New Tipp era set to begin

By Shane Brophy

The long-awaited return of the Tipperary senior hurlers to competitive action is now just days away.

May 22nd last feels like an eternity since the last Tipperary team took to the playing field wearing the famed blue and gold jerseys in one of the lowest points at senior level in quite some time following a heavy defeat to Cork at FBD Semple Stadium which completed a pointless Munster Championship campaign.

It proved to be the last straw for the Tipperary County Board, which, after careful consideration some six weeks later, decided to move on from Colm Bonnar as manager after less than a year in charge. GAA might be an amateur sport, but it is no less brutal when it comes to hard and indeed harsh decisions being made.

Within in a week, his successor was installed with Liam Cahill having stepped away as Waterford manager, and finally taking on the role he turned down a year previous.

And in a twist of fate, Cahill’s first official game as Tipperary manager comes against his old side with a decent crowd expected to descend on Fraher Field in Dungarvan next Tuesday evening, 3rd January (7.00pm) for a curious look as to what might come in 2023, also for Waterford with Davy Fitzgerald returning for his second stint in charge.

Liam Cahill hasn’t wasted a day since collective training resumed on November 24th last to get his players up to speed, and while a forty-man panel has been published for the National League, many more players have been continued to be looked at in recent weeks in training and challenge games.

However, the latter has led to the wrath of the GAA authorities who fined the county board €250 following an unauthorised challenge game with Offaly earlier this month, with Offaly also fined similarly as challenge games are not permitted until New Years Day.