4 days ago
Tipperary are back in the groove and Jake Morris admits county minors helped light the spark
Inspiration can stem from any multitude of places or exploits. For the
Tipperary
senior hurlers, it just happened to be from the Tipperary minor hurlers.
Jake Morris, the current Premier County senior vice-captain, was in attendance at the All-Ireland minor final last June when 13-man Tipp overcame
Kilkenny
after extra-time at Nowlan Park.
That victory came just five weeks after the seniors had seen their 2024 campaign unravel, crashing to an ignominious early-season conclusion after failing to win a single game in the
Munster SHC
.
'I was down in Nowlan Park myself that day and there's no point in saying otherwise – we were embarrassed walking around,' recalled Morris.
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'You have to go to work, you can't hide away. We were in the trenches after last year, we had to deal with it face-on and take our constructive criticism and move on.
'There was a lot of soul-searching done over the winter, a lot of hard looks in the mirror and seeing what could be done.'
But watching the Tipp minors rally back after having two players sent off proved to be a spark for the county, with current senior boss Liam Cahill previously referencing the impact of that underage All-Ireland triumph.
Morris says it was the manner of the victory more than anything that resonated with the senior players.
It's massive, when you're coming down the home straight of a match down in Ennis or in Semple Stadium and you hear the chanting going
—
Jake Morris
'It was in terms of looking at a team that fought on their backs together, a united team, a good battling Tipperary team, that never-say-die attitude,' he explained.
'That's what was taken from that day. You never mind losing a game as long as you've shown up and you've performed and you've fought on your back and you can come away together on the bus afterwards and you can look at each other.
'The manner of some of the defeats last year wasn't acceptable. I suppose that's where there were some lessons taken from looking at 16- and 17-year-olds performing last year in Nowlan Park.'
The county's seniors have certainly performed this season. Cahill's side posted two wins and a draw in the Munster senior hurling championship to finish third in the group.
Tipperary players celebrate after beating Clare in last year's Munster minor hurling final at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick. Photograph: Ken Sutton/Inpho
Last weekend they hammered Laois by 23 points
to set up an All-Ireland quarter-final against Galway this Saturday at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick, 6.15pm.
And one of the more noticeable aspects of Tipp games this year has been a growing, returning, fanbase – something that has been recognised by the players.
'It's massive, when you're coming down the home straight of a match down in Ennis or in Semple Stadium and you hear the chanting going, 'Tipp, Tipp, Tipp', and you know that they're going to roar you out over the line,' said Morris.
'I suppose all Tipperary supporters are very fair, they just want to see a team that are battling hard and giving it their all and that's what we're doing this year. I suppose that's why they're getting behind us now, because it's a team that they can enjoy going to watch.'
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Despite being only 26, Morris is acknowledged as one of the real leaders within the Tipp squad. The Nenagh Éire Óg clubman made his Tipp senior debut in 2018.
'Leadership is off the field and on the field and we've a lot of good leaders in that dressingroom,' he said.
'For myself, it was just taking a look in the mirror and saying I need to do more on the field. It's not about giving big, massive speeches in the dressingroom; it's about leading on the field and that's consciously what I was trying to go after.'
If Cahill is hoping to create new heroes over the coming seasons, there is little doubt that Noel McGrath remains a colossus within the squad.
'Noel is worth so much to us inside there, he's so good with all the younger lads,' said Morris. 'He'll give you his last bit of energy and he's just such a good lad to have around the dressingroom and then you can see what he does on the field.
'He's like a fine wine, he's getting better. He's a really important player for us, he's been such a good hurler for Tipperary over the years and he just continues to give and give and give.'
