Cork v Tipp: Are the Rebels mentally primed to ignite the summer against the Premier?

Hours of detailed work in the gym has been carried out and the Leesiders are primed physically for a tilt at opening-round success against the Premier County.

Cork v Tipp: Are the Rebels mentally primed to ignite the summer against the Premier?

The $64,000 question: Are Cork mentally tougher presently on the back of extensive physical preparation for their Munster SHC quarter-final clash with Tipperary on Sunday afternoon?

A lot of you will contest that the answer to such a loaded enquiry will not truly reveal itself until referee Barry Kelly throws in the sliotar in Semple Stadium, writes Peter McNamara.

Tipperary manager Michael Ryan and Kingston share a word after their recent League match.
Tipperary manager Michael Ryan and Kingston share a word after their recent League match.

However, if you really think about it, the answer should be an unequivocal ‘Yes’.

Kieran Kingston and his selection team appreciated what Cork’s greatest weakness was from the get-go this year.

The dogs on Patrick St could tell you the Rebels were just not physically imposing enough, essentially all over the field.

So Kingston and co have correctly targeted being a greater threat physically to their opponents on this forthcoming occasion.

Hours of detailed work in the gym has been carried out and the Leesiders are primed physically for a tilt at opening-round success against the Premier County.

As a by-product of those gruelling hours, it stands to reason Cork should be in a much more appealing place psychologically than was true of previous Championship campaigns in recent years.

Deep down, the players would surely have conceded themselves that living in the same parish as sides that operate with manic intensity was a pipeline dream prior to this year.

Any player that would say otherwise is only fooling himself.

Nevertheless, the mentality of Kingston’s team should be much more durable this summer.

Everybody involved in the camp in the last number of years has said that technically they felt capable of competing with any outfit.

For the record, I am not fully sure I would agree that technically the Leesiders are as laden with quality as the likes of Kilkenny, Tipp, Clare or Waterford at their very, very best.

All the same, there must at least be a greater degree of individual and collective confidence throughout the current group due to their focus on the key ingredient that has been AWOL for too long in the past.

Emerging victorious from their highly-taxing Allianz NHL Division 1 relegation play-off with Galway while on the road will have enhanced their self-belief.

Yet, nothing before this will have supplemented their mental attitude more than acknowledging that they are bridging the gap between themselves and the others on physical terms.

Kieran Kingston has worked on Cork’s shortage of physicality.
Kieran Kingston has worked on Cork’s shortage of physicality.

Whether sufficient or not it has been to knock Tipp off-kilter remains to be seen.

However, it should be the case the Rebels feel, albeit possibly subconsciously, better-prepared for this summer joust than any other Championship encounter that has come along before it.

And if that theory proves true, Michael Ryan’s men are in for as true a test of their character for the first time since the Tribesmen spoiled their party route to September fare in 2015.

And, as we all know, it’s not as if Tipp have always found a worthy response to the examinations placed in front of them.

With that in mind, the opening 12 to 15 minutes of this tie will define the entire 70-plus minutes contested.

If Cork can get Tipp off the bridle in the opening quarter, Kingston’s unit should remain ultra-competitive until the final whistle.

John McGrath represents a Premier goal-threat.
John McGrath represents a Premier goal-threat.

But were John McGrath or Seamus Callanan to raise a green flag or two during this time-period, all the physicality in the world won’t bring Cork back from being tossed into the All-Ireland Qualifiers.

After all, Ryan’s charges could easily rack up a massive score if they begin the meeting in blistering fashion.

And we must not forget Tipp registered more in their collision with the Leesiders than against any other side in the League this term.

Yes, the game was a dead-rubber but scoring 2-27 is fair clipping in anybody’s language.

Unusually, an understated build-up surrounds the match, though.

Much of this, of course, is due to the fact Cork are expected to flounder. Alarmingly.

However, the suspicion is this game will be a breathless tussle with Kingston’s side performing far above what we have been accustomed to as the ‘norm’ for Cork.

Tipp, without question, have the more adept operators on paper.

Still, their frustrating tendency to sleepwalk through matches for sustained periods is an element of their make-up they rarely get away with in high-pressure situations.

One minute Tipp are ripping opponents to pieces and the next they’re found ambling from one play to the other.

Don’t rule out Cork capitalising.

The odds-compilers view this as a potentially three-point contest with Tipp the understandable favourites.

And it should not go unnoticed that even though they anticipate a home triumph a one-score humdinger is not out of the question in their eyes.

All and sundry expect the Clare-Waterford provincial semi-final to be the war that ignites the summer.

If Cork’s mental toughness has increased, though, Semple Stadium should sizzle this Sunday too.

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