Tipperary show their true colours in banishing the Rebels
Tipperary 3-13
Cork 1-16
As it is was in the beginning it is at the end as Tipperary bookended the All Ireland Under 21 Hurling Championship by being its first winners in 1964 and also its last, and in as dramatic way possible last Sunday.
Pope Francis might well have signed a Mayo jersey earlier that morning at Knock which they hope will end their hoodoo but it was Tipperary who looked like they had a miracle performed on them as they defied the doubters once again to claim the county's tenth All Ireland Under 21 title.
Few walking out of Pairc Ui Chaoimh on July 4th last could have foreseen Tipperary turning things around to such an extent that they would not only compete with Cork but beat them in a rematch seven weeks later and that is what makes this win so much sweeter.
It also indicates what a special group of players these lads could turn out to be. We all knew they had the pedigree with many winning All Ireland Minor medals in 2016 in a side built on open stylish play. But this success was a lot different as it was borne out of adversity. They were underdogs in all their games this year but it didn't matter to the group who had the utter belief in what they were all about. The Munster Final performance was proven to be a once off, an evening where everything fell right for Cork and wrong for Tipperary.
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