O’Brien is relishing Galway challenge

By Thomas Conway

Tipperary have left no stone unturned in their first three league games. They’ve utilised more or less every member of their panel, introducing a host of new names while at the same time altering their playing style in a variety of ways. Why? Because versatility is now a necessity in inter-county camogie.

Vice-captain Grace O'Brien knows this. She has been around the block long enough to know that even the most gifted fifteen players would struggle to hold their own without some additional reserves from the bench. Back-up is essential, and O'Brien that Tipp now have those extra assets at their disposal.

“We keep talking about the depth in the squad this year, and the new girls and what they’ve added to it,” she said.

“And they really have added to it - we have a lot of pace, but we also have finishers there as well. So, we have different girls to suit different games, and to have that depth is exciting.

“And it’s also exciting to play Galway. Obviously, they’re All-Ireland champions, but we beat them in the league back in 2020 to get to the league final, and that game was never played. So, we’re still somewhat hurt by that, but to have the opportunity to get there again, and to state a claim, is very exciting. So, we’re looking forward to it.”

The sense of steadily building momentum around this Tipp team is impossible to deny. Saturday's display against Dublin was far from emphatic. The visitors caused them problems, forcing Tipp to dig deep and grind out an unglamorous but well-deserved win. A league final is now within sight. Every Gaelic games team craves the opportunity to play in Croke Park. Still, it seems strange to suggest that a Tipperary team would be so thirsty for the experience of playing in Croker. We’re used to seeing the Tipp hurlers compete in Croke Park on an annual basis (touch wood). The novelty never gets old, but it is also a yearly expectation.

However, this Tipperary camogie team has been somewhat deprived of those occasions. Last year’s All-Ireland semi-final against Galway was their first real taste of the expansive pitch, the echoing stands, the transcendent atmosphere. If they want to break the mould and become All-Ireland champions, they require as much Croke Park experience as they can possibly get. Hence the reason that next weekend's clash with Galway carries such importance from a Tipp perspective. Bill Mullaney's side are in the process of discovering themselves. O'Brien felt that the Dublin test allowed them to hone certain aspects of their game, to fine-tune and tweak certain features. In essence, it was ideal preparation for their meeting with the All-Ireland champions.

“Look, full credit to Offaly and Down, but I suppose, from our point of view, those games might have given us a false sense of where we were - in terms of how we were performing. But Dublin are always a tough side to play,” she added.

“They’re very physical and they’re very fit, so we knew that it was going to be very hard to break them down and get through them, and it was exactly that. It was a tough, physical game. But it gave us a chance to test ourselves on a lot of the areas that we’ve been working on, and that was brilliant, particularly going into next weekend against Galway.”