Younger Rebel legs walk the walk this time

Camogie All-Ireland final: "Rebels abú arís," cried Cork captain Elaine Burke from the steps of the Hogan Stand. How nice it must feel to steal a line from Seán Óg Ó hAilpín and for it to carry equal resonance in your own sport.

It was strange to be asking Tipperary manager Paddy McCormack, in his first year in charge, about the end of an era but many of his players have been at this since the early 1990s. We needed to know had time caught up on a great team.

"That would be taking away from Cork, I think," he said. "On the day we had no excuses. Cork were the better team in the end.

"Now, we were in the position especially at half-time, (when we led) by five points, but we knew Cork were going to come at us. We knew this Cork team weren't going to take three defeats in a row easy.

"We knew that and we went into the second half trying to take the game to them. They got the break off the goal but maybe vice versa, we got the break in the first half with a goal as well.

"But once they got that goal they seemed to dominate certain sections of the field. Important sections. They were the team going forward.

"It's great for John Cronin coming in, in his first year, and winning an All-Ireland, but having said that our girls are absolutely brilliant, we are very proud of them. They have been here seven years in a row. They are great sports people and they will continue at the highest level and I know come next February they will be back looking for more again."

Granted, Tipperary camogie is here to stay but will they all return?

"Look, if anybody ever walks away from this Tipperary team we can't say anything to them. They've achieved so much. Some of them have been hurling since 1992, so they had lean days as well. Okay, they have made hay while they could over the last number of years but I wouldn't write any of them off yet."

Still, in the end, fitness was the brutal difference between the teams. That and the fact Cork were simply not prepared to lose to Tipperary this time even after a disastrous opening half hour.

"I suppose there was pressure on us to deliver after the two defeats but they really came out fighting in the second half," said Cronin. "I think our younger legs won it for us."

On collecting the O'Duffy Cup, Burke paid tribute to trainer Fiona O'Driscoll, who played an essential role in the 2002 victory by scoring a hat-trick in the final and again from the sidelines this year.

"Fiona is phenomenal," said Burke. "She was a phenomenal player, I mean the last time we beat Tipperary was down to her. 4-9 to 1-9; she got the three goals.

"What she brings to the team words can't describe. The thought that goes into every training session. The method and the tactics she uses, it was something we hadn't been used to."