Sean Curran
By John Harrington
Tipperary hurler Sean Curran says the reigning All-Ireland Champions have a renewed self-confidence after their 6-26 to 1-19 victory over Dublin in Round 2 of the Qualifiers.
It was a return to form in particular for their fearsome full-forward line of Seamus Callanan, John O’Dwyer and John McGrath who scored a combined 5-10 from play.
And Curran believes the nature of the win has given the team a lot of momentum going into Saturday’s All-Ireland SHC Quarter-Final against Clare.
“The confidence, you could see it out on the pitch,” says Curran. “The boys were happier to be playing, the confidence was there. We were all looking forward to training during the week, the confidence is back up, and we just want to keep the momentum going.”
The confidence that is returning now was badly eroded by the shock 3-21 to 0-14 hammering that Tipperary suffered at the hands of Galway in the Allianz Hurling League Final.
They still looked fragile when they were subsequently beaten by Cork in the Munster SHC Quarter-Final, and then laboured to a hard-fought win over Westmeath in the first round of the Qualifiers.
Curran believes that heavy defeat to Galway had a negative impact on the team’s psyche that they’re only now overcoming.
“It would, it has to,” he said. “Last year went extremely well for us, every game went well for us, coming into the League Final we thought we had prepared well but Galway were excellent on the day, they destroyed us, they were excellent.
“In the League you're playing intense games for six or seven weeks. We had seriously intense games and we thought we were on track but Galway brought it to a new level and we just weren't ready to match that, at that time.
“It was difficult to take, it was disappointing, definitely.
“But going through the back door you're playing games every two weeks or that so it builds momentum. Confidence is building again.”
Michael Ryan
Curran started the Munster SHC Quarter-Final defeat to Cork, but hasn’t featured in the starting XV since.
He hasn’t given up on forcing his way back into the team though, and says manager Michael Ryan’s policy of rewarding form in training ensures a very competitive environment.
“There always is an opportunity, Michael has always said that. If you work hard in training you'll get your chance, and you can see that by the changes that are there.
“I got my chance last year. I was out for the whole League and missed everything, but then I just trained hard for four or five weeks and got my starting spot.
“So lads looking ahead because they have chances. You're looking forward to coming to training because you want a chance to get on the team.”
Curran is wary of the challenge that Clare will pose in Saturday’s match because he has played against most of their team and underage level and come off second best, most notably in the 2012 Munster U-21 Final.
“Of course, everyone would be (wary) with the forwards they have. And it's not just their forwards, they have serious backs as well. I suppose they're coming off the back of a defeat to Cork similar to our defeat against Cork.
“It looks like we're very evenly matched teams. We know we need to be at our best to beat Clare any day of the week. They'll be thinking the same thing.”
