Minor win was sobering, showing us real Tipp spirit

JAKE MORRIS SAYS LAST YEAR'S UNDERAGE | GLORY SHONE LIGHT ON PREMIER'S STANDARDS

- BY GARRY DOYLE

JAKE Morris remembers the mix of emotions he felt in Nowlan Park last year — proud, shamed, pained, regretful.

On the one hand, there was a deep admiration for his county, as the Tipperary minors somehow managed to win an All-Ireland final with 13 men in Kilkenny's home ground.

Except they aren't yet men but teenage boys. Yet there was something about their spirit, their fight, their resilience, which resonated.

And it hurt because earlier that summer, all those qualities were missing from the Tipp seniors, the team Morris is vice-captain of, and the side which failed to win a Championship game in 2024.

"That is why last year in Nowlan Park was a sobering day," Morris says, "watching the fight and spirit of that minor team, 16 and 17-year-olds showing us how Tipperary should be hurling.

"It definitely was a reference point for us seniors throughout the winter and it actually served us well in the semifinal (victory over Kilkenny 10 days ago when they were reduced to 14 players for the final 13 minutes).

"We are aware in hurling nowadays that anything can happen, and you just have to stay going to the final whistle."

And that's one of the key differences between the Tipp side of 2025 which has reached their first All-Ireland final in six years and the team that floundered around 12 months ago, receiving hammerings by Limerick and Cork en route to taking one point from four round-robin games.

Criticism followed, as it often does in Tipp when things go wrong.

Yet they stuck by one another, boss Liam Cahill with his young players, the players with their manager.