INTERVIEW: 'We believe we have a team capable of doing something in this championship' - Colm Bonner

Tipperary senior boss Colm Bonner has nailed his colours to the mast ahead of this weekend's opening round Munster hurling championship clash and insisted that his team will be going for the jugular in Walsh Park on Sunday.

The Cashel man knows more than most the hype and expectation in Waterford for this year, and while he has acknowledged that the Deise are on a high and playing a serious brand of hurling, he insists that Tipp have prepared well and their full focus is on getting a result in the south east.

“I don’t need to build Waterford up at the moment, the threat is always there with Waterford. They are probably considered the best team in the country, so there’s a target on their back.

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Also the fact that we are heading into Walsh Park, it’s a very hostile kind of ground and a difficult ground for most teams. We were only down there five or six weeks ago and beaten by 10 points. So yeah, we know where we are and what we have to do, and obviously Waterford are on a high at the moment.

“They are very aggressive and very direct and have a big running style. Their turnover rate is huge and their counter-attacking is massive. They scored five goals against Wexford and hit Cork for four, and it just shows you the danger they have.

“Yeah I live here in Waterford and people are polite enough to me in terms of saying, ‘Ah sure, look ye’re building anyway.’ Waterford are on a high. The general feeling here in Waterford is that last year they were beaten by Limerick in the All-Ireland semi-final, the year before they were beaten by Limerick in the All-Ireland final and the Munster final, and the year before that, they were beaten by Limerick in the league final.

“So they’re basically looking at Limerick as the only team that has been getting the better of them over the last couple of years. The fact then that Liam Cahill is manager for Waterford makes it a bit more intriguing as well. Waterford people love their hurling.

This present bunch of players, they feel can become one of the greatest teams that they’ve had and that’s the expectation they have to carry. Possibly one of the reasons Liam stayed down is that he would see a number of years work and that they were very close to making that big breakthrough.

“But we’re not looking past this first game, we’re just going to go hell for leather. The fact that it’s in Waterford, I’m living here, doesn’t really matter, no. But it would make it easier Monday morning if Tipp won for going to work.”

"We should never go through the doldrums or a slow period because there are so many hurlers in Tipperary. That expectation is always there.

They’ve been successful over the last ten years, they’ve won three All-Irelands and that expectation is always there with a new manager coming in, can they start afresh."

Despite the spate of retirements and injury woes over the last few months, Bonner has not got bogged down in what he is without and insisted that the group available to him is still very ambitious and believe they can still challenge the very best in Ireland.

“That was the one thing that impressed me from the word go, that these players were very ambitious. They wanted to get a shot at it.

“They are relishing that chance as well and that opportunity to put on that jersey and to start for Tipp and to show the Tipp public what they can bring.

“Anything can happen. Obviously we're going to go and try to win every game.

“Our first game is down in Walsh Park and we're going to go hell for leather and try to win that regardless of what expectations are out there.

“We believe we have a team capable of doing something in this Championship and upset a lot of the predictions that are out there," he finished.

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