Tipperary vs. Kilkenny All-Ireland Semi-Final, Croke Park, 19th August

[Asal Mor]

Was at a loose end Thursday evening so i headed down to training to see how things were going, it was probably the 10th or 11th Tipp training session i have been to this year and by far the most impressive.

I had some doubts about Ross Dunphy taking over from Cian this year but i must admit he seems to have timed the physical conditioning to perfection,it took the lads a while to get used to Dunphys way of doing things having had Cians particular brand of cajoling for the previous three years, Dunphys approach  is more drill sargeant than Cians but it seems to be working, the drills were excellent with Tommy taking the forwards and Declan Fanning the backs, one thing is certain our forwards wont be sticking rigidly to  their positions like they did in last years all Ireland.

In the game played all the forwards on view were a blur of movement, Shane Bourke, Pa and Lar were particularly impressive with Lar looking ultra sharp, Shane must be pretty close to starting at this stage but i believe the team will be the same side that started the Munster final, Eoin Kelly and Noel McGrath didn't train but will both be fine, Gearoid Ryan is out though with a broken finger, the game at the end of training was pretty feisty, Paudie Maher creased Seamie Callinan and then hit him another dunt for good measure( must have been channeling his inner "Tyrell" ), Shane McGrath and James Woodlock knocked sparks off each other as well, Brendan Maher looked to be approaching his 2010 form and Paul Curran was moving more freely than of late, i think Tommy forgot to borrow the whistle from Brian Cody for the night

Its going to be one hell of a battle on Sunday.

Great stuff HOH. It's always interesting to get the inside track. This one is gonna be fierce. Neither Tipp or Kilkenny have been at their best so far this year but they should both be bursting out of their skins on Sunday. I can't wait - it will be fascinating, exciting and hopefully a bit scary too.

[johnneycool]

Was at a loose end Thursday evening so i headed down to training to see how things were going, it was probably the 10th or 11th Tipp training session i have been to this year and by far the most impressive.

I had some doubts about Ross Dunphy taking over from Cian this year but i must admit he seems to have timed the physical conditioning to perfection,it took the lads a while to get used to Dunphys way of doing things having had Cians particular brand of cajoling for the previous three years, Dunphys approach  is more drill sargeant than Cians but it seems to be working, the drills were excellent with Tommy taking the forwards and Declan Fanning the backs, one thing is certain our forwards wont be sticking rigidly to  their positions like they did in last years all Ireland.

In the game played all the forwards on view were a blur of movement, Shane Bourke, Pa and Lar were particularly impressive with Lar looking ultra sharp, Shane must be pretty close to starting at this stage but i believe the team will be the same side that started the Munster final, Eoin Kelly and Noel McGrath didn't train but will both be fine, Gearoid Ryan is out though with a broken finger, the game at the end of training was pretty feisty, Paudie Maher creased Seamie Callinan and then hit him another dunt for good measure( must have been channeling his inner "Tyrell" ), Shane McGrath and James Woodlock knocked sparks off each other as well, Brendan Maher looked to be approaching his 2010 form and Paul Curran was moving more freely than of late, i think Tommy forgot to borrow the whistle from Brian Cody for the night

Its going to be one hell of a battle on Sunday.

Great stuff HOH. It's always interesting to get the inside track. This one is gonna be fierce. Neither Tipp or Kilkenny have been at their best so far this year but they should both be bursting out of their skins on Sunday. I can't wait - it will be fascinating, exciting and hopefully a bit scary too.

Whilst last Sundays game was always going to be a bit nervy this Sundays will be far from it. There'll be a few markers laid down early on, on the scoreboard and elsewhere.

Once the dothing of cloth hats is over in the stands between the two traditional powers it'll be full steam ahead..

great stuff.

[homeofhurling8]

I wonder whose turn it is to be "jackied" on the Tipp side, 2009-Seamie -frontal charge, 2010- Brendan Maher- frontal charge, 2011- Lar Corbett-various, 2012-The Bonner ? 

[orangeman]

I wonder whose turn it is to be "jackied" on the Tipp side, 2009-Seamie -frontal charge, 2010- Brendan Maher- frontal charge, 2011- Lar Corbett-various, 2012-The Bonner ? 

I fancy Jackie to get "jackied" on the KK side.

[laoislad]

Can't wait for this.
Got my ticket today and will have to find something blue and gold to wear to pish off my KK friends and family.

