Woodlock leaning on past experiences in preparation for All-Ireland Final

By Shane Brophy

If anyone is well suited to explaining to his players what they will expect in the bear-pit of Nowlan Park, it is Tipperary minor hurling manager James Woodlock.

This Saturday is a week short of the eleventh anniversary of one of the all-time GAA occasions when Kilkenny and Tipperary clashed in a raucous senior championship qualifier at the Marble City venue.

Very few of the Tipperary minor players will remember that event where the two kingpins of hurling at the time, having been knocked out in the provincial championships, were paired in a knockout qualifier where Nowlan Park was packed over an hour before throw-in in what was one of the unique GAA occasions.

Woodlock was a late addition to the Tipperary team that evening at midfield while selector Conor O’Brien also started in that three-point defeat for the premier county in which the Kilkenny supporters helped make home advantage count.

“All our experiences, I will be leaning on every one of them, along with Conor and the rest of the management team,” admitted the Tipperary manager.

“Every opposition we have played this year, and every venue we have gone to, the players know all about it. They have never been a rabbit in the headlights, everything has been opened and exposed to them, it was always covered for them. That is our job and responsibility for them to be fully prepared and they will be.

“We have been performing really well on the road. We went to Rathkeale and won and went to Dungarvan and won, and into the Gaelic Grounds twice, these players didn’t see any of those grounds before.”

The Drom & Inch clubman confirmed that Tipperary didn’t really have a choice when it came to agreeing to toss for venue for the final after the original final location of Portlaoise was ruled out by Laois due to pitch work, with Croke Park more or less telling both Kilkenny and Tipp to agree to a toss, with the next final between the counties to be played in Thurles.

However, Woodlock and his management have been down this road before, just two years ago when they defeated Offaly in the All-Ireland decider in Nowlan Park, so they know the routine that works.

“Everything is falling into place, our routine and schedule has been kept the same,” Woodlock added.

“The venue, I think, will suit us. It is a little bit wider than the Gaelic Grounds so that is a benefit.

“Everybody is looking forward to it, but our routine hasn’t really changed which is nice and low key. The last two weeks have been good for us.”

In his fourth year as minor manager, James has experienced the ups and downs of Tipperary hurling with disappointing campaigns in 2021 and 2023 but in the other two years have won Munster titles and reached All-Ireland Finals.

Each squad has their own characteristic and for Woodlock, the spirit within this group has been the best of his four squads so far.

“They are an unbelievably tight bunch,” he revealed.

“The biggest job I have after training is to try and get them out the door to go home, they are joking around the dressing room and in great form. I couldn’t speak highly enough of them that way.

“They will go to the well no matter what you ask of them, they will do it. If we are faltering in any area and when we call them up on it, the response is always massive.

“They have heart, desire, and passion in them and don’t give up. They are a real team.”

He added: “Everything we have done this year in relation to the values we hold in our group and the hurling we have done can’t be off in anyway coming into a final because finals can take the life of their own where some players step up that you might not be expected.”

Woodlock understands that to beat Kilkenny in their own backyard, they will need a performance above anything they have produced in the campaign so far, and he is confident they will do that.

“It will take absolutely everything we have to get over the line,” he added.

“They are a good side, no more than us, but we will have to be at the top of our game and be a lot better than we were against Galway. Our performance in general, we were just slightly off, but it is a fantastic characteristic of a team that to be slightly off and still come through so I will be expecting us to perform better in the final.

“They are big, they are physical and strong, a typical Kilkenny team who work really hard. We have played them before and there has been nothing between us and I expect the same on Saturday.”