Jamesie O’Connor could sense the nerves in Thurles.
At Semple Stadium to see his native Clare contest and eventually emerge victorious from the two Allianz League finals, he could tell the natives were restless.
Tipperary had been beaten by the Banner at the quarter-final stage and had too long to think about their Munster SHC quarter-final against Cork (5pm, Sunday). O’Connor could sense “genuine trepidation”.
It didn’t help that Davy Fitzgerald and Derek McGrath were converting their beloved patch into a big green chess board as they battled it out for the league title.
There were new sheriffs in Munster and suddenly the traditional battle between the Premier and the Blood and Bandages (just the 92 Munster titles between them) was something of an afterthought.
“Quiet, low key is a perfect way to be going into the championship,” reckons O’Connor, speaking Friday at the launch of Sky Sports’ Championship coverage. “Cork too will be very glad there has been no focus on them heading into the Championship.”
His fellow pundit Nicky English offers an alternative view. Too much time to think in Tipperary is a dangerous thing.
“If there is an absence from the league there is always speculation about the make-up of the team and how they are going in training,” says English, who has won All-Irelands for his native Tipp as a player and manager.
“Most of it is ill-informed by nature, you don’t know what is going on so you have to wait until Sunday.”
In Cork, of course, the crisis of confidence is even more stark – and that is before you consider the natural cockiness of Rebel hurling fans.
Relegation from Division 1A was avoided thanks to a late goal against Galway, which provided their one and only win of the league. Scoring goals has not been a problem – defending them has been.
To rectify this problem Kieran Kingston and his backroom team have reportedly been bulking up their charges – wristy Cork hurlers morphing into brawny athletes.
O’Connor believes Kingston, Diarmuid O’Sullivan and Pat Hartnett are simply bridging a talent gap that exists between the traditional Munster powerhouse and their youthful rivals.
“If Cork had a Tony Kelly and Colm Galvin and Austin Gleeson, I think Jimmy Barry Murphy would have found them and Kieran Kingston would have found them by now.
“Cork are probably paying for a lack of success at minor and Under 21 level in recent years. The cupboard is probably not as stocked as it would have been in 1999 or whatever,” says O’Connor.
“Listen, the best players in Cork are on that panel and if they need to be more physical and they need to bulk up that is because that is the best way they can make a mark in the Championship.”
As far as English is concerned, Kingston is taking whatever steps possible to plug the gaps in defence, not altering the DNA of Cork hurling.
“If you are Kieran Kingston going in as manager, the game they played against Galway last year when they were quite obviously outmuscled [is on your mind].
“The image of Johnny Glynn bursting through the defence and going straight for an early goal is still in the memory. Yes, they have reputedly bulked up somewhat. But I don’t think it is going to be bulk that makes the difference for Alan Cadogan, Conor Lehane and Daniel Kearney. They are still going to be relying on their skill.”
If Cork head into Sunday’s Championship showdown under something of a cloud of introspection, then Tipperary are also asking some questions about where they fit into the hurling universe.
The Premier County have replaced the cerebral Eamon O’Shea with Michael Ryan who, as a player, was the type to make a man take “evasive action” according to O’Connor.
Ryan will want to make Tipperary more direct, but is that the best approach for a team packed with talented forwards like John ‘Bubbles O’Dwyer, Seamus Callinan, John McGrath and Patrick ‘Bonenr’ Maher?
“I am sure it is something that has been discussed, ‘what style are we playing?’ Certainly, under Eamon, the players very much knew what way they wanted to play and the style very much suited them. I’d say it has come up and, under pressure, players will do what comes naturally to them,” says O’Connor.
“I think that sort of short stick passing game, [with] Noel McGrath, Callinan, Bonner, Bubbles… I think we may see a hybrid, with Tipp going a bit more direct but good players will make the right decision and if that is a 20-yard pass then so be it.
“They will not be restrained by a rigid game plan where they have to lorry everything into the edge of the square.”
English, who played alongside Ryan before managing him in the twilight of his intercounty career, is certain the Upperchurch-Drombane man will ring the changes.
“I have no doubt there will be a change of emphasis. It appeared that way in the league. Anything takes time. The team are used to playing in a certain way under Eamon,” says English.
“I don’t think they will throw everything out. Eamon’s ideas were based on movement and you can’t remain static in the modern game.”
In the Munster of Davy and Derek McGrath it is as important for management to keep moving as the inside forward line.
Will Cork position William Egan as a sweeper to try and stop the likes of McGrath, Bubbles and Callinan? Can a rookie Tipperary midfield instigate a new hybrid Tipperary game?
Two big beasts operating in an uncertain present. No wonder the natives are restless.
All eyes, including Hawkeye, will be on Semple come Sunday. Only then can we see how they’re adapting.