[cicfada]

So hard to call this one!! As a Galwayman, I honestly don't care who wins this one either! I know everyone keeps saying that we would rather face Tipp than Kilkenny but that in itself is disrespectful to Tipp as they would be just as hard a team to play as the cats!! Whoever wins this one will go in as favourites and that suits me just fine! Galway have a hell of a lot to do  before the final when serious questions will be asked of them! They have to be careful in the lead up to the final and both KK and Tipp have now so much experience in All Ireland final build ups don't they?? With regard to Sunday's match no matter how motivated Kilkenny are I just feel that Tipp have the easier capacity to move up to that  4th gear needed as they are younger  with less miles on the clock!!This behind closed doors training is a load of bullshit I feel from the cats  purely designed to give off an impression of serious training, to intimidate the opposition etc etc I mean wasn't everyone saying a few years ago that their training sessions were like intercounty matches and they were also saying that all were welcome to watch them as well??!!!These training sessions can't hide one obvious fact, that  the team is on the slide and while they might have one sting left, their marquee players Shefflin, Walsh are shoving on and they do not have the talent on the line to step into those massive shoes straight away! They are the greatest team  ever in my opinion and they have thrilled us so much for the last 12 years but father time is catching up! Tipp to win by 2 or 3 points I think though a Kilkenny win wouldn't surprise me either! One thing for sure, there will be plenty of timber flying!!1

[homeofhurling8]

1.B Cummins

2.Conor O'Brien
3.Paul Curran (captain)
4.Michael Cahill

5.Tom Stapelton
6.Conor O'Mahoney
7.Padraig Maher (vice captain)

8.Brendan Maher
9.Shane McGrath

10.Pa Burke
11.Patrick Maher
12.Lar Corbett

13.Brian O'Meara
14.John O'Brien
15.Noel McGrath

As expected, no changes from the Munster final, I believe that Johnno will start despite his horrible news earlier in the week.

Was down at training last night, very sombre mood in there for obvious reasons, was talking to Eoin Kelly afterwards and he reckons he will be fit to tog Sunday, i must admit he didn't look right at all during training, his movement was very laboured, one thing i noticed was Noel McGrath taking a lot of frees during the session which would suggest to me that the management aren't too confident of Eoin being fit, obviously Pa will be on the frees from the start but if anything were to happen to him and Eoin wasn't fit then Noel would be next in line.

[Cyril Farrell fan]

I hope Tipp win this because I just feel Kilkenny will be able to exact revenge on us.
We owe Tipp a beating after the lucky way they squeezed by us 2 years ago.

[seafoid]

This analysis by Nicky English is worth a read. Tipp are going for a 4th consecutive all ireland final but they have only one all ireland to show for it so far . And Kilkenny have their own problems. And whoever wins will be favs.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2012/0818/1224322383826.html

There is a perception that Tipp are on an upward curve but I would only agree with that up to a certain point. They were really poor in the league semi-final and although they improved enough to win against Limerick, they were coming from a very low base and it took Bonnar Maher's introduction to lift themThey improved the next day against Cork with Lar Corbett's return but I feel they plateaued in the Munster final. The full-back line did step up considerably but that line apart, there was no improvement. The rest of the team as a unit were no better than they had been against Cork. Take their year as a whole and their form really has been patchy. For them to win tomorrow, they will have to take a significant step up collectively.

Kilkenny had the Dublin game circled in the calendar from months out. I met Brian Cody at a function in Cork around Christmas and he was talking about Dublin even then. They were ready to function at a very high level in that game and they haven't got back to that level since.

Some of their best players – in the forwards especially – haven't been in their best form. As a team, even their free-taking has been unusually unreliable. Although Aidan Fogarty has looked dangerous on his return, Eoin Larkin hasn't scored freely since the league final and Richie Power has been in and out as well, albeit that he took a heavy knock against Limerick. When you consider that they've lost Eddie Brennan since last year's All-Ireland final and are facing Tipp tomorrow without Richie Hogan, you're really putting a huge onus on Henry Shefflin to get the scores.

It would have been hard to imagine after the league final that Kilkenny would reach this part of the year still so reliant on Henry to carry the scoring burden. He will step up to his task as he always does but unless Power and Larkin step up with him, it's hard to see Kilkenny racking up the kind of high 20-point total that usually wins them games.

[Minder]

I was favouring Tipp for this but I think with Kilkenny having JJ Delaney fully fit, Rice and Fennelly in midfield and time to prepare they will be hard to stop. Will be a bit of softening up before the ball goes in I would say.

[Milltown Row2]

Yeah going for Tipp also. Should be a thumping good game

[eoinbeag]

Look's like Kilkenny are going to have to beat the ref as well. Some soft decisions going Tipp's way

[From the Bunker]

Jez, for a game that is supposed to be a mans game, there's alot of diving to get frees on both sides! (But don't tell anybody, because it's a mans game.    )

[Milltown Row2]

Jez, for a game that is supposed to be a mans game, there's alot of diving to get frees on both sides! (But don't tell anybody, because it's a mans game.    )

You'll see plenty of the diving when Mayo play the Dubs!!

[From the Bunker]

Jez, for a game that is supposed to be a mans game, there's alot of diving to get frees on both sides! (But don't tell anybody, because it's a mans game.    )

You'll see plenty of the diving when Mayo play the Dubs!!

Ah sure you probably will, but that's not a mans game!