Hunger returns as Tipperary seek to bounce back stronger

Gaelic games/Interview Tipperary hurler Eoin Kelly: Ian O'Riordan talks to Tipperary's Eoin Kelly on his hopes for the rest of the league campaign

Tipperary's win over Kilkenny on Sunday did more than simply end the 14-game unbeaten streak of the All-Ireland champions in league and championship games, one which stretched back over a year.

It also injected some life into the remaining two rounds of the National Hurling League, which decide who will contest the final on May 5th.

The main beneficiaries were Cork, who themselves beat Clare on Sunday and face a crunch game at home to Kilkenny next weekend. Another win for Cork and suddenly the squeeze for the two final places will become much tighter.

On the current league table, not to mention form, Tipperary are best placed to reach the final.

At home to Galway on Sunday, and then concluding with Clare on April 27th, they can probably afford a defeat and still end up in the top two. If that means playing Kilkenny again in the final then, according to forward Eoin Kelly, there will still be every reason to win.

"Well the chances are we'll play Kilkenny again in a couple of weeks if we can qualify," said Kelly yesterday as another beneficiary of a monthly award.

"And it doesn't make a huge lot of difference to us. If you're going to win the league you have to beat the best anyway. Right now it's ourselves, Kilkenny and Cork that are in pole position. You wouldn't know who else might come back into it but if we can win again next Sunday we'll be very close to the final. And I know definitely that Cork, Kilkenny and ourselves are mad to win it."

As ever, Kelly's performance at corner forward on Sunday was a model of consistency, although it was marginally overshadowed by that of Ger O'Grady at full forward.

After several promising starts O'Grady hit fresh heights against Kilkenny, and leaves manager Michael Doyle with plenty of selection dilemmas over the coming months.

Yesterday Doyle confirmed that he would be having another look at both John Leahy and Denis Byrne, the former Kilkenny captain who has switched allegiance to Tipperary, as well as another two or three players this week.

Leahy has finally put his knee injury behind him and, like Byrne, will get a run-out at the Tipperary training session tonight. Another key forward, Brian O'Meara, still has to return from injury.

Kelly, however, was in no way surprised with O'Grady's 1-6 contribution on Sunday. "Well if you look down through the team all the forwards can score. Michael Doyle keeps emphasising that we're the best forwards in the county, and to go out and do it.

"So Ger had a brilliant match on Sunday but he's capable of doing that every day. As is Mark O'Leary and John Carroll. But Ger has a great head as well.

"He is well able to lay off some ball in the way Declan Ryan did. And it's no harm to have something like that. But I think most of the top teams in the country right now have very good forward lines."

The hunger in Tipperary's game on Sunday surprised few people. Last year was largely hard to stomach for the team that hit the ultimate peak in 2001, and Kelly, still just 21, talks freely about the desire in the team to come back in 2003, and come back stronger.

"I think we can. There's still not a whole lot between the top four or five teams right now, on league form anyway. Another few teams still aren't far behind. I see Limerick hammered Waterford on Sunday, and they weren't going well at the start. But it's coming into the right time of the year now.

"And if you think about it, most players' careers are short enough. And you want to win every year. You don't go starting training in January not to win something during the year, league or championship.

"So I feel we might be a bit hungrier this year. But all the players know it's up to them to put in the work."

The arrival of Doyle as manager helped put some fresh paint on the new season, yet Kelly still sees the team effort as being central.

"Well if the best manager in the world comes in, does that mean the players don't do anything? It's up to the players to get themselves right first, and then gel with the team."