Eamonn Corcoran has more reason than most for keen anticipation of Sunday's All-Ireland final. In last year's quarter-final, also against Galway, he had to leave the field injured and that blow combined with the loss of John Leahy is reckoned to have sealed the county's fate.

Since he began inter-county hurling two years ago, Corcoran has been hot property. Last year's injury probably robbed him of an All Star and this year he isn't far off Hurler of the Year status. His arrival was heralded - as is often the case - by some outstanding performances in the Fitzgibbon Cup.

Named Player of the Tournament after final wins over UCC in 1999 and UCD a year later, Corcoran's progression to the Tippeary team was assured.

"I was very raw when I went to Waterford," he says. "Used to taking two or three touches of the ball. When you go down there it's inter-county hurling or at least a step up from under-21 and a step down from senior - that's Fitzgibbon hurling. It brings on an awful lot of players."

His championship debut culminated in a creditable marking job on James O'Connor in the drawn match with Clare that same year. But his talents had wider application. For a while he experimented with the full back role until the emergence of Philip Maher and when injury struck his school friend and team mate David Kennedy (with whom he won an All-Ireland colleges B title at Our Lady's Templemore), Corcoran moved to the centre of the defence.

"I played centre back for a while. I didn't mind because I played there in the Fitzgibbon and played there for the club. It was only until Davy (Kennedy) got back. I stepped in to do a job with the team."

The defence has tightened as a unit over the past year. Four of them have been together for a while at this stage. That an unrated Wexford pillaged Tipp for three goals and came close to evicting them remains an uneasy exception to an otherwise formidable campaign.

"It was a bit disappointing against Wexford to concede three goals but those sort of things are going to happen in matches. As a team we have the experience of playing together a bit more, as most of us are playing for the last year or two. The more experience, the more confidence going out onto the field. Also the way the forwards are hurling creates pressure on the opposition and takes some of the pressure of us."

Although he has experience of playing centre back at a variety of levels up to the highest, Corcoran is happier on the wing.

"Don't mind left wing back or right wing back. Although I've played centre back I like the freedom on the wing, to try and do a bit of hurling. You don't get an easy touch anywhere as most wing forwards are going to be fast."

With the championship approaching its climax, he believes the team's hardest test came right at the start. The rivalry with Clare has been keen and unrelenting in the past four years and last June was no exception. In a match played on Clare's terms, Tipp toughed it out and won - a revelation to themselves as much as anyone else. I'd say Clare was the hardest. It was spirit that won it in the end."