And we're back!
The winter has been short around the parishes of Tipperary. The hurlers of Upperchurch Drombane shortened it even further by claiming another All-Ireland hurling title for the Premier county two weeks ago in Croke Park with junior glory.
That’s all in the past now and we begin to look forward to 2026.
What I am looking forward to the most in this league campaign is casting an eye over the next generation of hurlers across all the counties.
How will they cope on their respective debuts? Will they seize the opportunity they are being given? Will they be ready to give a performance to force their manager’s hand, regardless of whoever comes back from injury or time off?
I remember the day I got my opportunity in 2006 against Limerick. That was a league encounter at the Gaelic Grounds, and in truth I probably resembled a lad that should have played in the primary rather than senior game.
The game has moved on so much in 20 years that there is no way a fella with my physique at the time would even be considered for selection given the S&C developments.
I was raw. Very raw. I remember putting my hand to my marker prior to throw-in and quickly met with a flake of the hurley and a nice dig straight into the ribs. Welcome to senior inter-county hurling young lad. Lesson learned.
It took me a few games to try and get to grips with the pace and power required to compete, as well as the bigger crowds and grounds. I don’t think that side of it has changed too much, the mixture of nerves and excitement.
New players have to get to the pitch of the action quickly to survive, never mind thrive. The pressure is there to perform as the chance could be gone for you for this year if you fail to catch the eye. Maybe for a long time after.
The championship schedule is relentless and if you want to prove you have what it takes, you need to be stepping up every week in the league.
It’s your stage, your dress rehearsal for the big show later in the year.
If a manager can unearth two or three of these players in the league, it would mark a successful campaign.
All the successful teams always had some change going on when they were trying to defend a title or go back-to-back, something we haven’t managed in Tipp since 1965.
With 13 new faces in on the Tipperary panel at present, the chances of finding such players will be good, especially on foot of winning the Under-20 All-Ireland title.
Many will say with that Limerick, the most recent back-to-back team (and much more) changed very little by way of team personnel over their trophy-laden period.
While I would agree with that observation, what did change were the guys on the fringes of the team, whose performances were forcing the regulars to either step up and perform or cough up the starting jersey. And step up they did.
The next few weeks will roll by and we’ll find ourselves talking about players we probably knew very little, if anything about because they are now operating at the top level.
Who will be the new kid on the block? Who will take this chance that they have prepared their whole lives for and now here it is?
I hope they enjoy it all, embrace this opportunity because this isn’t pressure, it’s a privilege.
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Watch Tipperary v Galway in the Allianz Hurling League on Saturday from 6.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on the RTÉ News App and on rte.ie/sport. Listen to Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.
Watch Allianz League Sunday from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on all matches on the RTÉ News App and on rte.ie/sport. Listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.
