'The guys are fit but they could improve their work-rate'

MATCH REACTION: DECLAN RYAN was jigging when it was all over. You don't often see Declan Ryan jigging. In fact, the last jig sighting when it comes to Declan Ryan is lost in the mists of myth at this stage.

No wonder Thomas Stapleton looked briefly confused as his manager skipped over and wrapped him in a bear hug. This is not what you would call normal behaviour.

Yet in Ryan, Tipp have a manager who still feels the stir of what a Munster title means and especially back-to-back Munster titles. He saw enough years pass without one to just lie back and wave one off now. His team came through here pulling up, maybe going for goals a bit too often when points would have done the trick. He wasn’t inclined to take them by the ear though.

“Certainly there were opportunities there where we could have taken a couple of handy points and we went for goals. But these guys are hungry for goals and I would never give out to anyone for going for goal. I think it’s a good trait in a forward to be going for a green one.”

One player who didn’t go for the green one was Lar Corbett. Stationed out around the middle for much of the day, Corbett was through on goal a few times but opted to try to play in a team-mate instead of taking his own score.

Ryan was only interested in the positives afterwards though.

“Lar ghosts around the place there and he got on to some lovely ball. He uses it very well. I suppose he could have taken a couple of his own scores there but that’s him, he’s always been a team player. That might be something we work on in training – his shooting.”

The latter remark was tongue in cheek so we pressed him for something they would need to be more serious about in the five-week gap to the semi-final.

“I think our focus at the start of each half could improve a little bit.

“Our work-rate could always improve a little bit. These guys are fit enough but they could improve their work-rate. There’s plenty to work on. We’ll sit down and watch the video and take it from there.

“We turned up last year after winning the Munster final and we weren’t at our best in the semi-final. We’ll have share of club activity now and that will take the focus for a week or two. Then we’ll come back and we’ll knuckle down for the semi-final.”

For Michael Ryan, his Waterford team provided only reasons to be proud.

They came back to the same venue where they shipped seven goals last July and faced it down without a backward step. His side doesn’t have Tipp’s deep well of class to draw from just yet and he knows it well. That they stood up for themselves was enough for him here.

“I’d like to pay tribute to two excellent teams and fully congratulate Tipperary.

“At the end of the day, they took their chances, they fully deserved their victory but I’d also like to say I’m very proud of our own lads. Last year the crowd were going home 10 minutes into the second half very disappointed and they were on a bit of a low. They turned it around, they worked very hard.

“Maybe we didn’t have the run of the ball, the ball hopped away once or twice but I don’t want to take anything away from this Tipperary victory. I know some of the lads, I was in Mullinahone managing for a year with Eoin Kelly and Paul Curran.

“As Munster manager as well I had Lar Corbett and Shane McGrath and Conor O’Mahony. They’re all tremendous lads, they’re a great team.”