Ryan lauds heart and fitness as attention quickly turns to a Final with Waterford

Tipperary manager John Ryan was delighted with his sides performance and the heart and fight they displayed in their All-Ireland Minor Camogie semi-final victory over Kilkenny in Rathdowney on Sunday.

By Joe Scully

The former Tipperary hurler was delighted with his sides victory and was proud of the way they came back to level things deep into the normal time, to force extra time.

“That was hard going, them girls had to play extra time, and it’s difficult in that heat,” he began.

“The girls dug deep, we knew the performance was there, we knew the heart was there. We went behind, but we dug deep like we knew they can.

“We were two points down late in the game but credit to the players on the pitch, and credit to the players who came on, everybody made a difference, everybody played their part.

“We have been building a squad from the get-go and we needed the full squad there today.”

Ryan was worried at times throughout the game but always had the belief in his side that they could get the job done.

“There’s always doubt in a game when you go behind, your wondering what do you need to do next, to get back, but the one thing I did know was there was a lot of heart in these girls, and a lot of fight in them and they proved it today, as they came out on top by three points today, and they worked extremely hard for that,” he added.

The Slieve Felim Rapparees clubman was also delighted for his backroom team and the work they have put in with the team, especially on the fitness front as Tipp’s was really to the fore in extra time.

“In fairness to the coaching staff they are just fantastic,” he said.

“They do their job so well and our strength and conditioning coaches are very good at their jobs and get the very best out of the girls.”

Looking ahead to Saturdays All Ireland final with Waterford, Ryan is really looking forward to another battle in what is a repeat of the Munster Final.

“We are really looking forward to next Saturday,” he added.

“It’s a massive game, it’s an All-Ireland final and it’s against Waterford again. They beat us two weeks ago, but we felt we may not have been at our best, so look it’s an All-Ireland final, anything can happen and we will really be going for it.”