Tipp link as Deise bid for All Ireland glory

Michael Bevans might not have gotten the inter-county recognition he should have during this playing days, but he is certainly getting it now as one of the most respected hurling coaches in the country.

Over the last five years working with Liam Cahill, the duo have won All Ireland titles at minor (2016), under 20 (2019) & 21 level (2018) with Tipperary, as well as appearing in another All Ireland minor final in 2015.

They have taken their talents to Waterford and this Sunday could add a senior All-Ireland success to that incredible list of achievements if they were to get over Limerick in hurling’s showpiece occasion at Croke Park.

EARLY INFLUENCES

From an early age, Michael Bevans has been surrounded by some of the best hurling brains, particularly Neil Williams and Tom Hassett at juvenile level in Toomevara who his first major influences were.

He was also fortunate that as he developed and progressed into the adult ranks, it coincided with Toomevara’s golden era of eleven county senior championships in sixteen years, off which Michael was a part of nine of them.

“He was a young player that was only after coming on the senior team,” remembers Clare great Sean Stack who coached Toomevara to county glory in 1994.

“He was one of the next generation and was a breath of fresh air. He had skill to burn and a bit of pace which was brilliant. You could see he was going to be the finished article.”

While small in stature, Bevans easily fitted into that Toomevara team and offered something different to their forward line which was almost ahead of its time Stack reflects.

“He had pace to finish and was good close to goal,” he said.

“He was actually nearly before his time. I would compare him to someone like Graeme Mulcahy where he is succeeding with Limerick where we had very little impact ten years ago but now, he is a massive influence. He would have fitted into the modern game perfectly because he was a tracker and a worker.”

As good as that Toomevara team were in terms of skill, they were also as tough as they come but Michael found a niche for himself.

“Michael would be playing totally for the team and would do amazing individual things as well,” Stack added.

“He wouldn’t be one for looking for retribution, he was very disciplined, smart and intelligent. You could see that this guy had a lot going on upstairs.

“He was able to take in the information and diagnose it properly and those are the fellas that become leaders after. They are not pushing their thoughts and making stereotype of players, there was a freedom in his play, and he was an instinctive player and that is still a big part of forward play.”

A GREAT TEAMMATE

Almost two decades on from Toomevara’s hay-day the forwards on that team still slip off the tongue, Tommy Dunne, John & Paddy O’Brien, Francis Devaney, Willie Ryan and Michael Bevans remind you of how good they were and Bevans was as important as the rest of them.

“Even though he was small in stature he had a big presence and a big personality,” said Tommy Dunne.

“He was a big player for Toomevara in lots of ways, a fundamental part of that successful team in that era.

“He was a class player and could play in a number of different positions, in tough conditions as well in wintry conditions where you would have to be physical to play well, none of that applied to him, he was a top class player.”

As well as a big game player, he also emerged as a real leader and was captain of the team on two occasions in 2003 and 2008, both of which resulted in county championship successes.

“He would have massive leadership qualities,” Tommy added.

“He was very unselfish. There was no ego and one of the first names you would have on the team sheet.

“He was an ideal candidate to be a captain because he was a strong personality as well. He led by example; you couldn’t not have been impressed with him in terms of his performances. He was an easy enough choice for a manager to make as he is a super guy.

“He was a strong a character as anybody. Was he a vocal captain? He was vocal when he needed to be. He got the thing of the team and that it wasn’t always the captain that had to speak.

“One of the reasons he is such a good coach and has had such an impact in coaching in a relatively short space of time from his playing days, he totally gets the concept of team. He was a brilliant team player. He was a brilliant player in his own right and very much understood the concept of what makes a good team and how a good team functions. That was very evident in his traits as a teammate from my experience. That’s what made him such a brilliant forward for Toome over the years, despite him being small in stature he was a fantastic team player.”

For all his successes with and being a key player with Toomevara, he was largely overlooked at inter-county level, despite playing at minor and under 21 where he came across Liam Cahill for the first time.

However, any disappointment he might have had never impacted on his club form and in the big games he always produced.

“In 2006, he was a powerful presence against Mount Sion (Munster semi-final) in Nenagh in a particularly bad day weather-wise and the Toome forwards playing really well and Mikey being a fundamental part of it,” Tommy Dunne recalls.

“You nearly got an extra lift when Bevans did something special with the ball because from the outside looking in nobody was expecting it because he was a handy size but as a corner back when he got you one on one anything could happen, he was a dangerous goal threat all of the time. He was a ball of energy and a pleasure to play with.”

move into Coaching

Having learned from and played with some of the best players, it was no surprise to see Michael Bevans transition into a coach. He began cutting his teeth with Upperchurch/Drombane in 2013 and 2014, helping lift them from the doldrums to become a competitive and established senior hurling team.

And it was through a challenge match with Upperchurch that Bevans came to the notice of Liam Cahill when he was manager of Carrickshock in Kilkenny in 2013 when they won a county championship.

Cahill became Tipperary minor manager a year later and after a disastrous campaign which saw them suffer heavy defeats to Limerick and Clare in the championship, Bevans was approached to come on board.

“Sometimes you can be lucky and come across a good fit with a manager and that is clearly the case with Liam Cahill,” Tommy Dunne added.

“Obviously, Liam Cahill knew he was getting something good as well, and it happened for me with Declan Ryan. It’s only when you get going with something that you realise this is a really good fit and good things can happen.

“What they have achieved with minor and under 20 teams in Tipperary is absolutely outstanding. It is underage but the consistency of performance they were able to get with a number of different teams is exceptional. It’s very clear what they are getting with Waterford is very powerful.

Jerome Cahill is one who understands fully what the Waterford players have been exposed to having been coached by Cahill and Bevans throughout his minor and under 20/21 career with Tipperary.

“He has shaped the way I thought about inter-county hurling,” said the Kilruane MacDonaghs clubman said of Bevans.

“It was always based on a high level of fitness and intensity. The things we covered in video analysis; he would be very specific in terms of coming up with a drill for that. A drill wouldn’t be done for the sake of it, it would because one of our main principles of playing wasn’t being implemented.

“He was also into being clinical as well, he worked a lot on the final pass.”

Any time Liam Cahill has been interviewed after a success, be it with Tipperary or Waterford, Michael Bevans is always acknowledged for the role he plays as he is the one that works closest with the players.

“Mikey doesn’t take too much to the limelight, but he would be as ruthless as Liam,” Jerome revealed.

“They would be similar that way. Sometimes it would be Liam would be the good cop and that’s saying something as Liam is as ruthless as they come.”

Jerome won a minor All-Ireland in 2016 at corner back but come under 20 & 21 he was in the half forward line and he says the duo are very adept at adapting their teamss.

“You can see a lot of it in the Waterford team at the moment,” Jerome added.

“It’s not just because they have taken a step up to senior level, the principles haven’t changed.

“The one thing they have is a great knowledge of their players. They know what they have in their armoury and would be aware certain lads would be able to do a certain job while other lads might not be, a horses for courses type of things. I remember playing in Pairc Ui Rinn in 2016 in a minor match and they put Dylan Walsh on that day and he turned the game around scoring four points from play in the second half, and I’m not sure how much he was used for the rest of the year, but they had a sense he was needed on that day.”