Clodagh McIntyre determined for Tipperary to no longer be a nearly team
Michael Bolton
While the All-Ireland camogie championship is on the horizon, Tipperary's immediate focus will be on the Munster final this weekend against Waterford.
And Tipp will be hoping Clodagh McIntyre can guide them to silverware, in what will be the first of at least two big games against Waterford to come.
"Over the last few years, we haven't made too many appearances in Munster finals, so we are not going there just to show up, we are going after the silverware", says McIntyre.
"We have had some very close encounters with Waterford over the years, with a point separating us on either side. We know that they are definitely going to throw the kitchen sink at us to get some silverware.
"We have been both on the wrong side of tight encounters when silverware has been on the line. Both outfits will know how important and how difficult it is to seal the deal and carry the silverware home."
This Tipperary team has won a Munster title in 2023, and a league title in 2024, but an All-Ireland title remains elusive.
Tight semi-final losses to Galway in the previous two seasons have brought an end to their championship, as the Tipperary forward focuses on working on their game management.
"If you are losing an All-Ireland semi-final by one or two points, you are not that far away.
"It is probably learning better game management skills for the last five or 10 minutes to ride it out and not panic or change the way you have been playing for the other 50 minutes just because you are near the end.
"We have new management this year, and they are really trying to park that whole idea of being semi-finalists. If we let those past few years haunt us going into those sort of occasions, we are never going to progress and get to that last step."
If Tipperary are going to win the O'Duffy Cup, it will be done the hard way.
The new group stage format will see last season's semi-finalists, Cork, Galway, Tipperary, and Waterford in one group, with the other teams in the rest.
All the teams from Tipperary's group will come out of the group, but McIntyre says the new format will be good for the sport.
"We would have had matches where we won them by cricket scores; it is probably not good for the promotion of the game.
"This year, with the way it is structured, every match that we contest is going to be a serious game to prepare for. There is going to be no such thing as an easy win.
"We can expect a very tough championship. Two of the matches are back-to-back, so we are going to have to put a big emphasis on recovering and being able to peak on the following weekend.
"One of the teams in this group is going to be able to lose their three matches and still be able to progress to a quarter-final. We definitely don't want to be in that position."
