Connors resilience epitomises Tipp's steely determination
By Shane Brophy
Tipperary’s upturn in fortunes in 2025 have many reasons behind it and one of them is a steely mindset of the players and none epitomises that more than Willie Connors.
In the National League final in April, he suffered the ignominy of being subbed off after just 23 minutes as the Tipp management looked to stem the bleeding of the first half onslaught by Cork.
While there was a combination of a hand injury, any number of players could have been sacrificed but it was the Kiladangan man who was chosen.
It had its repercussions as Connors, a leading performer in midfield in the run to the league final, was an unused sub in the first game of the Munster Championship against Limerick and was only brought on in the 67th minute of the return trip to Cork where the game was long over as a contest.
He again started from the bench against Clare but his introduction in the 58th minute coincided with Tipperary stemming the Banner wave which threatened to sink their championship ambitions.
The hamstring injury sustained by Alan Tynan provided an opening and it was Connors who grabbed it with a start against Waterford where he was hugely influential, to such an extent that when he was off the field between the 47th and 52 minutes receiving treatment for a blood injury, coincided with Waterford’s purple patch where they erased Tipperary’s six point lead in as many minutes.
In the modern game where power and athleticism are almost prerequisites to play in the midfield, Connors has shown there is still a place for dexterity and the eye for a pass, and on Saturday, showed his scoring prowess with five points from play in the win over Laois.
“It was a case of getting the job done and move onto next Saturday,” he said of the teams performance.
“It wasn’t the finished article or anything but we drove it on and picked off some good scores, and it was nice to get a game under the belt before Saturday.
“We knew what was coming and knew what we had to get done today and move onto next Saturday, and we’ll be ready.”