look, I think everyone's really looking forward to it, and this year has been a bit different from other years, but we're building really nicely heading into a semi-final,” she said. “So yeah, it's exactly where we want to be. The spirits are high and everyone's raring to go.”

After a gutsy extra-time win over Kilkenny in the quarter-final, Howard feels the team’s identity has become even clearer.

“Yeah, just hard work, you know. I think never say die really is what we're trying to go for, you know. Even in that quarter-final at times, you know, it looked like Kilkenny went two up in extra time, got a penalty, you know, another team might roll over but no, the girls came back and we all dove Howard in together and really rallied home. So yeah.”

The Cahir woman is in her ninth season wearing the blue and gold, but her passion for the game and her county hasn’t dimmed.

“Yeah, honestly, sometimes it feels like my first or second season still. I still, you know, have that burning desire and I think a lot of the girls feel the same, you know. It's hard to say that. It's probably my ninth season playing but it really doesn't feel like that,” she said.

“But enjoying every minute of it and, you know, still learning from younger girls, you know, playing off the cuff a little bit more and things like that. So yeah, you're always learning no matter how many years you've been there for.”

That youth injection has been vital for Tipp’s progress this season, especially after a breakthrough year at underage level in 2023.

“Yeah, definitely. You know, there's players stepping away the whole time so you have to have players stepping up. You know, the likes of Sarah Corkin has fitted in seamlessly there into the set-up.

"So yeah, look, there's plenty of girls on the bench as well. You know, Jean Kelly was on that junior team that were in All-Ireland a few years ago.

"So, you know, there are always girls stepping up and, you know, getting their opportunities. So yeah, it's just that you're ready to take it is the main thing.”

Standing in Tipperary’s way once again is Galway, the same opposition that ended their dreams at this very stage in the last two seasons. The losses, particularly narrow ones, still sting, but Howard insists lessons have been learned.

“Yeah, look, obviously, you know, that was a hard one to take the last two years especially because, you know, there's only a point in the difference,” she said. “But I suppose the main thing is from those semi-finals is that we're using that as opportunities to learn.

"We're not focusing too much on the actual outcome of it. You know, we're looking at what went wrong. What did we do well? What did we do well the last day that we can bring forward into the semi-final to hopefully get one over Galway?”

Tipperary’s last appearance in an All-Ireland senior final came in 2006. On Saturday, they return to Nowlan Park hoping to finally take that last step.