âBeating a team with better players is tough but absolutely possible. It comes down to strategy ,discipline and outworking them."
CHAT GPT
Niall Ă CeallachĂĄinâs interview in the immediate aftermath of Dublinâs mauling by Cork was interesting for its content as well as for the reaction of the Sunday Game panel. Roundly praised for Dublinâs decision to go man to man and be âbraveâ, the former Na Fianna maestro mused, âWhat do you want us to do?â, outlining their admirable quest to go after the Rebels.
Confidence can be a dangerous thing and when interviews before the game focused on metrics and were not fused with that sense of anger, I felt that Dublin were doomed to lose convincingly. I spent that Saturday night thinking about the Dublin approach. How do you get the balance right between using the confidence that significant victory over Limerick gives you with the realisation that the next opposition have more threats and perhaps better players.
Dublin fell into the âwe are as good as Corkâ trap. The punditry largely focused on Dublinâs bravery, but their approach smacked of naivety to me.
I do not know a huge amount about âChat GPTâ but the nerd in me was curious about the question: âHow to beat a team that have better players than you?â.
The answer given was the direct opposite of what Dublin presented. Tactical intelligence with a focus on implementing your own style, negating the oppositionâs key players, pressing yet counter-attacking, attacking and defending as one (not one one-on-one but as one team). Winning the effort battle by measuring work rate and intensity. Disciplined communication where agreement is reached to stick to the plan. The importance of nailing your set pieces and being psychologically prepared to play with belief, heart and focus. This is what the AI-generated information spat out.
THE POWER OF TRADITION AND AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP
Cork and Tipperary will have all the above facets of their preparation nailed. No doubt exists in either county nor in their managersâ psyche that their set of players are inferior. If Pat or Liam managed a perceived minnow or a county yearning to make a breakthrough with more limited player availability and resources, they might have to adapt more. Corkâs U20 victories of the past few years, allied to Tipperaryâs minor, u20 conquests and Harty and Croke Cup successes, the future is bright in both counties.
Fast forward five years. Will the Cork 15 include Garde, Brosnan, the Downeys, Collins, Deane, Joyce, Hayes, Connolly, Healy to name but some of the combination. What about the possibility of Eunan Murray anchoring a team at 6, having played with and being coached by the Maher brothers at club level and a Tipperary forward line that includes OâDonoghue, Martin, McCarthy, McCormack , Morris, Rossiter etc.
One thing is certain, this is not the last time these two will meet over the coming years in significant finals. Cahillâs commentary this week, hinting at the ânext few yearsâ, reflects his vision and plan. Integrating the young players has provided his team with freshness and energy and crucially provided the Tipperary people with a clear view of the plan. This has taken skilful and clever management.
When making decisions to omit seasoned players from panels the world can seem like it is closing in on you. Cahillâs bravery, honesty and authentic approach has served him well. Itâs easy to attack and criticise someone while they are risk-taking. In Brene Brownâs book âThe Gifts of Imperfectionâ, she talks of âcruelty being cheap, easy and rampantâ. Both Cahill and Ryan know that authenticity isnât always the safe option. It is, as Brown points out, âchoosing being real over being liked, stepping out of your comfort zone, risk-taking and wandering through new territoryâ. Though this is a traditional pairing, the feeling of new is very evident.
WE NEVER WORK ALONE APPROACH
Most coaches have read and gathered many ideas from coaching books and autobiographies. âWe never work aloneâ was an idea used by Jim McGuinness during his first stint with Donegal. Observers will point to the traditionalists bringing a traditional game Sunday, a 15-on-15, man for man all over the pitch, approach. They may well be right but for me itâs the âhelpâ piece that will decide the winner.
Cork will back the pace and strength of Sean OâDonoghue and Niall OâLeary to win their respective battles with Darragh McCarthy and Jason Forde. However given Fordeâs troubling of Eoin Downey earlier this year, he may well line up at 14.
Michael Bevans may well have studied Limerickâs first half demolition of Cork in the 2021 final and encourage McCarthy not to get caught in an out in front battle with OâDonoghue, but instead to recreate the Peter Casey wandering role. opening up space, scoring from distance, and allowing Jake Morris in particular to spend sporadic minutes inside.
