SIX WEEKS ON from their last outing at Walsh Park, Colm Bonnar takes his Tipperary squad back to Waterford next Sunday afternoon.
On that occasion they were defeated in the league by ten points, the renewal of acquaintances will see the temperature raised by the championship setting.
In the interim, Bonnar has watched Waterford surge forward and gain extra momentum, crashing home nine goals in the knockout stages en route to the collection of a league title.
The home side are firm favourites to start the Munster round-robin on a winning note, Bonnar needs little reminding of their capabilities.
“I don’t need to build Waterford up at the moment, the threat is always there with Waterford. They are probably considered the best team in the country, so there’s a target on their back. Also the fact that we are heading into Walsh Park, it’s a very hostile kind of ground and a difficult ground for most teams. We were only down there five or six weeks ago and beaten by 10 points. So yeah, we know where we are and what we have to do, and obviously Waterford are on a high at the moment.
“They are very aggressive and very direct and have a big running style. Their turnover rate is huge and their counter-attacking is massive. They scored five goals against Wexford and hit Cork for four, and it just shows you the danger they have.
“We have to counter what they’ve been bringing. We’ll have to raise a few green flags down there in Walsh Park, there’s no doubt. I think when we went down we hit 21 points but didn’t raise a green flag and that took its toll.”
For his first championship tie as Tipperary boss, Bonnar faces a county that he is deeply familiar with. Waterford is his home and if he is a Tipperary native, a player of renown for the county, his coaching career has seen him involved in different Deise roles with the flagship county outfit and the third-level Fitzgibbon Cup team.
“Yeah I live here in Waterford and people are polite enough to me in terms of saying, ‘Ah sure, look ye’re building anyway.’ Waterford are on a high. The general feeling here in Waterford is that last year they were beaten by Limerick in the All-Ireland semi-final, the year before they were beaten by Limerick in the All-Ireland final and the Munster final, and the year before that, they were beaten by Limerick in the league final.
“So they’re basically looking at Limerick as the only team that has been getting the better of them over the last couple of years. The fact then that Liam Cahill is manager for Waterford makes it a bit more intriguing as well. Waterford people love their hurling. This present bunch of players, they feel can become one of the greatest teams that they’ve had and that’s the expectation they have to carry. Possibly one of the reasons Liam stayed down is that he would see a number of years work and that they were very close to making that big breakthrough.
“But we’re not looking past this first game, we’re just going to go hell for leather. The fact that it’s in Waterford, I’m living here, doesn’t really matter, no. But it would make it easier Monday morning if Tipp won for going to work.”
If expectations surrounding Tipperary have been lowered with a slippage from the heights of the 2019 Liam MacCarthy Cup win and the departure of some experienced operators,
We should never go through the doldrums or a slow period because there are so many hurlers in Tipperary. That expectation is always there. They’ve been successful over the last ten years, they’ve won three All-Irelands and that expectation is always there with a new manager coming in, can they start afresh.
“That was the one thing that impressed me from the word go, that these players were very ambitious. They wanted to get a shot at it. “They are relishing that chance as well and that opportunity to put on that jersey and to start for Tipp and to show the Tipp public what they can bring.”
“This Tipp team could gather a lot of momentum very, very quickly. We still have to do the job, we still have to be able to bring our game. The outside public are just looking at what Waterford are doing at the moment but they’ll see what we’re about next Sunday as well.”
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