Tipperary manager turning his attention towards 'cut throat' championship

With their hard-earned four-points win securing his team’s Division 1A status in the National League, Tipperary manager Liam Cahill’s thoughts were fast forwarding to the side’s next game against Waterford, this time in the Munster Championship, six weeks later on April 26, following last Sunday’s encounter at Azzurri Walsh Park.

That match towards the end of next month, which will be their second appearance in the championship following their opener against Cork the previous weekend, will also mean a return trip to Waterford for Tipp.

“It was a great workout for both sides,” Liam Cahill said on Sunday.

“The intensity levels will be up three or four notches again here in six weeks’ time and it will be very close.

“We just hope we can get into the next couple of weeks with good preparation and get everybody into a clean bill of health and get here ready to go at it again. There’s a great healthy rivalry between Tipperary and Waterford and I look forward to a belter come April again.

READ NEXT: Tipperary musician launches album at concert

“It was a fairly serious game there today for both sides. It wouldn’t have been the end of the world if you were beaten, but retaining our Division 1A status is very important for us.

“Anytime you come to Walsh Park you’re always going to earn it. Both teams really went at it from the outset, and however good both sides were there today they will improve a lot from that, and we’ll do it all again here in six weeks time, and it will be every bit as intense if not more.

SEE MORE: PICTURES: Tipperary's Roz Purcell marries Zach Desmond in Dublin

“The boys set great standards for themselves. We were a little bit late coming back to training but we’ve got a good block of work into the lungs and the legs over the last three to four weeks and we’re really going to go after our hurling now and start sharpening our touch.

“As the weather improves coming into the long evenings, hopefully our hurling will improve with it. It will need to if we’re to have any chance of being one of the three contenders to come out of Munster.

“As we all know, the championship is coming down the tracks, it’s fairly cut throat and we have to be ready”.