Juniors aim to reach first All-Ireland final since 2002
CAMOGIE: Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Premier Junior Championship Semi-Final Preview
By Thomas Conway
TIPPERARY v ROSCOMMON
Donaghmore Ashbourne
Saturday 22nd July
Throw-in @ 12.00pm (E.T.)
If ever there was a novel semi-final pairing, this is probably it. How many times have Tipperary encountered Roscommon on a hurling or camogie field. The answer to that question probably exists somewhere, but an educated guess suggests a simple conclusion; very few.
Meetings between Tipp and Roscommon are about as rare as could be imaginable. Tipp is a hurling county. Roscommon is football territory. In sporting terms, both sides speak different languages, and they almost never converse.
And yet, here we are. Having coasted through the group stages, David Sullivan’s Tipperary side are about to fight the Rossies for a place in this year’s All-Ireland Premier Junior Camogie final. It’s a battle which promises to be intriguing.
Tipperary have been irresistible thus far this season, swatting aside the challenges of Wicklow and Cavan with little drama or fuss. Some of their players are on fire - Jean Kelly is setting the world alight with her pace; Clodagh Horgan is evolving into a powerful full-forward presence; Miriam Murphy seems basically impervious to attackers at the other end.
Tipp enter this semi-final with serious momentum, and by all accounts will be expected to emerge from it relatively unscathed, but Sullivan is anticipating a somewhat stiffer challenge from his Roscommon adversaries. The Lorrha man has seen the Rossies play, assessed their strengths and weaknesses, and used that knowledge to shape Tipp’s game plan. He isn’t expecting an easy ride, but he firmly believes that Tipp can prevail.
“We travelled to Clane to watch their quarter-final. And you know, they’re physical, they work extremely hard,” he said.
“They have one player there in particular who scored twelve points out of thirteen - three from play and nine frees. So, she’s definitely one we’ll need to mind.
“But they’ve a good midfield partnership as well, and the half-back line isn’t bad either. So, they have five or six really good hurlers. Roscommon, but if we match their work-rate all over the field, we should have enough hurling for them. But they will work extremely hard, they’ll hunt in packs - they played a lot of that quarter-final with only two or three girls inside in the full-forward line and the rest withdrawing into their own half.
“So, if we can work out their formation, their strategy, and get to grips with it, then as I’ve said, we should have enough for them.”
The prospect of having two Tipperary sides in Croke Park on the 6th of August is as tantalising a prospect as it gets. Both teams, senior and junior, have exhibited electric form so far this season. Each is guided by a master tactician - the seniors have Denis Kelly; the juniors are directed by Sullivan. And both teams play a uniquely similar brand of camogie. Both are dynamic and fast-moving, but also wily and versatile.
As Sullivan explains, his junior team can either play through the lines or take a more direct path. He delegates responsibility to the players on the field. They make their own choices, instinctively, in the moment. And so far, this year, that strategy has worked to perfection.
“Like everything, when you have a group of players you have to design a style which suits them,” Sullivan explains.
“And I think the moving of the shoulder and the running through the lines actually suits the calibre of players that we have at our disposal. But we still have the option of going direct, of placing the likes of Clodagh Horgan inside and playing the ball into her first time.
“But the girls tend to mix it up themselves a lot on the field. We give them the responsibility to do that, because as long as the ball is going to the right person at the right time, and that person is in a Tipperary jersey, then we don’t mind as coaches.”
Does Sullivan believe that Tipperary can potentially complete the double and land both the All-Ireland senior and junior championship title? Understandably, he won’t be drawn on that question, because as he sees it, Tipp have one priority - this All-Ireland semi-final against Roscommon.
“My view on it is quite simple, we’re probably where Tipp camogie should be at this point in time,” he added.
“We’re long enough watching Cork, Kilkenny and Galway having the big days out and wondering will we ever get back there, get back to Croke Park on All-Ireland final weekend.
“So, to be honest the fact that we’re there, in a semi-final, at both senior and junior level, it doesn’t surprise me. It’s as it should be. And I think both teams get a good buzz off the other doing well, but at the same time, we can’t afford to be overly concerned about the senior girls and vice-versa. We have to be focused on our own task, our own approach, and that won’t change next Saturday.”