By John Harrington

Bryan O’Mara was managed by Liam Cahill at minor and U-20 level with Tipperary so he knows what to expect from the new Premier County senior manager and his right-hand man, Michael Bevans.

But, as he says himself, “that doesn’t make it any easier”.

Knowing the standards that Cahill and Bevans expect from their players, particularly when it comes to physical conditioning, is one thing, but you still have to satisfy their demands.

The Tipperary panel has put in a hard block of training ahead of their first competitive match of the year against Waterford this evening in the Co-Op Superstores Munster Hurling League.

But because O'Mara has experienced success in the past with Cahill and Bevans, he knows you can reap rewards in the summer if you’re willing to graft during the darker days.

“There's no secret to it, hard work and tackles and all that, that's just a given stat for teams that are winning these days,” says O’Mara.

“It's like every team, you're trying to implement a fit, hard working team and just trying to implement that ethos into how we're going to play.

“Obviously a good shot of us had them at underage so we're mad looking forward to getting going with the boys again

“We won a minor All-Ireland in 2016 and then we won an U-20 All-Ireland in 2019, I was on those two panels. So we had success underage and all of that, which obviously doesn't carry directly over to senior, but no, we've worked with them before, with the boys, they're excellent and we're buzzing for it again now.

“You have to put in the hard yards. Just buzzing to be back working with them, absolutely.”

O’Mara burst onto the scene with the Tipperary senior hurlers in 2021 but then a fractured wrist prevented him from playing in the championship after a very promising series of performances in the League.

Last year he opted to take a year out from senior inter-county hurling to spend the summer in California, and he feels like the break has done him some good.

“Fresher, yeah, probably mentally more,” he says. “Especially sitting out the year and the boys all hurling away, I was probably feeling like I was doing nothing, do you know that kind of a way? So no, probably just a small bit fresher is all, that's about all.

“Ah look, it was something I wanted to do. I feel like I got it out of my system. It probably would have been always there, regretting not going. I've talked to a lot of people, 30-odd and they'd say, 'Jeez, I regret not going'. At least I have it done now. I really enjoyed it and mad for action in all codes.”

In Tipperary, O’Mara is regarded as a serious talent they hope they can build their defence around in the coming years.

One of Liam Cahill’s first objectives will be to bed down a half-back line and players like O'Mara, Shane Neville, Pauric Campion, and Gavin Ryan will be given a chance to stake a claim for inclusion in the coming weeks and months.

The inclusion of forwards like Dan McCormack and Michael Breen in the Tipp defence for tonight’s match against Waterford is further proof that Cahill is starting with a blank piece of paper when it comes to his back six.

It’s audition time for a lot of players, and O’Mara knows he’ll have to put his best foot forward when he’s given game time.

“Yeah, it’s just up to us to put our hands up. There's nothing given just because there's lads out injured or whatever.

“There's no reason to say that it has to be us. We're just going to have to put up our hands and say, you know, just try hard and try to stake a claim for a starting place on a league team and see where that goes from there, see how well you can adapt to that kind of level.”

The perceived wisdom is that Tipperary are in a period of transition currently and some way shy of being able to rise to the level being set by three-in-a-row All-Ireland champions Limerick.

Is that the case, or are the 2019 All-Ireland champions closer to challenging for silverware in 2023 than some might think?

“I don't know, to be honest,” says O’Mara. “I think the margins at that level are so fine. You might think it's big and the next thing it mightn't actually be as big as you think.

“Or the other way, maybe, it might actually be bigger than you think, it's hard to tell. It will be hard to tell until we get going in the league and until we get going in the first round of the Championship as well. We have a lot of work to do but I think we have the people in place who are willing to do it.”