ON SUNDAY, TIPPERARY will rightly bear the burden of favourites going into the All Ireland minor hurling final at Croke Park.
After all, in the semi-final the Premier kids managed to see off and dethrone a Galway set-up which has produced seven finalists and four champions in the past decade – a tally only matched by Kilkenny.
William Maher is the man to have guided the young troops to the brink of the county’s first minor title in five years.
In his way though, stand Dublin.
Maher previously acted as a coach and selector in the capital. The rapid turnover rate at minor level diminishes the opportunity to put any insider knowledge to his advantage. Instead, Tipp’s edge will be kept sharp by Maher’s bottomless respect for the work going on behind Shay Boland’s side.
“I’d know the guys involved in Dublin hurling, they’re all fantastic men. I think Dublin hurling is probably one of the best under-age set-ups at the moment.” Maher told TheScore.ie yesterday.
Having fallen at the last hurdle against Galway last year, the same Dublin squad come back for another bite at the cherry. History is not on their side, but if a 47 year drought can be used to fuel desire, the Dubs will be in high gear on Sunday lunchtime.
Croke Park too, is an edifice which Tipperary will find it difficult to turn to their advantage. Their first outing there, however, saw them come through the sternest of test against the Tribesmen – a side Maher calls the best minor team of the last 20 years.
“They were fantastic.” He says of his own group, but soon added. “We got a few breaks against Galway that really helped us, They had their fullback Paul Killeen sent off very harshly and it was 15 against 14 for the last 15 minutes. So that had a big bearing on the game and we were lucky to come out on the right side of that.”
Maher’s philosophy that day will be repeated this weekend. Forget about Croke Park, the game is the same no matter where it’s played.
“The important thing is: It’s just a game of hurling. No matter what the title on the game is: be it Munster final, county championship, it’s still a game of hurling and these lads have been hurling since they were three or four years of age.
“That’s the most important thing, just to go out and hurl and perform. It doesn’t matter (where it’s on) it’s a game of hurling and we’re there to win it irrespective of it’s a local club field or Croke Park.”
The word ‘perform’ is one that Maher often repeats when thinking ahead to Sunday.
Talk of winning and losing will only pile either pressure or negative connotations inside young psyches. A performance, a top class performance, is something more than familiar to his side. The pitch, the venue, the prize are all coincidences that should not be allowed effect the outcome of a 60-minute hurling match.
So far, Tipperary have not failed to deliver Premier performances. Often they were content to go through the gears and power home in the second half, but the gears were always there. On Sunday afternoon, with thousands of people sitting or ambling towards their seat in Croke Park, Maher will ask his 15 men to fly out of the traps.
“That’s what you’re always aiming for. You always want the complete 60 minute performance. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t but the performance is the thing that drives that.
“We are concentrated on our performance. We’re really looking forward to the challenge.and our lads are raring to go.”
Whether it be a favourites tag, home advantage or 47 years of hurt, they’re all inconsequential factors when the ball is thrown in. But what of hunger, the ingredient many pundits (in football at least) have claimed to be the difference between success and failure?
“Hunger doesn’t come into it. Everyone wants to win the All Ireland.”
