INTERVIEW: Woodlock could join exalted company with minor success on Saturday
James Woodlock leads Tipperary’s minor hurlers into a third All-Ireland final in five years
For James Woodlock, the occasion may be an All-Ireland final, but the approach remains exactly the same.
The Tipperary minor hurling manager has guided his side back to the biggest stage in the underage game, and, despite the excitement surrounding Saturday's showdown with Limerick, there has been little change in the mindset within the camp.
"We're really looking forward to it. A lot of times, it's an All-Ireland final, and it's just another game really for this bunch of players. That's just the way it is."
The Premier County arrive into the decider following a hard-fought semi-final victory over Cork, a performance that demonstrated both the strengths and shortcomings of the side according to their manager.
"Training has been good. We probably know that the performance there was patchy (vs Cork). We were really good in spots and then we were a bit flat in other spots. We know that the performance on Saturday will definitely have to be better and more consistent."
One of the most encouraging aspects of that victory was Tipp's response when Cork fought their way back into the contest. Having surrendered momentum at different stages, Woodlock was pleased with the character shown by his players.
"The guys have a good attitude, to be fair, and they don't give up, that's one thing. If the game isn't flowing the way we'd like it to flow, then you just stay at it and stay chipping away at it, and then hopefully it can come right. That's what you're trying to impress on the players, that never-say-die attitude and just stay going until the final whistle."
Having been through All-Ireland final weeks before, Woodlock has no intention of changing a formula that has served Tipp well over recent seasons.
"It's the same as always. It's just game by game and I know it's a cliché, but that's really it. We just concentrate on the game every time because obviously they're so young. It's just game by game really for them.
"We try and rectify the problems we had in the last game and we move on to the next game. That's how we've done it in the championship.
"What better development for them than to get them into an All-Ireland final? The more matches you get, the more development there is for them. You can see the growth in the players and in the team ultimately throughout the year."
Standing between Tipp and All-Ireland glory are familiar opponents in Limerick. The sides have already met twice this season, with Tipp emerging victorious on both occasions, including in the Munster final.
Woodlock, however, believes those encounters count for little now.
"We played Limerick twice in the Munster Championship and everybody would acknowledge that the Munster Championship finished on the night that we won the Munster final. So it's a brand-new championship.
"We're looking at it as the first time we're actually playing Limerick in this championship and that's the way we've spoken about it. I don't think the past, whether we won or lost, comes into play.
"Like the Cork game, if you did that, you'd say we should have beaten Cork by seven or eight points handy out the door and I know that was the result, but I felt, and our team felt as a collective, that it wasn't a true reflection of Cork's performance.
The Tipp boss expects a significantly improved Limerick side from the one his team overcame earlier in the summer. The Treaty have come through tough tests in impressive fashion against Clare and Galway respectively and have improved with each passing game.
"There's no question. I think the strength of their team is their work ethic and that's what they try and portray in their team.
"Probably right throughout the championship they've tweaked it here and there and they've gone from working the ball out in the first couple of games to now going long and direct straight to a full-forward line while trying to crowd the middle.
"So they have improved, they've shown massive improvement and, as we talked about, development. They are really developing as a team, developing into a fine squad and they have a good manager.
"They probably have the advantage of home advantage and having one or two extra games than ourselves in the championship.
"It's at home for them and the pressure is probably on them a small bit more than on us going down to them.
"But definitely, as a team, they've regrouped since that Munster final. They're stronger because of it. They've got the team balance right. New players were introduced into the Munster final for them that have been playing really, really well."
While much of the focus has been on Limerick's progression, Woodlock is equally satisfied with the development of his own group.
The championship began with a dramatic Munster clash against Clare and, since then, Tipp have gradually refined their game while continuing to evolve as a team.
"That first game was always really, really important for us because it's the first game in a championship and you've got to get off to a good start. Obviously, we left ourselves really opened up at the back and we probably weren't clinical enough up front either.
"From game to game, I think our team has shown improvement. I'm probably the wrong man to ask because we hold high standards within the group and it's my job to drive them all the time. So I need to be driving the players.
"I always want more and more from the group, both in a physical aspect, as in their fitness, and their hurling aspect as well. So I'm in on that all the time, concentrating on every training session to see can I get a bit more out of them.
"But I think we have shown improvement throughout the year. The team has grown. It has settled, probably. There have been a lot of changes to the team, so they have been trusted by the management team and they have probably repaid that so far.
"They'll have to do it once more at the weekend to try and get over the line.
"If we play as well as we can, we mightn't be far away, but it still takes every bit in us to try and get over the line on Saturday. There's no question about that because they have us at home, they've seen us, they've played us and they want to win."
For all the excitement surrounding an All-Ireland final, Woodlock admits life is different when viewed from the sideline.
"I'd like to think, seeing the preparation done, that you can kind of look forward to it. I won't say I enjoy it. I don't enjoy the matches really either because you're on tenterhooks all the time.
"You're so zoned in, you've blocked everything else out and I'm just focused on watching the players and trying to talk and communicate.
"I probably look forward to it more than enjoy it, and then after it, it's just pure relief.
"As a manager, you can enjoy it for maybe three or four or five minutes after the game and then ultimately your attention turns straight away to what's up next, what has to be organised, what has to be done for the group, and you just move on and keep going.
"Saturday, when that final whistle goes one way or another, it's over. And I'm just hoping that we'll have the job done."
Tipperary's minor teams have often provided a welcome lift for supporters during periods when senior fortunes have been less positive, and Woodlock knows how important this current side has become to hurling followers throughout the county.
"We've always said to the players, and the players have said, that they wanted to give the Tipp public a team to follow. We have done that in the past couple of seasons when it was needed and this group has been no different.
"You absolutely want to give all those youngsters in the county a team to look up to, a team to follow, and then for them to be out with their hurls and balls practising to try and beat those county minors in a couple of years' time.
"And then for everybody else, the Tipp supporters, to know that there's a team still in the championship that they can support and come to watch and follow."
Saturday now offers one final challenge. The opponents are familiar, the stakes are enormous and the venue favours the opposition. But Woodlock's message remains the same as it has been all year: stay grounded, keep improving and focus only on the game ahead.
On Saturday, Woodlock and his players will hope to give those supporters a lift yet again. Also, on a personal note for the Tipperary boss, should his side deliver a performance and triumph, he would join the exalted company of Jeffrey Lynskey (Galway) and Liam Barron (Kilkenny) as a three-time All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship-winning manager.