INTERVIEW: Tipperary selector explains how their hurlers turned last year’s pain into power

As Tipperary’s senior hurlers gear up for a titanic All-Ireland Final clash with Cork, the spotlight naturally falls on the players who’ll take to the Croke Park stage.

But behind the scenes, the unseen work of the backroom team and management has paved the way for improved performances on the pitch, and Tipperary selector Declan Laffan gave a frank and honest overview behind the journey that has led to this enormous game on Sunday. “This is my first gig at inter-county,” he said.

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“Liam brought me in as a selector the first year he was involved. I hadn’t been involved with an inter-county team prior to that. I was, as you could say, on the club circuit a little bit. And look, we’re enjoying it and hopefully we’ll have more better days.”

That sense of enjoyment and momentum hasn’t come by accident. Laffan speaks of a team environment that’s been carefully shaped from the ground up - one built on high standards and a strong alignment from the moment Liam Cahill took the reins.

“I think he obviously has thought put into it and knew who he wanted,” Laffan recalls of the manager’s early days.

“He had everyone on board and done the deal in probably a week after he was appointed, which shows the character of the man. He knew exactly where he wanted to go.”

That early vision struggled to hold up to scrutiny in a lot of ways over the last three years, but the inward reflection of the management team as a whole has led to vast improvements across the board, bearing much fruits after intensive labour this term.

“I would say maybe as the couple of years have progressed, we’ve maybe not put more time into it, but gone about it slightly different,” said Laffan.

“That’s us as a collective group getting to know each other better, knowing each other's thoughts better, and putting them all together.”

That kind of joined up thinking is vital at the elite level, where every hour counts. And the hours, Laffan stresses, have been many.

“It’s hugely time consuming and it takes up an awful lot of your life,” he says.

“Your mind is always going. Your best ideas often come when you’re on your own, driving around or doing something. And the key is to retain it - make sure you have it when we meet up, and use it to put all the best bits of everybody’s together and see what you come up with.”

That collaborative mindset extended into how the group approached player development and squad renewal, particularly after a disappointing 2024 campaign.

“If memory serves me correct, the club championship was starting around this time last year.

“I think we met just as it was about to start. But we would have had contact prior to that, maybe not collectively but individually, and discussed different things and what we wanted to do after.

“Liam had a very clear plan in his head and I think we all bought in. Whatever bits had to be taken out, we did.”

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The meetings became regular, the conversations focused. The venue? Lar na Páirce in Thurles - a fitting heartland for hurling’s quiet rebuild.

“Once the club championship had started, we probably met every couple of weeks. Obviously, we were discussing players and stuff at that stage - trying to see can you find new blood.”

That “new blood” came in part from a talented group emerging from the 2022 minor team, now forming the spine of this year’s U20s - a connection the management team were keenly aware of.

“We really scoured the county last year,” Laffan says. “Not to say that we hadn’t previously, but I don’t think I was ever at as many matches as I was last year.”

But the backbone of Tipperary’s surge has been the player, their discipline, drive, and sheer commitment away from the spotlight.

“I think probably the biggest thing for me is what the players give,” Laffan reflects.

“I don’t think anybody can really fathom the time and the commitment. You have your standard couple of sessions and a match every week, but they have the gym. Their life is pretty much structured, to the way they eat, the way they mind themselves. It’s off the charts.”

That respect runs deep within the group, particularly given how last season ended. Even when the results weren’t there, the effort never dropped.

Now, with a place in the All-Ireland Final secured, there’s a quiet confidence about the group - borne not from hype, but from hours logged together in planning rooms, video sessions, freezing pitches, and club grounds across the county.

“It’s different when you get involved, and you really enjoy it,” Laffan said.

“That’s why we signed up.”

When the fortunes of a team turns in such dramatic fashion from one year to the next there is always going to be a focus on what has changed, and or what has been done differently, but Laffan pointed towards the micro habits versus the one overall focus.

“Look, I’m not going to say I can put my finger on any one particular thing.

“I would probably say that instead of it being one particular thing, it’s been a lot of small things and we’ve corrected them or tried to do our best to make them more productive in every way and get the best value out of every small detail.

“When you put them all together, then it adds up to quite a bit, but look, I think people underestimate the value of that draw the first day against Limerick too.

“That was a huge morale booster, and also it was a huge morale booster for the supporters because when you have support behind you it’s worth an awful lot, so it’s great to see the supporters back in huge, huge numbers like last Sunday in Croke Park; it was 35 or 40 thousand people which is phenomenal.”

On Sunday, this collective effort meets its biggest test yet. For Tipp, it’s not just about the final, it’s about the journey they’ve taken as one, and the standard they’ve set together along the way.