COLUMN: An incredibly positive weekend brings to light talent in Tipperary hurling

You could be forgiven for getting excited about the future of the game of hurling in Tipperary after the weekend just gone.

Thurles CBS and Clonmel High School are just the latest to taste success on the hurling pitch for Tipperary with further provincial crowns in the cabinets after a hugely successful schools final weekend just passed.

The feel good factor in Tipperary hurling is starting to creep its way back into our collective psyche and with the underage in rude health and the Tipperary seniors getting their league campaign off and running on a positive note, it is perfectly acceptable to think that we might just have turned the corner on the playing fields.

Firstly, Thurles CBS clinched their ninth Harty Cup title in a dramatic tie with rivals St Flannan’s College of Ennis and it was a title that was fully deserved after a titanic tussle in tough conditions, making up for the loss in the decider two years previous.

The team is littered with quality and more than that, it is littered with players who know how to win big games, regardless of the conditions.

This cohort of players are onboard with minor and U20 county panels and more than the success that it bringing immeasurable optimism to Tipperary people, it is the character and never-say-die attitude of these lads that we should all be excited about.

The sight of Clonmel High School finally finding a long overdue senior school title in Ballyagran on Saturday is also a welcomed development and they were comfortably the better team on the day, and when you consider that their toughest test ended up being the semi-final win over Abbey CBS in Tipperary Town, it all looks to be turning up blue and gold.

The future looks promising but the Tipperary seniors are still in search of success in the short term and they continued the good start to the league on Sunday with a win over Wexford in FBD Semple Stadium as they top Division 1A after the second weekend of action.

The team was much changed from the side that put Galway to the sword in round 1 and notching a second win with so many changes was pleasing for the Tipp management, but they go into next weekend preparing for an all together different challenge against Limerick in the TUS Gaelic Grounds.

It will be interesting to see the approach of the Tipperary management to this game in terms of selection, with several players still heavily involved in the Fitzgibbon Cup with the quarter-finals to be played this week.

Tipperary will face the Treaty in the first round of Munster in April so there might be some shadow boxing to come, but regardless of the team that takes to the field, Cahill and company will be eager to maintain their winning start to the league and, hopefully, get the Limerick monkey off their back in the process.