Seniors have the belief to build on Munster title success

CAMOGIE: Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship Preview

By Thomas Conway

TIPPERARY v DUBLIN

Camogie Grounds, The Ragg

Saturday 17th June

Throw-in @ 5.00pm

And so, it begins. The countdown is over, the sand has fallen through the hourglass, and the moment is upon us, the start of the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship.

It’s not that Tipperary v Dublin is a particularly attractive fixture, or that the match itself is laden with consequence. Win, lose, or draw, both teams will still be in with a shout in this group of four along with defending champions Kilkenny and Wexford, but this game is the start of something, and that something could be All-Ireland glory.

The league and the provincial competitions provided ample entertainment, but neither can match the white-hot intensity of the championship proper. This year’s version is both intriguing and slightly unpredictable. On one level sits the top three - Kilkenny, beaten All-Ireland finalists Cork, and 2021 victors Galway. Three teams, one monopoly on success. There hasn’t been another winner since Wexford completed their iconic three-in-a-row back in 2012. Suffice to say Kilkenny are the favourites, but both Galway and Cork can more or less be placed on the same pedestal.

And then, on the next tier, at that level just below, stands Tipperary. The Premier County finally broke their silverware hoodoo by claiming the Munster Championship with a decisive victory over Clare back last month. It was a precious win, a coveted title. For years Tipp have been considered ‘a coming team’, an emerging force. And yet they had nothing to show for it - not even a final appearance, hence the significance of landing provincial honours. Anyone who was in Semple Stadium on May 13th last will testify that the celebrations upon the final whistle were suitably wild. It was evident - Tipp really, really wanted to win that game. And so, they did.

But now things get really serious. Next Saturday, Tipp will confront Dublin, beginning their group 2 campaign on home soil. Following that is a tricky away fixture against Wexford, and then a daunting trip into the lion’s den to face Kilkenny. It’s a difficult group, arguably the most competitive of the three. Galway and Cork will be expected to sweep through Down and Clare and emerge from Group 1, while Limerick and Waterford should have enough to see off Antrim and Offaly in Group 2. But Group 2 is less certain. Yes, Tipp and Kilkenny are the favourites to progress, but Dublin are a well-drilled outfit and Wexford are always a difficult proposition, particularly on their own home turf. So, Tipp’s path to the knockout stages is strewn with obstacles and invisible booby traps.

Manager Denis Kelly is well aware of the challenge facing his side. Negotiating this group will be neither easy nor straightforward. Tipp will be tested - in multiple ways.

“It’s definitely a tricky group,” he admitted.

“Dublin ran Kilkenny to within four points in the Leinster Championship, so they can’t be overlooked. They’re very competitive, Dublin are hard to break down and very hard to play against. They use a defensive system, so we’ll need to be prepared for that.

“We’ll have to be on our game, and we definitely won’t be taking anything for granted or showing any complacency. But the mood in the camp is really good. Competition for places is tight and that’s what you want heading into any All-Ireland Championship.”

Kelly is a sincere man, and when he says that competition for places is ferocious, you’d be inclined to believe him. After all, we’re talking here about a squad in which Niamh Treacy, one of Drom & Inch’s leading lights at club level, regularly struggles to break into the starting fifteen. The panel is literally teeming with talent, of different players with different skillsets and different roles. Kelly has made strength in depth a priority this campaign, and in the long run, that can only benefit Tipp.

In order to progress from the group stage, however, they’ll need to play the type of camogie they produced in that Munster final against Clare. But they may also need to adapt. Whatever about Dublin or Wexford, Kilkenny will simply not allow the Tipp forwards to play the sort of expansive, creative game which they’ve developed over the course of the league and the Munster Championship.

Players such as Eimear Heffernan and Grace O’Brien will be closely monitored. Further back the field, Kilkenny will almost certainly deploy someone to mark Karen Kennedy and curtail her influence on proceedings. The Tipp management will have to be innovative, while the players themselves will have to be prepared to transition to Plan B or C without a moment’s hesitation. Versatility could prove crucial, something Kelly is keenly aware of.

“I think with any team, you have to be able to play in a variety of different ways, to have a variety of different gameplans,” he revealed.

“The short passing game won’t work all the time. Sometimes you’ll need to go longer or more direct. Other times you’ll need to carry the ball through the lines and recycle the ball and play that sort of system. So yes, if we’re going to progress in this championship, we’re going to have to use a variety of different gameplans, but I think we have the strength in depth in our panel to do that.”

Nobody knows for certain what this Tipp squad might be capable of. Around The Ragg, camogie stalwarts talk in whispers and muse about Tipp’s prospects as All-Ireland contenders. Has their time finally come? Could this really be Tipp’s year?

Should the unthinkable occur, it would represent an altogether remarkable turnaround on 2022, when the Premier were dumped out of the championship at the group stage. But one thing is for certain. Tipp lack the fanfare that currently surrounds the likes of Kilkenny, Galway, and Cork. Expectations are lower, which suits Denis Kelly and his players. Does he believe his side are capable of breaking that Kilkenny-Cork-Galway triad of dominance?

“Look, we’re definitely capable of doing it, of breaking through those top three,” he said.

“But to do that you have to look after the smaller fish first - the Dublin’s and the Wexford’s for example. We know that those games can’t be taken for granted so we can’t afford to fixate on the Kilkenny game or get caught up thinking about that.

“We have to take it game by game, there’s just no other way in terms of approach. So yes, we’re definitely capable of competing and maybe taking a scalp as the year goes on, but for now, in the immediacy, our focus is on the Dublin game. That’s where it has to be.”

Negotiating Dublin could prove challenging. The metropolitans have a razor-sharp inside forward line, featuring the likes of Aisling O’Neill and Aisling Maher. Both players are classic sharpshooters, while O’Neill also has an eye for goal. How the Tipp full back line respond to that threat could determine both the trajectory and the outcome of this game.

Tipp enter the fixture more or less injury free, with a full deck to choose from. Dublin are likely to be combative and physical, and Kelly will thus select his starting fifteen accordingly. Tipp will be expected to prevail, but it won’t be plain sailing for the Premier. Beyond that, Wexford will be waiting in the wings, and by the time Tipp visit Nowlan Park on July 1st, the Kilkenny juggernaut should be gathering force.

It’s all ahead of Denis Kelly and his players. But they seem well prepared for it. Winning silverware inoculates a team with a renewed sense of self-belief, and armed with a Munster title, Tipp enter this All-Championship on a high. Don’t say it too loudly, but they could finish it on a high as well.