INTERVIEW: Tight schedule will test the limits of Tipp panel says selector TJ Ryan

Tipperary senior hurling selector TJ Ryan hopes that the group will have learned from last year, particularly in terms of trying to peak at the right time of the year.

“The Munster Championship is tough, with game after game,” he says.

After this Sunday’s opening match against Limerick at the TUS Gaelic Grounds, Tipp have to go to Waterford the following week (in Walsh Park at 6pm on Saturday May 4); “and if anyone picks up injuries you are in trouble. You are trying to build and deepen the panel all the time to get ready for that kind of championship”.

He says that last year they got to know players better, what they needed to include in the backroom and what was needed for training in terms of strength and conditioning.

“Other teams we were coming up against seemed to be light years ahead of us, especially after playing Limerick, they were more physical, faster, stronger players”.

As Tipperary prepare to take on the team that has won the last four All-Ireland championships, is it a case of mirroring Limerick’s game or playing to their own strengths?

“You have to focus on your own team and get them as right as possible to perform. The opposition will analyse us and we will analyse them but at the end of the day you have to be ready yourself to hurl.

“If you get your own starting fifteen and subs to get the best possible game out of them, you have a chance in every game, but every team in Munster says the same thing.

“You have to be ready to take on the four games in Munster and embrace it, do the best you can and hopefully come out the right side of it.

“There are some fantastic teams in Munster. Clare beat Limerick last year and only lost to them by a point in the Munster final.

I thought Clare would push on and get to the All-Ireland final but Kilkenny caught them. You cannot take any team for granted.

“To come out of Munster, you at least need five points to qualify,” says the Clonoulty/Rossmore clubman.

“If you lose a match or two, you are on the back foot straight away. Our first two games are away, if you lose those games we are really under pressure. It is all about getting wins under your belt or results.

“Last year we got results in three games and you’d think it would be enough to get us through, yet we lost the last game and didn’t make the Munster final.

“The games in the Munster championship last year were unbelievable with the quality of the hurling. Limerick are definitely the team to beat, they set the standard that we are aiming to get up for”.

Can you target certain games more than others?

“You are trying to win most games. The general public thought last year we were going to win the last game against Waterford, and as it turned out we lost it.

“You can’t lose your focus and target certain games with the calibre of teams coming against you, it is all on the day where anything goes.

“You learn from experience, in terms of how to hit the championship and what kind of player you need. It’s all about the players at the end of the day and having them in peak condition.

“We played 38 players in the league and we are happy enough with some of them, and some others will have to come up another bit to the mark to make it.

“The weather conditions have been horrendous. In training lads were finding it very tough, pulling their legs out of muck most nights so hopefully the weather will change as hurling is a game that is played on top of the ground.

“The ball is moving faster and some days we will adapt better to the fast ground than they did the heavy pitches, so it is still a guessing game”.
TJ Ryan got to know Liam Cahill when he brought the Ballingarry man in to train the senior team in Clonoulty in 2011 when TJ was manager, and he has been part of his backroom teams ever since.

“We were beaten in the minor All-Ireland in 2015 and won it in 2016.

“The minor in 2017 was a great competition and we had two fierce battles with Cork in the Munster semi-final, but they won and went on to reach the All-Ireland, where Galway beat them”.

After that they won All-Ireland titles at Under 21 level in 2018 and Under 20 the following year.

“The 2018 win was against the odds, particularly after the loss to Cork in the Munster final,” says TJ.

“We definitely shored it up with a bit more muscle. Not saying anything against the players that played in the Munster final, but we learned you need a certain amount of physicality if you are going to progress.

“There were personnel changes and positional switches, such as Brian McGrath moving back to full back after being centre back at minor”.
When Liam Cahill asked him to come in with the seniors, why did he say yes?

“I always kept in touch with him (with Waterford), chatting about different teams and so I said I would give it a go.

“It is a fair commitment, a lot different from underage, particularly in terms of time. There is probably double the amount of time to put into it, four-five nights a week between training and the gym, and having meetings ourselves. It is heavy going but either you are in it or out of it”.

Does he notice any difference in Liam Cahill and his coach Michael Bevans from their time with Waterford?

“They are way more professional, particularly in terms of the make-up of the backroom team.

“In terms of my role, I would be tasked with travelling around to see more club games and college games in terms of putting a panel together”.

Was there much pressure in their first year in 2023?

“I deal with the public almost every day as a butcher (in Dundrum) and every second person coming in is nearly talking hurling. You learn to deal with it.

“The general public are great. Tipperary people in general are great supporters, financially and supporting the team on the day they don’t let you down. Most of them have the best interests in the team at heart”.
What would be a good year for Tipp?

“Getting out of Munster. I wouldn’t look past that as you have to focus on each game as it comes. If you look towards the end of the road, you are not going to succeed. It’s game by game”.