Not a perfect outing for Tipp but the tempo is gradually rising

By Noel Dundon

Assessing round 2 of the National Hurling League and attempting to make it relate to what will face the Premier County on Saturday next in Cork is a bit like trying to compare apples and oranges.

The challenge which SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh will afford the All-Ireland champions will be many levels above the challenge which manifested in Tullamore last Sunday.

This will be the first meeting of the sides since the All-Ireland Final – a final which Cork claim should have been theirs, but which, inexplicably, they lost in a whimper when Tipperary applied the second half pressure. Granted, Cork had dished out big victories in the League final and in the Munster championship, but few people now give those wins much credit when the end of year tallies are counted up. Tipp are All-Ireland champions and that is the major currency in this game.

However, as with all clashes between Tipp and Cork, the most important one is the one to come and on Saturday evening the Rebels will be rising like the water levels in the River Lee as they bid to put Tipperary back in their box. They will want the floodgates to open as they did on two occasions last year. But Cork beware – while they won two games in 2025 against Tipp; Tipp also won two games in 2025 against Cork. So, expect a battle royale on Saturday night under lights – it is expected to be helter-skelter.

The Offaly clash will have told Liam Cahill and his management team little enough, apart from one thing – their charges are chomping at the bit and full of enthusiasm for the game. The internal competition in the panel is really driving things forward and players who are getting the opportunity to show what they can do, know full well that there are others looking over their shoulder waiting to get in, should they falter.

Despite the fact that Offaly were being put to the sword and the game was going very much in Tipperary’s favour, subs John & Noel McGrath still wanted to come on and show what they can do. Gearoid O’Connor got a rare start and wanted to make an impression. And then, there’s Jason Forde who returned to the starting fifteen and bagged 3-10 for his troubles.

Barry Hogan was in between the posts, Johnny Ryan was at corner back, Josh Keller at wing forward and Jack Leamy in the corner, with Conor Martin at half back. There were also league debuts off the bench for Adam Daly and Cathal English.

It is on the cards that there could well be more changes for the trip to Cork and that’s the way the league will be for Tipperary – chopping and changing; swopping in and out; looking at combinations; assessing players in different roles; getting game-time into as many men as possible.

One thing which was evident in Tullamore is that Tipp struggled at times when long ball was being fired down on top of Offaly’s big target man Ciaran Cleary. It took some time to get to grips with this - had he been available, Ronan Maher would likely have been deployed on the big Shinrone clubman. Alternative arrangements have to be made for the time being and management will have taken note.

This was not a perfect showing from Tipp by any manner and there is plenty of room for improvement. The touch was off at times; possession was handed away rather easily on occasion; and decision making left a lot to be desired at times also. But the game was a work in progress and as time wore onwards, Tipperary got to grips with Offaly, grinded them down and eventually over-ran them.

It would be worrying if Tipp were peaking at this early stage and following Sunday’s game, they certainly will not be accused of that, despite running up just shy of thirty scores.

Tipp will face bigger challenges than Offaly brought and the next outing will be one of those. There will be multiples of Sunday’s 5,897 attendance in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday night, but travelling with four points in the bag, Tipp can have a real cut off the Rebels.

The fine start to the league campaign has afforded some breathing space and the players will want to continue their good form and their winning ways. They will know though that tempo, application and concentration will have to be up several notches to meet Rebel steel with Premier iron when the ball is thrown in.