Fintan O'Toole

TONIGHT in Semple Stadium the Tipperary squad soaked up the adoration of their supporters after Sunday’s stirring All-Ireland final win over Kilkenny. For the majority of the panel it will be the prelude to a week of raucous celebrations, moving on to captain Eoin Kelly’s homestead in Mullinahone tomorrow night and then touring the parishes of the county.

But for eight members of the Tipperary squad the festivities will be reined in as the attention shifts to next Saturday’s All-Ireland U21 hurling decider against Galway. Manager Ken Hogan will be ringing around to check on the health of Tipperary’s tyros and requesting their presence in Dr Morris Park for training tomorrow night. There isn’t much time to bask in the glow of senior success when there are U21 duties to be taken care of.

The pressing question is whether the senior glory will be a help or a hindrance for the U21’s. It would be natural for the Tipperary players to get swept up in the emotion of Sunday’s victory, given the nine-year drought since the county’s last All-Ireland title, the heartbreaking nature of last September’s final defeat and the fact that they denied Kilkenny the fabled feat of five-in-a-row.

But there is a bank of evidence to suggest that this group of Tipperary players are mature enough to cope with the pressure. All summer long they have successfully juggled the demands of operating at senior and U21 level. They defeated Cork in the Munster U21 semi-final just four days before beating Offaly in the All-Ireland senior qualifiers. After their All-Ireland senior quarter-final success over Galway, they kept their heads to claim provincial U21 honours the following Wednesday night against Clare. Finally the All-Ireland senior semi-final win over Waterford came just six days before they obliterated Antrim in the All-Ireland U21 semi-final

They’ll also be urged by their senior counterparts to collect more silverware. Eoin Kelly spoke on Sunday about how much he was looking forward to going to the U21 final next Saturday and fervently expressed his desire to see his young teammates triumph. It’s easy to imagine that Kelly will hammer home that point more forcibly in a private capacity to the likes of Noel McGrath and Padraic Maher.

For that duo, along with Brendan Maher, Michael Cahill and Patrick Maher, getting their bodies in optimum shape for next Saturday will be the key objective. The other three senior panel members should be bursting to perform on the U21 stage. Seamus Hennessy got a taste of the high life in his late cameo that yielded a storming point against Kilkenny, and while Brian O’Meara and Michael Heffernan were benched for the whole of Sunday’s encounter, they’ve been the two leading performers in the Tipperary U21 attack this season.

The likes of John O’Dwyer, Paddy Murphy and James Barry would have observed last Sunday’s events and come to the conclusion that they want to sample that action as well. Next Saturday is an opportunity to embellish their reputations with prospective senior careers in mind. Playing on home soil in Thurles, backed by a bumper crowd imparting goodwill and energy, and possessing the best U21 talents in the country should ensure that the Cross of Cashel is stored in the Premier cabinet next to Liam McCarthy Cup by next Saturday night.