Best form of defence is attack for Tipp in taking down Waterford

GAA: Munster Senior Hurling Championship Preview

By Shane Brophy

WATERFORD v TIPPERARY

Walsh Park, Waterford

Sunday, 17th April

Throw-in @ 2.00pm

Referee: Johnny Murphy (Limerick)

Two years after Tipperary were supposed to head to Walsh Park for a first Munster Championship clash there with Waterford since 1996, it finally comes to pass.

Prior to Covid, Tipperary would have been heading there as All-Ireland champions against a Waterford side looking to find their way again under new manager Liam Cahill. Two years on, it is Tipperary looking to find their way against a Waterford side who are the form team coming into this championship.

However, as we have seen down through the years, form teams from the league tend to be vulnerable come the start of the championship and Tipperary will be aiming to continue that trend, but it is going to be a tough ask.

Unlike the old format where you could have had upto six weeks from the end of the league to the beginning of the championship, from you could re-emerge a different team, it is harder to do now with such a tightened calendar.

However, Tipperary arguably have been preparing for this game from the moment the final whistle sounded at Walsh Park in the National League six weeks ago. That defeat virtually signalled the end of their league hopes and we’ll only find out on Sunday whether that short-term pain has led to long term benefits.

It’s beginning to sound like and overused cliché with this Tipperary team hiding in the long grass as everyone seems to be applying it to the Premier County. The only thig worse than being spoken about a lot is not being spoken about and certainly Tipperary have been able to prepare away from the glare of spectators and the media, and the hope is they’ll come out producing something we haven’t seen this year so far.

First of all, there is pride within this panel of players and management. If there are four men that you’d want on your side going into play in such a difficult venue as Walsh Park, they would be Colm Bonnar, Tommy Dunne, Paul Curran, and Johnny Enright, and you can be sure their passion will be transmitted to the players to galvanise them for the challenge that is to come.

A confident Waterford side, at home, is a difficult ask at any time, but it is not insurmountable for Tipperary. It doesn’t help that Liam Cahill and Michael Bevans will know the strengths and weaknesses in some of the Tipperary players, but that can be used against them as well if Waterford try and certain tactic those players understand as they were coached it themselves.

While expectation levels might be low outside the Tipp camp, within Dr Morris Park their expectation will be to win and in the likes of Cathal Barrett, Ronan Maher, Dan McCormack, John & Noel McGrath, Jason Forde, Patrick Maher, and even an injured Seamus Callanan providing useful guidance, there are winners there in abundance who will have nothing on their minds only to go down to Waterford and win.

For Tipperary to do that, they need to do two things, make themselves hard to break down, and be efficient in the scoring department.

Defensively, Tipperary have got to be compact. It may well be that Tipperary’s half back line and midfield have to sit a little deeper to lessen the room Waterford can run into.

The make-up of the half back line will be interesting and needs players of physicality and you would expect Ronan Maher and Seamus Kennedy to be two of those, with on the basis of the league finale, Robert Byrne being the front-runner for the other wing back berth, and his physical edge, provided he doesn’t go overboard, could well be important in standing up to Waterford’s power game.

Behind that half back line, Brian Hogan looks to have the edge in goals based on the conclusion of the league and his puckouts need to be quick and on the money so not to allow Waterford to get set defensively.

In front of him, Cathal Barrett, James Quigley, and Craig Morgan look set to be the starting full back line, but in the modern game, those positions mean little as Waterford like to move their inside forwards all over the place, with the aim of opening gaps for their half forwards to run onto the ball into, and where they get so many goals.

So, Tipperary may well opt to play an extra defender who protects the middle at all times. It may well be a role that could suit Alan Flynn who plays there for his club and is comfortable on the ball.

There is no point in saying Tipp need to stop Austin Gleeson, Dessie Hutchinson, Stephen Bennett, Patrick Curran etc… they have too many class players to focus on just one but the best way to make them in effective as possible is to make it as hard as possible for them to get their hands on the ball, and that can be done with a focused and driven performance.

Barry Heffernan is important in how Tipperary transfer the ball from defence into attack, he is a good distributor and is accurate from long range. He could well start at wing back or continue his midfield role, where he has the strike to break into space and put Waterford on the back foot.

The make-up of the forward line is the most interesting in terms of how Tipp are approaching this game. If Dan McCormack, starts at wing forward, with Michael Breen, on the other, Tipp are going for workers first, however, if Conor Bowe gets a start along side Breen, it may well be that Tipp are going to take the game to Waterford.

One aspect Tipperary didn’t have in the league meeting last month was a goal threat, but certainly in the subsequent game with Antrim, that changed. No matter how well Tipp defend, Waterford are probably going to get two or three goals so Tipp will need to match that and more at the other end, and in the likes of Mark Kehoe, Jake Morris, Michael Breen, and Jason Forde they don’t need a second invitation, they just need the quality ball to work with.

With Seamus Callanan ruled out through injury, Forde looks set to be the leader of the attack and if he can get the better of Conor Prunty, it would go a long way to deciding the game in Tipp’s favour.

How Tipperary preoccupy Tadhg De Burca is key, however. He sits deep so effectively at centre back, but Tipp need to pre-occupy him and there are no players better than John or Noel McGrath to do that. Waterford will try and free-up de Burca, but Tipp will determine that ultimately and if they do so successfully, it will be one of the Waterford pillars under pressure. Add in Patrick ‘Bonner’ Maher coming in the second half with his in-your-face approach, it’s a tantalising prospect if the game is still in the balance.

In 2021, the league meeting between Waterford and Tipperary was a portent of things to come in the championship in terms of the power game Tipp struggled to contain. They know what is coming so they must front up. However, Tipp also have the hurling to cut Waterford open.

The concern may well be that Waterford have the stronger bench and that may edge it their way in the closing quarter but what Tipp aren’t short of is hurlers, it is experience which the bench might lack but those players won’t lack that as the weeks go by, and if Tipperary emerge from Walsh Park with a positive result. You never know where the year might take them.

This Munster Championship is a marathon, not a sprint. The result next Sunday won’t determine the fortunes of either Waterford or Tipperary, but it will certainly provide a decent platform.

Waterford, under Liam Cahill, don’t look like a team who will be weighed down by pressure of expectation, but if they were to lose and with a trip to Limerick six days later, there is a chance they could be pointless after two games and under pressure to qualify.

Worst case scenario for Tipp on Sunday is a heavy loss and no momentum to take into the Clare game. A strong performance in a narrow loss wouldn’t be the worst result in the world but there’ll be no one thinking that way in the Tipp camp as there are a group of winners there from senior, and underage level, and on the side-line in the form of the management.

It’s all about performance and if Tipp bring one, they might provide the first shock of championship 2022 and explode the competition into life.