Dunne hopes break is timely ahead of minor semi-final

By Michael Dundon

 

After a roller-coaster Munster championship campaign which ended on a high note for Tipperary as they annexed the title with an eight points over Limerick, the Premier County boys face into even choppier waters as they encounter Kilkenny in the All-Ireland minor hurling championship semi-final in Croke Park this Sunday.

The new format in Munster saw Tipperary in action on four consecutive Sundays, a huge ask of boys under seventeen years, but despite inexplicable lapses against Limerick and Waterford when victory seemed in the bag, Tipperary got through to the final on scoring difference where they impressively made amends for their earlier loss to Limerick.

Manager Tommy Dunne recalls the losses in Munster and says that the Waterford defeat still haunts him, but he is confident that his charges have learned a good bit from the experience of losing those two games.

”Learning from them is one thing, putting the lessons into effect is another. The Waterford loss was very tough because we were in such a strong position but we got taken apart so quickly and there was no time to redress the situation”, he told The Guardian.

“Maybe we pushed too hard coming up to that game and we backed off after it. These players are so young and the step from juvenile hurling to county minor is very significant, much speedier and more intense than even Harty Cup hurling.”

 

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