Connors epitomises steely mentality needed to compete at the highest level

By Stephen Barry

Tipperary’s triumphant 2025 campaign was full of make-or-break moments. For Willie Connors, his entire inter-county career has been defined by those moments and his responses to adversity.

From his senior debut in 2018 until this season, the 29-year-old Kiladangan stickman hadn’t started back-to-back championship games.

He missed two years with Tipp in the aftermath of a horrific double ankle fracture, but persistence seemed to be paying off with an extended National League run this spring.

Then, the league final against Cork derailed things all over again. In the 23rd minute, just after the Rebels netted a second goal, Connors was called ashore.

He didn’t feature at all against Limerick in the first round of the championship. He showed enough defiance as the fifth and final sub in the Cork rematch to move up the pecking order against Clare when Alan Tynan was forced off through injury late on. Once he got the nod to start against Waterford, Connors embarked upon five consecutive starts which led to All-Ireland glory.

“The league final was a bit of a disaster for us all, but mainly for myself,” he reflected at the launch of the 2026 Coop Superstores Munster Hurling League, where he revealed the post-match chat with Liam Cahill.

“We had a straight enough conversation alright,” he said.

“I watched the game back and so did he. At the time, I was obviously thick and upset and whatnot, but that's part and parcel.

“I reviewed it. I actually felt that I was looking for the ball more and maybe other lads weren't as much. That's the way I took it.

“I had my words with him over it. We parked it there and then. I said, ‘Listen, I'll stay going. There's no issue. If I can get back on this team, I'll offer something.’”

Connors offered every ounce of his considerable talent and effort across that Liam MacCarthy-winning run. He anchored the midfield alongside a rotating cast of partners before being the man called upon to blot out Cork wing-forward Declan Dalton in the All-Ireland final.

It was something of a blessing in disguise, in hindsight, that Darragh McCarthy’s red card at Páirc Uí Chaoimh prevented Tipp from unveiling any hint of a sweeper system. On that occasion, it was held in reserve as a Plan B. By the time of July’s final, it had been elevated to Plan A.

“It was a great way to go into an All-Ireland final. There wasn't too much expectation on us,” Connors said.

“We knew our gameplan. I know lads spoke about it, even in the Munster game. We might have played it a small bit during that and they might have copped onto it and seen what we would’ve come up with.

“I know you didn't want to see him (McCarthy) get sent off before the game, but maybe it’s fortunate that it happened. We just knew the game plan from there, and we knew they hadn't seen it.

“I know there was words said that Liam Cahill’s team doesn't play a sweeper, but was it a sweeper or was it a plus one? I suppose they're the same thing in a way.”

In training, the new system didn’t bed in smoothly.

“We tried it twice, and we got cleaned off by the second team the first time,” said Connors.

“The lads didn't really know where to be. It took a bit of work to get it going. Then on the day, there's probably luck involved as well. It just worked out.

“Some days, it could have happened the other way, and that could have been another AvB game scenario in an All-Ireland final, which wouldn't have went down as well.

“But we backed it and we made a pact to ourselves that that was it.”

In each training session, Connors never felt assured of his position. That approach is what earned his starting spot in the end.

“It keeps me driven to keep turning up and training hard. Then I suppose they can see that he's ready to give everything he has on the field. That’s the way I look at it.

“It's a hard one. You'd think you'd be fully confident of starting, but you never are. Not in those teams, because you know the next lad behind you is as good, if not better, on the day as well. So, you have to bring it every night at training.

“I came off in the semi-final. Was I going to start the final? Who knew? I didn't know until maybe the week and a half before it, but it was nice to get the confidence in me.”

With the buzz of being selected for All-Ireland final day, Connors was cracking jokes during the pre-match parade to keep his teammates in good spirits.

“I was in a good place mentally and physically. I was confident of having a cut off it. If you're getting to those games, you have to go out and enjoy it too.”

Connors feels that hurling is an obsession for him. He likes to get a few football games with Kiladangan and soccer matches with Sallypark Odhrans in the off-season to stay sharp. Even when he sustained that ankle injury against Kerry in the Munster Hurling League in 2022, he couldn’t sit still.

“While I was off the field, I was actually gyming with the cast on,” he revealed.

“I got into a bit of a mad habit. I was going down to the gym two or three times and trying to keep myself busy. Then I was trying to work through it as well, keeping the head busy.

“Then, obviously, I heard a few doubters and people saying, ‘You'll never play again’ and whatnot. I ignored them, but I used it in my own head.

“I just made it a goal to make sure I'd get back, even though it took me the ‘23 season to come back into Tipp in ‘24.

“I don't really know how to explain what it did to me, but it made me look forward to coming back. It made me enjoy the game a lot more. If you have a bad day, or a bad training session, or a bad match, you just have to park it and move on again.”

Speaking of parking it, Connors acknowledges the time has come to set 2025 aside and focus on the year ahead.

“It's going to be a tough job and I'd say we're definitely not favourites yet for it anyway. And rightly so.

“But you see the youth coming through with the boys’ Under-20 All-Ireland. Hopefully, a few of them will step up again this year, and we might get a few more in with us.

“We're ready to kick on again now and we’ll see what happens.”