Lots learned for the immediate and longer term future

By Shane Brophy

A game that had little meaning but one that had a lot of meaning!

Provincial rivalries mean that there is never a dead-rubber between counties, and this was the case again on Saturday night as Tipperary and Clare had an eye on big games to come, including when they come face to face in the championship in Ennis in seven weeks’ time; more of that anon.

In the shorter term, Clare regained some face off the back of their humiliation against Cork two weeks previous, unlucky to lose this game in the end, although overall they still look some way off their best, however the first ten minutes of the second half showdd the threat they still are when at full throttle.

For Tipperary, already through to a league final, it was about keeping the momentum going, and a come from behind victory isn’t a bad way of doing that. With nothing riding on the result, it afforded the management the opportunity to look at more of the panel, with seven changes made from the win over Kilkenny.

It also meant that the under 20 players Darragh McCarthy, Sam O’Farrell and Oisin O’Donoghue, plus Conor Martin and Aaron O’Halloran didn’t have to be risked ahead of their Munster Championship opener last night (Tuesday). Also, it eases the load on those players a little with another under 20 game against Cork next Wednesday, four days before the league final.

It is after that when senior manager Liam Cahill and under 20 boss Brendan Cummins will have to thread carefully with the players that feature prominently on both teams, with Tipp’s third and fourth games in the under 20 championship coming either side of the senior championship opener against Limerick so a good start to the underage competition would take the pressure off in terms of getting the results needed to progress.

For the moment, things are moving well and considering Liam Cahill’s previous role as U20/21 manager, he knows what those players and Brendan Cummins are facing into which will help when and if tough decisions are needed to tell a player he won’t be playing in a certain game.

In making seven changes for the game on Saturday night, it didn’t upset the balance of the team too much. Barry Hogan again started in goal and didn’t have a save to make with another strong showing from the defence where Bryan O’Mara was the only player to lose out from the Kilkenny win with Brian McGrath getting the nod to start at wing back.

In one way, it could be seen as giving McGrath some game time but in choosing O’Mara to be the one to lose out, it could also be seen as a message to the Holycross man that he wasn’t secure in the likely best fifteen. If it was, the management got the response they hoped for as O’Mara was hugely impressive as a second half substitute, bringing a real drive and intensity to his play to help swing the momentum Tipperary’s way after they fell eight points down.

O’Mara was one of a triple substitution you rarely see in hurling as the Tipp management looked to shake things up after a slow start to the second half and it worked. Gearoid O’Connor and Darragh Stakelum also came on at the same time, making scoring but ball-winning contributions.

Stakelum’s impact was more noteworthy as the 22 year old has found the jump to senior level hard but it hasn’t helped in being played out of position at corner forward in the last year and a half. The Thurles Sarsfields clubman had a superb third-level campaign for UCC this season at midfield and certainly gives Tipperary another option there to go with Craig Morgan, Willie Connors, and Sam O’Farrell.

There were also welcome minutes for Seamus Kennedy and Noel McGrath in the half forward line. It was McGrath’s first start of the campaign and whether he starts or comes off the bench in upcoming games, he still has a lot to contribute.

Jason Forde will also have benefitted from a positive outing with a nine-point haul from full forward, eight from placed balls, although will be frustrated with the two he missed while Dylan Walsh’s skill was on view again for the point, he scored in the first half but struggled with a lack of service in the second.

That was largely because the ball was making its way more to Jake Morris who was immense on the night. Morris has played most of this league at centre forward but on Saturday night was pushed back into the full forward line where many feel he is a greater threat.

It could well be that the management knew how well Morris can play at centre forward on John Conlon, as he did in the championship last year, so why give the Clare man another opportunity to try and get used to him. The same goes for Clare and Tony Kelly not spending any time in the full-forward line, or indeed Tipp not bringing their best man-marker out in him, in Michael Breen.

To that end, there was a little shadowboxing before the May 11th championship rematch, but one thing is for sure, Michael Breen has been Tipperary’s player of the league so far. A player relishing his man-marking role where Mark Rodgers was largely peripheral in this game, with his goal more down to the run made by Sean Rynne in the lead-up.

All in all, a good evenings work for Tipperary as they can now look ahead to a first National Hurling League final in seven years, aiming to win a first league title in seventeen years. Not many would have predicted that at the turn of the year.