IT WILL TAKE significant change for Tipperary’s current form to improve, according to All-Star goalkeeper Anthony Nash.
Cork roared to a 3-30 to 1-24 victory at Semple Stadium on Sunday, leaving the Premier County without a win in the 2022 Munster Championship.
Having finished last in Munster, their season is not officially over. If Kerry win the Joe McDonagh Cup final, the counties clash for a place in the Liam MacCarthy Cup in 2023.
Speaking on the latest hurling episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast, Nash was surprised at how quickly Sunday went downhill.
“I couldn’t believe how at sea Tipperary were. At sixes and sevens. Look, they have lost an absolute feast of unbelievable hurlers. It will be interesting to see what happens next year. Is Colm Bonnar going to stay on? I presume he will.
“I presume he will get another year and probably deserves it. The lads just did not look like Tipperary yesterday. They didn’t have the legs to stay with Cork. The hurling is there, they still scored 1-24 but it was a dead duck after the six-point swing.”
🗣️ "It was a dead duck after the six-point swing."@AnthonyNash6 on the a gap that appears to be growing between Cork and Tipperary.
— The42.ie (@The42_ie) May 24, 2022
🗣️ "For Tipperary, that's fairly scary."
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Nash went on to explain there were contributing factors, including several big departures and injuries.
“They looked like a team they weren’t drilled at all. It looked ‘go out and hurl.’ It has gone way beyond that. The only thing in their defence and Bonnar deserves another year, but they need to change something. They need to get the likes of Bryan O’Mara home from San Francisco. Get Ciarán Connolly back. Get all these injuries sorted.
“Get fit and all of a sudden, Tipp will be in a far better place. Before someone slates me, for the sake of hurling I hope Tipperary come back strong. Of all the counties, we want a strong Tipperary. When you put down a list of players that potentially could have played this year that didn’t, you have to put your hands up.
“Cork had the fitness and speed. That Darragh Fitzgibbon goal epitomised the difference in the teams. He took off, the finish wasn’t great and probably should have been saved, but he took off and was gone from two or three Tipp defenders and no one came to him.”
