Tipperary intermediate camogie team eye silverware against Kilkenny in the division two league decider

The team are unbeaten since their opening seven-point loss against Meath in February. Since then they have enjoyed home wins against Down and Carlow and a comprehensive win away to Cork. The results meant a second place finish in the group and a quarter-final pairing against Derry which the Premier County won on a scoreline of 3-10 to 1-7.

With each game the side have really developed and the management team have settled on a strong starting fifteen with plenty of options to come off the bench. This was very much evident in their thrilling semi-final win against a fancied Westmeath side.

With Drom & Inch’s Christina Brennan at full-back and inspirational captain Sabrina Larkin at centre-back the Tipperary outfit have a very solid foundation in defence. In midfield Niamh Treacy, who has been one of the stand-out players of the campaign, has formed a great partnership with Thurles Sarsfields’ Nicola Loughnane.

The spine of the team is cemented by 2018 soaring star recipient and winner of eight senior county titles Jenny Grace at centre-forward and Thurles Sarsfields’ Andrea Loughnane at full-forward.

Andrea’s direct running and eye for a score was the key to the win over Westmeath as she finished with an impressive 1-1 from play while Jenny Grace’s exceptional free-taking has been a thorn in every opposition’s side so far.

Factor in the energy and pace of Sarah Delaney and Áine O’Dwyer up front plus the tenacious defending of Beth Ryan and Tipperary really have an intermediate team with great potential.

The Tipperary panel of players who will take on Kilkenny in the Littlewood's Ireland National Camogie League division two final on Saturday.

MANAGEMENT PLEASED

There have been many aspects of the team’s performance that the Tipp management and the supporters alike will be pleased with so far, but the highlight most definitely is the attitude shown when reduced to fourteen players in the final quarter of their semi-final win. In a tight game Tipperary lost a player of Niamh Treacy’s calibre in harsh circumstances, but showed serious work rate and determination to claim a three-point win.

The win was sealed in no small way by the introduction of Sinéad Meagher and Joanne Ryan who scored 1-2 between them.

Tipperary’s opposition in the final is a Kilkenny team who finished second in their group behind Derry and then enjoyed a four-point win over Galway in the quarter-finals. With only three quarter-finals (because there were only three groups) Kilkenny then got a bye to the final.

However, this could prove to be their downfall as Tipperary enjoy the advantage of having played an extra game. Furthermore the nature of the hard-fought semi-final win has really united this group of Tipperary players and made them hungry for more success.

Kilkenny have had no competitive game in the three weeks since their quarter-final win. Despite this as all camogie followers know Kilkenny don’t lack talent and they will pose a real threat on Saturday. They also had the opportunity to watch the semi-final and eye up their opponents.

A mouth-watering battle certainly lays in store and hopefully come next weekend Shannon Rovers Sabrina Larkin will have the opportunity to lift silverware on behalf of her team.