John McGrath: 'It has been very different'
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Click here to listen to the full interview with Tipperary senior hurler John McGrath.
By Cian O'Connell
"It has been very different, it has been a tough few weeks, no doubt about it," John McGrath responds when asked to compare 2026 and 2025 as a Tipperary senior hurler.
The Loughmore-Castleiney attacker acknowledges that processing the Munster Championship exit is demanding. "From my 12 years or that, the good few times we've been knocked out, it's probably right up there as one of the tougher ones," he adds.
"Probably just the manner in which we went out. If you had to go down in a couple of tight games and get beaten, it might be a bit easier to accept and move on from.
"The major disappointment over the few weeks is probably the last two games where we shipped nice beatings, to put it mildly, that's the toughest aspect of it. Like anything, when you don't perform near what you hope or you think, it can be tough to take."
Securing a top three finish in Munster is always difficult. Having survived last year, Tipperary subsequently thrived on the All-Ireland stage.
In the current campaign, Tipperary just couldn't generate the momentum required. "Small things make a huge difference, particularly if you add up a lot of them," McGrath says.
"I spoke about getting a couple of big beatings, I think it's probably just the accumulation of a lot of small things coming against us at the wrong times.
"When you're playing against good teams, you're open to be got at. Most of them won't give you a seconds thought, they will go for you when they see an opportunity.
"That's the way it has to be in Munster Championship. We just need to raise our level again, maybe, and we need to have a good think about ourselves, and a good look inside ourselves over the next couple of months to see where we want to be and where we want to go in the coming years."
Tipperary captain Ronan Maher suffered a serious ankle injury at the weekend. "It was very disappointing for him, I was disgusted," McGrath says.
"There is no way of sugar coating it for him, he knows what's ahead of him for the next couple of weeks and months. I just hope he gets it right and there is no issues with it. He's a huge loss for Sarsfields in the club championship.
"Particularly after having an operation at the end of last year, it's been a hard year for him on a lot of fronts. So, hopefully it goes straightforward enough for him on his recovery."
