Tipp now in championship mode

By Shane Brophy

Tipperary are effectively in championship mode after Sunday’s National Hurling League defeat to Waterford leaves their progression beyond the group stage out of their hands.

Colm Bonnar’s charges still have an outside chance of making the semi-finals ahead of their final group game against Darren Gleeson’s Antrim on Sunday week in Thurles where they require a win, coupled with Dublin failing to beat Laois, and Kilkenny losing to Waterford in the other games in the group.

However, the manner of the closing fifteen minutes in the 1-28 to 0-21 defeat by Waterford at Walsh Park has led to concern that not only will Tipp not only miss out on making the knockout stages of the league, but they’ll also fail to make it out of the round robin stage of the Munster Championship.

With Cork and Waterford going well in the league so far, and with All-Ireland champions Limerick likely to pull things together, and Clare always a difficult prospect, Tipperary will have it all to do to make it into the top 3, particularly as they will start that championship campaign away to Waterford in just over five weeks’ time, with manager Colm Bonnar admitting they will have to improve quickly if they are to be in the hunt.

“We have to improve and are going to have to get better quickly because this is coming down the line in six weeks’ time,” he said.

“Maybe in hindsight had we been going the way we were going a snuck a closer game we might have been thinking we are closer to Waterford than we were, but we have a lot of work to do to try and catch up to where they are as they have huge experience in the game they are playing, they are at it three years and bring a huge commitment to it.”

The Tipperary manager also confirmed that Seamus Callanan is in a race against time to be ready for that Munster Championship opener after breaking a finger in training last Friday, and all going well will take six weeks to heal, following surgery, leaving him under pressure to be sharp for the return trip to Walsh Park on April 17th, with Colm Bonner disappointed for the veteran forward.

“He has done so much to get himself right,” he said.

“He had a serious back injury, and it took him eight weeks to prehab it and then he was on modified training for four weeks before we threw him in a bit early against Dublin, but we were delighted with the way he was moving and had no ill-effects after the game.

“Unfortunately for him he won’t be able to hurl for another six weeks so it will be cutting it tight for the championship.”