NFL DIVISION THREE:AS THE the national leagues reach their busy climax few teams are causing as much of a stir as Tipperary. The footballers, that is, not the hurlers – who for the first time in recent years find themselves with some competition for the county spotlight.
Currently atop Division Three of the National Football League, Tipperary can secure promotion if they beat Louth on Sunday.
Reaching Division Two may not equate to the Promised Land, but it’s almost as good when the main highlight of recent years was winning the now obsolete Tommy Murphy Cup, in 2005.
And having beaten Cavan, Limerick, Offaly and Roscommon in the four previous rounds, Tipperary would be fancying their chances too, if it wasn’t for the fact that their under-21 team are being forced to play this Saturday – against Cork – in the Munster final.
For John Evans, who manages both the Tipperary senior and under-21 teams, this clearly doesn’t add up.
“Here is the prime example of the only under-21 championship game that’s going on this weekend, in any province, which happens to be in Munster, and involves Tipperary football. We’re also looking for promotion on Sunday, and how anybody else would put up with this, I don’t know.
“I mean the rigidity of the Munster Council, and the immovability of Cork, beggar’s belief. But there’s no point in crying and whinging about it now. We’ve done enough of that and no one has listened. We’ll get on with it.
“I’m sure we’ll get some sympathy on Sunday evening, but I’m sure there’ll be two red jerseys laughing as well. That’s Cork on Saturday, and Louth on Sunday. Although it’s not Louth’s fault.”
One of the reasons why Evans has managed to turn the fortunes of Tipperary football since taking over in October of 2007 is his injection of young, ambitions players – although there are a lot of other reasons too. He currently has seven under-21s on his senior panel, with five of those usually starting, and the other two featuring at some stage.
Who knows what the GAA’s Burnout Committee would make of it, but Evans found himself in the same situation last weekend: his under-21s beat Clare in the Munster semi-final on the Saturday, and the next day the seniors played Roscommon in the league, winning 2-13 to 1-10, with four of the under-21s – Chris Aylward, Ciarán McDonald, Brian Jones and Seán Carey – playing a part.
Contrast this with some other counties: Dublin had one of their under-21 ties rescheduled to avoid a clash with the seniors, while Cork, who will start Saturday’s under-21 final as hot favourites, give their under-21s total clearance from the senior panel – a luxury Tipp simply can’t afford.
“Right now I have no idea what team I’ll be able to send out on Sunday,” adds Evans. “And I won’t know until about five o’clock on Saturday evening. I’ll get together with the senior selectors and we’ll see who is still standing, and how many are able to make any contribution.”
But the Kerry native is still relishing the challenge Tipperary presented him, and he’s still looking beyond the horizon. Last season, his first, he lifted Tipperary out of Division Four when few gave them a chance, and even if it doesn’t happen against Louth on Sunday, the final round game against bottom-placed Longford will still give them a shot at promotion.
“There is no doubt we’re happy with where we are. But it’s no more than what I expected. We’ve come in under the radar, done our job very professionally, and the lads are playing good football. We’re a happy camp, value where we are, but the pool of players that we’re drawing on is not as big as other counties.
“I know at the start of this we were something like 100-1 to get promoted. We were 25-1 to stay in Division Three. And I know for a fact last year we were 50-1 to get promoted from Division Four. Obviously people didn’t know us. But it’s now that people are seeing the standard of football that we play, the style of football, that their eyes are being opened.”
When Evans takes about standard and style of football he’s talking about that which he first brought to Laune Rangers, guiding them to the All-Ireland club title in 1996, and more recently with the Kerry under-21s, and Kerins O’Rahilly’s.
“There is no doubt that things had to change in Tipperary. But there’s no point in looking back. We’re only looking forward. And it’s not just about John Evans.
“It’s about the whole management team, everybody working together. Alan Ward, our physical trainer, has won five AIL league titles with Shannon. We’ve two very enthusiastic selectors, John Cummins and Tom Twomey. Our physio, Seán Deegan, was with West Ham for seven years, and we’ve the same dieticians as Bernard Dunne.
“Players respond to that. A good shop window sells goods. And we’ve brought them into a good shop window as well in Semple Stadium. We’d hope it will continue, but we know we’ll be going up against a stone wall at some stage.
“Look, I’m realistic about it as well. We’re meeting the roaring hot favourites on Saturday, in Cork, and we’ll be fairly decimated after that for Louth on Sunday. So it’s unlikely we’ll win anything this weekend. That’s the way it is.
“But it we do get anything out of either of the two games, we’ll grab it with both hands, and run home.”
