Tipperary SHC final

Toomevara v Thurles Sarsfields

Semple Stadium, 2.15

Forty-one years ago, Toomevara met Thurles Sarsfields in the Tipperary county final. They were rank outsiders and with good reason, but they won. Their opponents were chasing a sixth-successive title and in the middle of an astonishing run of 10 successes in 11 years.

Tomorrow, at Semple Stadium, the roles have been neatly reversed. Toomevara have become the dominant force within the county in recent years. They have won the last three county championships and six of the last nine.

Two months ago, centre forward Tommy Dunne led Tipperary to the All-Ireland and is odds-on to become Hurler of the Year. Sarsfields, unbelievably, haven't added to their 28 county titles since 1974.

In the decades gone by, such a drought would have been unimagineable. Not alone did the club dominate a strong county, but some contemporaries remember it as the best club side ever seen.

In the days before the All-Ireland club championships, their tilts with Kilkenny clubs and Cork's Glen Rovers are fondly recalled.

Players such as Jimmy Doyle - whose brother Paddy is the current side's manager - Tony Wall and Seβn McLoughlin were legendary performers during Tipperary's phenomenally successful era in the early 1960s when the county won four All-Irelands in five years.

Once Sarsfields went to Birr to play Offaly - then admittedly not the force they have been in modern times - and had to take off Jimmy Doyle so that they wouldn't be too hard on the county.

Mick Minogue played on the Roscrea team that eventually brought the Thurles run to an end. "I was talking to someone the other day who said if that team were still together, the pick of two or three counties wouldn't beat them. They were always on the move but never getting in each other's way.

"A full forward could be out on the wing one minute and when you'd look around, he'd be back in the square. They had a great knack of moving the ball at speed. It's a pity that a video was never made of them back then. There was never a team like them."

Located on what even the club calls "the outside field" at Semple Stadium, Sarsfields wears history on its sleeve. Outside the clubhouse is a mural celebrating the seven Thurles players who have captained Tipperary to All-Ireland success.

Tom Barry is chairman of the club. He's at a loss to account for the fall from grace over the last 25 years.

"It's difficult to explain but we built a new clubhouse in the early 1970s. The focus of the club increasingly became eliminating the debt. Maybe energies weren't going into hurling and concentration slackened. There was an element of people expecting things to happen."

Improvement has come from the bottom up with three-in-a-row titles in the minor grade and, last year, Thurles reached the county final for the first time in eight years. It ended in disappointment.

"I think we were a bit overawed by the occasion," says Barry. "This year we've had a better lead-in and the guys have the experience of last year." Barry hopes that the Thurles support will turn out for the match. If Tipp's All-Ireland has seen Tommy Dunne's stock soaring, the triumph has also created some status for Sarsfields. All Star nominated centrefielder Eddie Enright has been hugely influential at centre back and teenage flier Lar Corbett has been in form in his All-Ireland position on the wing.

Toomevara haven't been firing on all cylinders this year, but they have the resilience of champions and a nagging motivation. Eight seasons ago, they reached an All-Ireland final, but in recent times haven't even won Munster or made much of an impact on the province. They know that the club championship doesn't afford teams limitless opportunity and that it's time to make a move.

On the other hand, Sarsfields are coming fast and the prospects of getting another face on to the wall outside the clubhouse are coming into focus for the first time in over 30 years.