O'Neill takes his chance and earns the bouquets

"Come on over here out of the way, lads. Let's do this over here." Nicky English calls the invading sportswriters to a side of the Tipperary dressing room, and with the minimum of prompting, talks about spirit and rain and reaching the All-Ireland final.

"The lads were stung by some of the criticism they got over the week, and we knew our character had been questioned. Well, we've had that spirit and character for the last three years. This year we have tried to change our style and play more hurling but we always knew that in the test of spirit and heart we wouldn't be found wanting.

"Sure, we were lucky to get of last week and we felt lucky to get out to be honest, but when momentum goes against you there is not much you can do. And we were very worried with the weather conditions today, but to pull through the way we did showed a lot of character. But Wexford showed magnificent character as well."

On to more troublesome topics, like the close-range fencing with hurls between Brian O'Meara and Liam Dunne, and the loose swinging of Michael Jordan.

"Of course you miss a lot on the sideline, but I doubt if there was a dirty stroke in the match. Still, three people sent off in conditions like that, well, that might have been a little harsh.

"And I haven't spoken to Brian yet, but I don't think there was a lot to it, and to see him miss an All-Ireland is very disappointing. I'm not sure if we can do anything, but it certainly is a downer for us."

From then on, tactically, English got the maximum return from the extra man.

"The extra man is always going to be important, but we've seen a lot in football this year when teams with the extra man seemed to go down a man. But I felt we used our extra man very well, and we tried to keep our position as much as we could rather than let the lose man run around the place. I think we learned that lesson in 1999 against Clare."

English also takes time to reflect on Eugene O'Neill, the re-emerging face of Tipperary hurling whose two goals helped turn the game: "Well I thought he did very well when he came on, but you know he has been very patient. I keep saying that it takes 20 players but that's difficult on the guys in the squad who are not running out on the pitch in the first 15. Eugene has been one of those players and yet he came on today and was a major influence. He won a lot of ball in the second half and scored two goals. You can't do any more than that."

At that moment, Wexford manager Tony Dempsey walks in to offer congratulations. A beaten man but head still held high, and kinder words could not have been spoken.

"You are a tremendously sporting team," he says, "and you have the ability to win the All-Ireland and you have the manager to win an All- Ireland. Hopefully you'll go on and win the All-Ireland so that some of our young lads can say they played and drew against the All- Ireland champions. So go on and win it now and do us proud."

Over in the corner, Eugene O'Neill has been spotted. His two-goal return has put the spotlight on him, almost a forgotten man since winning the 1997 young hurler of the year award.

"You're always happy to get those sort of chances and today I got two of them. Other days you come on and you get nothing but that's the way the game goes. The first one came from a quick ball from Eoin Kelly, a brilliant pass. I was simply through after that.

"I don't know who sent in the second one, but I just remember catching it, and saw the chance. So I just hit it. It was very slippery out there, though, and the forwards were sliding all over the place. But there was some great hurling as well."

Down the corridor, Dempsey is still putting words on the disappointment. A hard day and a hard loss but still a fulfilling season.

"Our forwards worked very hard but we found it difficult with the extra man there. We sent Darragh Ryan down - I thought with a bit of luck we might have got a penalty or a 21- yard-free towards the end, but it didn't happen. Tipperary deserved their win on the day.

"The sending-off of the two players had a huge effect, but I have no comment to make on the quality of the decisions. But I do think they decided the outcome of the game in a big way. If a referee sends off two players, then he turns it into a game of backs and forwards. Any ball we cleared was going to be thrown back to us.

Even now, long after the final whistle has blown, the loss of Liam Dunne leaves Dempsey shaking his head: "No manager likes to see players sent off but to lose a player of Liam Dunne's quality is a major setback. As far as I'm concerned he is one of the best hurlers ever to grace Croke Park and a true sportsman."