Tipperary hurlers head to Fota Island as part of the recovery process

The aftermath of the Waterford defeat has been a time of reassessment for Tipperary hurling. It was a jolt that has forced a re-evaluation and I suspect the debriefing process within the camp has been difficult.

Encouragingly it’s a road Liam Cahill travelled with the Under 21s in 2018 with spectacular success. Refocusing and resetting is not unknown to the manager. Indeed, it’s not unknown to many of the senior players either after their experiences in 2010 and 2019.

We search for positives in the wake of this latest defeat. Lining up to face Clare in a Munster final this week would have been challenging and another reversal there might prove more difficult to handle. The extra week gives added mending time for the wounded and, in theory at least, a clash with Offaly ought to be manageable. We’ve never lost a championship game to the Faithful, albeit we haven’t met too often.

Reactions to the Waterford defeat were interesting. Encouragingly, talk of tiredness or hangover from the Limerick match were dismissed outright as factors. I think there was a general acceptance that this was a failure of minds rather than bodies.

The only reasonable explanation is that the narrative around Waterford’s difficulties and presumptions about a Tipp/Clare final seeped into the heads of the players. Once that happens and you get off on the wrong foot, it can be very difficult to regain balance.

Of course, we should have looked at history, which has that irritating habit of repeating itself. In the match programme for the game Seamus O’Doherty penned an excellent piece on four of the major shocks inflicted by the Deise on Tipperary over the decades. These were wins against the odds, Waterford seemingly at their most dangerous when expectations are lowest.

There was the 1959 Munster semi-final for example. Tipperary went in as Munster and All-Ireland champions but surrendered the lot on the day of the big wind. Having won the toss, the Premier side gave the Deise wind advantage in the first half and went in at the break trailing 8-2 to nil. There was no recovering from that eight-goal blitz.

Curiously in 1963 there wasn’t a goal in sight in the Munster final. Tipperary again went in as Munster and All-Ireland champs, chasing three-in-a-row and widely expected to achieve it. Once more Waterford did the unexpected, winning by 0-11 to 0-8 in the first ever goal-less final.

In more recent times there was the 2002 shock. Then there was the 2008 All-Ireland semi-final. This time Tipperary weren’t reigning champions but they were favourites after winning the league and Munster titles. The Deise pulled off yet another shock, winning by 1-20 to 1-18.

Beware the demons of history.

Anyway, the focus now is on the future rather than the past. The recuperation process for the team began at the weekend. They played Dublin in a challenge game on Friday evening at Portlaoise and that was followed by a session at Fota Island on Saturday.

The team that played Dublin was described as predominantly a second string, mostly featuring players who didn’t see heavy action against Waterford. Barry Hogan was back in goal and that issue appears to be reopened after the Waterford defeat.

John McGrath played the full game and it seems moved well. Cathal Barrett was back in action after his enforced absence.

John Campion looked promising at midfield and Kian O’Kelly seemed sharp in attack.

Those were some of the snippets I’ve heard from the match, which was played behind closed doors. The scoring was close enough for most of the game before Tipperary ran in some late goals to give a somewhat skewed final outcome.

There was a rumour that Craig Morgan made a return in the game but this was untrue. It appears he may have been under consideration but caution prevailed. It does indicate, though, how close the Kilruane man is to a return, which will be welcome news.

The Fota experience then on Saturday was more of a cleansing of the spirit of the side. I guess after a troubling defeat it’s important to purge any negative hangover and have a collective reassertion of faith in the process. After all it is a process that has seen just two defeats from nine games in league and championship thus far.

Injuries continue to be a topical issue. Overall, the Tipperary casualty count is gradually easing. Jason Forde’s hamstring is well on the mend and he looks set for an imminent return to action. Ditto with Jake Morris and his shoulder injury. The Waterford game certainly underlined the value of this pair in attack; we looked a bit rudderless without them.

Niall O’Meara was listed on the subs for the Waterford match and he played against Dublin in last week’s challenge. That’s another attacking option available as we head towards knockout games in the All-Ireland series.

Incidentally, there were mixed signals on Gearoid O’Connor’s injury. Reports of a broken ankle were circulating but that appears not to be the case. My understanding is that it’s a ligament issue and that he’s much closer to a return than was initially feared.

The news, though, on Brian McGrath is not good. It appears he suffered a punctured lung in that reckless tackle by a Waterford player, one which went without even the sanction of a yellow card, despite occurring in close proximity to the linesman.

Elsewhere, further evidence of Cork’s emergence from the doldrums was on display at Semple Stadium on Sunday with their third Under 20 success in four years. They had far too much horsepower for Offaly who were effectively bullied out of the game. As the match wore on you could see the physical attrition just draining the life out of the faithful. It’s a young Offaly team, of course, but also one light of frame and in need of some bulking-up if their undoubted skill is going to prosper. Some issues there of S and C to be addressed.

Mind you, they got little enough protection from the referee, who I thought was much kinder to Cork than was merited. The Rebel full back clearly should have gone for that tackle and why wasn’t it at least a black card? Once more the inadequacy of the cynical foul sanction was highlighted because the offence didn’t fit the specifics of the rule. It’s bonkers and not helped by limp, anaemic comments on the Sunday night sports programme, where cynicism should be condemned instead of passed over as “sure everyone else would do the same”.

Meanwhile, Limerick and Clare lock horns on Sunday, just like any rutting stags would in the wild. This rivalry is the hottest in the game at the moment. More than anyone else, Clare have found a way to get at Limerick so there’s huge anticipation around this final.

Limerick have stuttered through the championship thus far, though ominously their display against Cork was probably their best of the series. Sean Finn’s absence is being felt, but Gearoid Hegarty returned to form after some below-par displays.

After their shaky start against Tipperary, Clare strung together three impressive wins to top the group. Their victory over Limerick was the pick of the pot and comes after they drew with the Shannonsiders in the corresponding game last year before that epic Munster decider, which went to extra time.

Now, here comes the reprise. Conor Cleary is a big loss to the Banner, so Limerick remain the bookies’ fancy – still favourites until proven otherwise.