Hoping to prove the doubters wrong

Interview/Tipperary's Benny Dunne: Depending on who you listen to in the final countdown to the Munster Hurling Championship Tipperary have either no chance of winning it, or practically no chance of winning it. Even if they do get past Limerick in Thurles on Sunday there's been very little talk of silverware, at least not with the form shown in last year's championship and this year's league.

The reality isn't nearly as glum. That team captain Benny Dunne has yet to win silverware of any sort with the county does say something about the lack of confidence in Tipperary hurling, but that's mostly because he reflects the evolution of the team. He made his senior debut in the league of 2002, when Tipperary were All-Ireland champions. Since then Dunne has lost one Munster final, and two All-Ireland semi-finals, and he's still only 24.

"I know things are very downbeat at the moment," says Dunne. "I think a win against Limerick would really bring that on. Hopefully we'll at least shade the support in Thurles on Sunday, but I think a couple of wins would get the support going, and that's so important because it does make such a big difference.

"But I think it's fair to say we have been underachieving for the last couple of years, even with the guys we've lost since the All-Ireland in 2001. So in a way we're more motivated than ever this year. All we're looking for right now is to win in the first round and beat Limerick on Sunday. We've been totally focused on that since the end of the league. But we know how important it is for us to win some silverware."

Dunne has experienced plenty of success with his club, Toomevara, winning his sixth county title last October, and then along with his brothers Tommy, Ken and Terry went on to collect the Munster club hurling title.

He has witnessed first hand the changes in the Tipperary team since the 2001 All-Ireland success, including the introduction of two new managers.

"I think all that has taken its toll, and we're still in a bit of a transition. We've lost the likes of Eddie Enright and John Carroll and Paul Ormonde, and I mean they were the backbone of the team in 2001. It would be hard on any team to lose the likes of them. But I think the new players are starting to fit in, and we'll definitely be looking for some sort of success this year."

Still, the league turned into a model on inconsistency, not just in terms of games, but also in the course of games: "We just didn't get a real pattern to our play. We went to Portugal for a week in between, and that probably broke our momentum a little bit, but we wanted to get a feel for some really hard training, and basically just live together for a week. We did train twice a day out there and were a little tired when we got back, so losing to Clare in the first round of the second phase.

"We'd a good win then over Galway, but after that it was Kilkenny down in Nowlan Park, and they were just firing over the points a lot quicker than we were. That's why Sunday is such a huge game for both teams, especially after the mixed league campaigns we've both had."

There was at least some consolation last year in that they were beaten in the qualifiers by eventual All-Ireland champions Cork, and yet Dunne believes Tipperary came closer that day than some people give them credit for.

"We were really in there with about 10 minutes gone in the second half. We led at half-time with a strong breeze down the field, but I know we had hit two wides, and then Cork came down the field and got a goal. That was perfect timing for them."

Winning back the Munster title after four years would go a long way towards proving the doubters wrong, but Dunne also knows Sunday is just the start of a long summer.

"Munster as always is going to be very tough to win, but I think there's a lot to be said for the new format. You will have the eight strongest teams in the country playing in the quarter-finals, and that's going to be exciting in itself. If you do lose early on at least you do go into the group stage, and I think the two or three games will bring teams on a lot. But it won't dent the intensity of the games in Munster. That's still what we're training for right now, to win that."