Tipperary players know it would have been a long road back

Of this much Pádraic Maher is convinced: for the chosen few there would be no way back from another Kilkenny defeat.

Forget about Maher’s six Munster medals, his three All Stars, two minor and one under-21 All-Irelands. To falter under the weight of another Kilkenny onslaught in September, to be denied a second senior title six years would have been too much to handle.

Think about that. Fear of failure could have ruined them. Kilkenny could have broken the resolve of one of the great wing backs of this or any generation, they could have killed off a Tipperary team with a three-in-a-row during a period that was supposed to be Tipp's greatest ever.

“We always had full belief, promise you, 100 per cent belief but, straight up: if we had lost yesterday it would have been very hard to come back,” said Maher in a rare moment of seriousness.

“I know it is easy to say now because we won but to be honest with you for the few of us who have been there so long, to be beaten in another All-Ireland final, no matter who beat us, it would have been some sucker punch. That’s why it is such a big relief to get over the line.”

Did you talk about that beforehand? “No. No one said it but the lads knew it.”

The crowd seemed nervous, subdued even, during the parade. “When you are playing the same team over and over again but keep getting beaten you can be a bit cautious but we did have full belief,” he said.

“We felt we were well capable of winning it but thankfully we did because to take another defeat like that, I don’t know how I would have felt.”

Certain moments, like his 51st minute point, mattered. To beat Kilkenny a team must pulverise Kilkenny. Tipperary did just that in the end but in those thrilling exchanges after half-time the defending champions plundered a goal off Kevin Kelly’s hurley.

“We knew the 10 minutes after half-time is when Kilkenny hit you. That’s what they do. They scored the goal and went two points up and people were wondering what way it would go. In fairness to the lads everyone knuckled down.

[CROSSHEAD]Experience[/CROSSHEAD] “We went five points up with I think 20 minutes to go. I remember looking around to the backs and everyone was tapping the head, saying, ‘Everybody keep the head, next ball’. We had rehearsed that in training. That’s where we got caught before in other All-Irelands against Kilkenny. Experience kind of told there which was great.”

The year 2010, after losing to Kilkenny in the 2009 final, was seen as the dawn of Tipperary dominance. Multiple All-Irelands were promised. They had the players, old and young, and more were coming, more brothers like Ronan Maher and John McGrath and Brian McGrath.

The game was theirs to own. Kilkenny won four of the next five All-Irelands. In 2014 Liam MacCarthy was snatched away from them before Galway beat them in the 2015 semi-final.

"In 2010 I was like Ronan and Mikey Breen coming in with no fear. Carefree attitude, just going out and enjoying it," said Maher.

"The likes of myself, Brendan and Noel and Mickey Cahill got caught up in the whole thing where there was a burden on our shoulders for the next few years. We felt that pressure. This year we got a release of that. I think that showed in our hurling performances.

“We probably took it all for granted [in 2010]. Not only the players but everyone in Tipperary expected: this is it now, one after the other. But it’s not that easy when you come up against good teams like Kilkenny, and Galway caught us a few times as well. Just goes to show. Like, a couple of lads yesterday weren’t able to celebrate they were so tired. That’s the effort you have to put in. But it’s all worth it. Great feeling now.”

And what of his 20-year-old brother seeing off the last two hurlers of the year, Richie Hogan and TJ Reid?

[CROSSHEAD]Expectation[/CROSSHEAD] “He’s unbelievable. He plays like that, with no fear, whether it is club training or with Tipp,” Maher said.

“Ronan, Mikey Breen, John McGrath, any bit of advice I have given them is to keep hurling like that. Don’t let the whole burden of expectation grab you. Just take it game by game, year by year, enjoy it. That’s how you get the best out of it.”

Now comes the test to see if lessons from the winter of 2010 have been learned.

“There will be more lads pulling out of you for the next few months to take the cup here and there. We got caught up in that before. It’s great to have it but as Mick [Ryan] said yesterday we are going back in November and we are going to have to work even harder and find some other edge to get us over the line next year again.”

Because that is what these hurling careers demand.

"We are after catching up with Larry [Corbett], Eoin Kelly and Nicky English: they all have two [All-Irelands]. Declan Ryan has three so he's the next target, Tipperary-wise, then we'll worry about the rest after that.

“We have experienced a six-year gap between the two of them and we don’t want that to happen again. It is going to be vital we come back and give it our all, defend our title. It would be great to do it again.”

It would confirm greatness.