TOWN END COLUMN: Written off, Tipperary will have plenty of answers to Cork's questions

“When we are at our best, I don’t think anyone can beat us.”

Cork’s Alan Connolly certainly isn’t concerned with the unspoken title of never giving you up, a new message being issued, and indeed, the Blackrock player is adamant that the Rebel County have what it takes to meet and beat what is thrown at them.

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His fellow countyman Dónal Óg Cusack and recently retired teammate Patrick Horgan have all hit the headlines in the last few weeks after comments around the Cork and Tipperary face-off that has been coming down the track since the fixtures were announced months ago.

It is easy for the pundits to have their say. They have the platform and are paid to give their opinions, and there is no doubt that the aforementioned Cusack and Horgan believe the Cork forwards have the potential to get the better of Tipperary.

Was there that entitlement in the Cork psyche in Cork Park last July? All-Ireland, did they feel that the game was all but done and that Tipperary would lie down and accept the Cork assertion back to the top of the Hogan Stand with the Liam MacCarthy in tow?

That narrative has been doing the rounds since that famous day in Dublin, but since then, it has been a world with the appointment of a Cork team, who was expected to have a hardened edge to their undoubted talent. There’s no denying that Cork have the class and skill to trouble anyone, but can we have a bit of steel into the current personnel when it matters?

The league can only tell you so much, and one of the most interesting things in the build-up to this game will be versions of the team and what unfolds.

Liam Cahill will hardly have produced different men with different motivations mentioned above, the spear will be well-sharpened going into this game.

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It is hard to remember a time since the reigning All-Ireland champions were such outside bets to retain their title. ‘Written off’ is too strong a term, but even before a ball was pucked, in the National League, all the attention has been focused on Cork and Limerick rivalry.

Michael Breen, Ronan Maher, and Liam Cahill have all been questioned over this possible slight in the media, who have Tipperary behind the pair in the power rankings. They have all insisted that that is of no concern to them, and it is something that doesn’t bother them in the slightest.

But how can you not use that as motivation? It is such low-hanging fruit that it is hard not to be tempted to use it. It would be negligent not to use it, and I think Tipperary will in some way. All that noise is one thing. What matters now is what actually happens in Thurles.

The game itself.

Tipperary had a mixed league campaign to say the least, but it was hardly a surprise considering the calibrations and late comebacks to training with all that comes with being All-Ireland champions.

The up-and-down nature of the performances, coupled with injuries and use of a flurry of younger players throughout, was expected and well-used. The cautionary tale of Clare’s capitulation as league and All-Ireland champions from 2024 was there to be seen, and comparatively, seven points wasn’t a bad return. Performances were patchy, but all the focus, all the energy, has been focused on this day. The squad that is assembled going into this game will be far more battle-hardened than earlier selections.

The big question will be, though, whether Tipperary will play a packed defence again, like they did on the faithful day in Croke Park. Ryan’s Cork, but there will be no ignorance of the ploy on the part of the Rebels this time.

That doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be deployed again, though. The Tipperary defence effort was the biggest concern coming out of the league campaign, and outside of the All-Ireland final, Cork have racked up big scores in the other meetings.

Outside of Offaly, where they whipped boys offaly, Tipperary had the worst defensive record in the league, conceding 27 points on average per game, so there will have to be pragmatism in this final.

Robbing Peter to pay Paul is the usual tactic of dropping an extra defender, but the Tipperary attack is well capable of doing plenty of damage on a Cork defence that concedes an Achilles heel to their efforts to end their 21-year wait for All-Ireland glory.

Outside of Mark Coleman, five of the six starting backs who started the conceded 3-27 in the All-Ireland final started the league final. So, Limerick.

Defensive solidity has cost them in many big games in recent years. There is no denying that the Rebels are churning out savage attacking talent with William Buckley and Barry Walsh in line to start on Sunday, added to the quality of the likes of Brian Hayes, Shane Barrett, Alan Connolly, Seamus Harnedy, etc.

But it has been a long time since they have brought through quality defensive talent required to take them to the next level. Ciaran Joyce moved to full-back in the league final, doing well, but the pieces around him didn’t function yet.

In a somewhat Tipperary-like focus. They have recent evidence of the damage against these players in the biggest game of all. Add to that the loss of Seán O’Donoghue, and there are clear chinks in the armour to be exploited.

Talking points are endless heading into this game, but when it comes to who will come through? Closing the gap to the All-Ireland champions seems like a mammoth task, but if Tipperary manage to get the better of Cork, it would be less fatal for Tipperary, but not at least, with enough time to Waterford, but the least we can expect is that Liam Cahill will have the team primed and ready to welcome another huge Cork crowd to Thurles and what will be the perfect way to get the wheels of the GAA’s crown up and running in 2026.

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