If Ronan Maher tracks Brian Hayes, collective defending will be the order of the day for Tipp, with bodies including Ormond, Morris, OâFarrell, Stakelum and Connors flooding back to support Maher, Breen and Doyle. This may leave Eoghan Connolly matching up with Declan Dalton, following him deep hoping to defend hard but score himself too.
Bryan OâMara has been Tipperaryâs go-to fire extinguisher, solving the John Donnelly problem with a nice mix of aggression and hurling. He may reprise the role on Shane Barrett but Tippâs flexibility in defence ensures that the reshuffle doesnât impact their structure. While there is often a conventional look to Tippâs three inside forwards, their approach is slightly different to the Rebels with everyone else occupying the middle third.
Corkâs brilliant creation of space in behind the Tipperary half-back line in both the league final and the championship encounter will have alerted Tipp and Bevans to ensure their defence is buffered by the aforementioned double jobbers. Thereâs great honesty and sincerity to Tipoâs approach and with the tradition and skill and game-changers in Morris, Forde and the McGraths Tipperary will not be aligned with their supportersâ mindsets of âbuilding towards somethingâ. Cahill and Tipperaryâs approach will be that there is no tomorrow.
CORK THE ALMOST PERFECT MIX
âOff-the-cuff is, kind of, when unpredictability comes in, it is within our structure, you know? Youâve got to have the structure in place to then be unpredictable with what you do. There are times when you have the pod off 9, or off 10, and you play around that. So your unpredictability comes from being able to scan, see the space and actually call it, be brave and take it on.â
Finn Russell in conversation with Ronan OâGara after the Lionsâ victory over the Brumbies.
I have championed for years the concept of âstructured flairâ, the discipline equals freedom space. Corkâs creation of space with the depth of their three inside only changed for the second Limerick game with a double 11, Tim Oâ Mahony and Darragh Fitzgibbon lodged in a five-man half back line providing them with a nice cordoned area to be man-to-man but allow the help piece to be much nearer.
This sounds like a contradiction but it is not. The approach will probably revert to more conventional as it did when playing Dublin with the disparity in pace being the obvious factor. Tipperary will chase defending their goals as hard as they chase scoring them and this may lead to cards of varying colours.
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The pace disparity is still significant as is the likely impact from the benches of Kingston, Lehane, Robbie OâFlynn and the possible emotive impact of Harnedy. Might Pat consider a left-field start for one of those perceived âfinishersâ with a pace injection from the start in Kingston or OâFlynn? After Dublin, Pat was quick to point to the need to get better at âtackles from behindâ. Corkâs freedom to express themselves only comes from brilliant Duck OâRourke-led coaching and repetition and obsessive attention to detail.
The emotive deeper piece is more significant with Cork. Harnedy and Horganâs ascension to first-time winners, allied to the presence of something uniquely spiritual to their being driving them.
HOW LUCKY ARE WE
One thing I am 100% sure of is that Tipperary will show up psychologically and physically. I expect them to flow from an early stage, mixing structure and free minds and bodies to propel them to an early, possible half-time advantage. Accusatory remarks may well surface in the FIR and MNA stations at half-time that âwe are in bother here". The âCork are softâ jibe might even be dusted off for its annual airing. However, as I have pointed out in a couple of columns this year, Cork are mission-bound, on a voyage, a journey where something deeper is at play.
Sunday reminds us just how lucky we are. I was reading some good luck wishes for Sam OâFarrell this week from his old school, Glenstal Abbey. This young man got 7 H1s in his Leaving Certificate, is studying medicine in NUIG. Last year on the June Bank holiday weekend, he played in an epic encounter when Offaly defeated Tipperary in the u20 decider before sitting his exams on the Wednesday. No wonder he can adapt so well to playing wing forward, midfield and wing back, perhaps all in the same game.
My real point here is the outlook, the make-up of our players. Deep thinkers, gentle but savage, calculated but emotive, reflective of their parents and their managers. The mission for Cork is a more immediate one and while I anticipate some extremely rocky seas, I expect them to navigate them eventually.
