Nothing beats being there
IN ALL FAIRNESS
For just the third time in twenty seasons reporting on the Tipperary senior hurlers in the championship, I wasn’t present at Zimmer Biomet Pairc Chíosóg last Saturday to see Tipperary get the better of Clare to keep their hopes of progressing alive.
When you are used to being at games in person, watching on a mobile phone through the guise of GAA+ isn’t the same, particularly when the pressure was coming on in the second half. You don’t have the same feel for why the game is turning the way it is, particularly the impact of the breeze which didn’t come across as being significant on the commentary as it was according to spectators at the game.
It wasn’t just the win that was important for Tipperary in keeping their championship hopes alive, it was the manner of it, finding more in reserve to outpoint Clare 0-4 to 0-1 down the home stretch after giving up a twelve point lead at one stage.
The pessimists will say Tipp shouldn’t be giving up such a lead but in modern hurling with the high scoring rates, no lead is safe and when Clare finally managed to get on level terms on 62 minutes, the momentum suggested there would only be one winner.
Crucially, Tipperary never allowed Clare to get their noses in front, finally managing to get the ball to stick in the forward line which they had played without throughout most of the half.
Supporters who have written letters to me last week and this week lament why Tipp, and indeed all teams, don’t play more direct. The reason is there is a greater risk at not having the ball and the good teams just won’t give it back to you. In the first half, Tipp owned the ball and turned it into a 4-9 to 1-9 half time lead, Clare likewise in the second half, winning the period 1-12 to 0-9.
A number of articles surfaced last week in advance of the game of Tipperary’s inability to get goals compared to their rivals but the return to goalscoring form was timely with four on the evening, and it should have been more with John McGrath firing over with a green flag at his mercy.
As satisfying as the strong spirit there is in the group this year which has shown itself in the three Munster Championship games to date, is also the better flow to the way Tipp are playing. They are finally adapting to the modern style, you cannot just puck the ball away, you have to give the pass to the advantage of your teammate, be it through the hand or hurley, short or long.
We are still some way from being proficient at it, but we are much improved, and it has made Tipperary competitive once again, and with that platform, you can then get results.
It is a long time since Tipperary have gone into a home game with a sense of expectation as there will be on Sunday when Waterford come to Tom Semple’s Field in what is another knockout game in the round-robin series.
The much maligned support should be much better, and they will play a big part, particularly in the second half when it is expected the game will be decided. The prize is as big for Waterford as it is for Tipperary, but the Premier are coming in with confidence and belief, and such is what at stake there will be no taking Waterford for granted, not that they should be considering the poor record against the Deise in recent years.
Blackmore rides off into the sunset
The manner in which Rachael Blackmore signed off from race riding without fanfare is exactly what she was all about during her illustrious career.
The Killenaule lady could have told everyone this time last year that this past season would be her last and she could have taken the acclaim of racing followers at tracks both here in Ireland and the UK, but that is not her. She could well have announced it to all at the recent Punchestown Festival which brought the curtain down on the 2024/2025 national hunt season, as Ruby Walsh did in 2019 when he won the Gold Cup and called it quits there and then. But that wasn’t her.
Rachael Blackmore understood the position she elevated to herself through her success, not just as a great jockey, but also as a leading female in a male dominated sport. She might never have seen herself or wanted to be treated any differently than her male colleagues, but what she has done through her sixteen year career in winning 575 races, including the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Aintree Grand National, will inspire more young females to become jockeys into the future.