Tipperary minor hurling manager James Woodlock was on cloud nine speaking to TG4 after they beat Kilkenny 2-17 to 3-12 after extra time in a classic Electric Ireland All-Ireland minor hurling final. And would you blame him? After seeing two players sent off in the first half, not many would begrudge him.
However, the Drom & Inch man was quick to dampen any expected anger towards Tomas Gleeson and instead focused on praising his players and the rift between the two teams, as Tipp won their second Electric Ireland minor hurling All-Ireland in three years, with both wins taking place at Nowlan Park.
“It was very difficult, but there was loads of heart, spirit, and resilience. I don’t know what to say, really. I’m mighty proud of the boys,” Woodlock said.
“Despite the disappointing talk all week about our decision to come to Nowlan Park, I want to emphasize that we were determined. I've worked here, I know it like the back of my hand, and I’ve had good days here. I told the players that this wouldn't be a graveyard for Tipperary men, and we proved it. We did it two years ago, and we did it again,
“Despite the referee's decisions, which were not in our favour, I won't dwell on that. Today is a day for Tipp, and we showed our ability to handle pressure. All week, the talk was about Kilkenny’s physicality, but we welcomed the challenge and rose to the occasion.
“It was very easy to talk to the players, obviously Tipp and Kilkenny. Everyone knows I was here in 2013 when they booed Lar Corbett off the field for us, so I know the rivalry that’s there. It’s a healthy one, and I give massive respect. We used everything we could. We pilled the pressure onto our players to say that Kilkenny had all the pressure they had us at home. They had to perform.
“I was happy with the venue from the word go. We had it measured. It’s bigger than the Gaelic Grounds, which suits us down to the ground, and we used the spaces, but look, you can talk about tactics, you can talk about this, and that you’ve got to have the heart, and they had every bit of that.”
#GAABeo
'I told the players, It will be a graveyard no longer for Tipperary men, And it wasn't'
Labhair James Woodlock linn tar éis an cluiche cheannais iomána mionúr i gCill Channigh. Bua drámatúil ag @TipperaryGAA 🏆
BEO/LIVETG4 AR @TG4TV
#GAABeo pic.twitter.com/KlYKAUwiIZ— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) June 29, 2024
It was also put to the Tipp manager that he pucked every ball with his team from the sideline.
"When you're thirteen down, you have no choice," was his brilliant reply.
READ MORE: Joe Brolly Compares Derry's Fall And Rise To His Own Personal Struggles
High Praise For Old Mentors
Woodlock compared this winning team to the 2022 minor team that famously beat Offaly thanks to a last-gasp goal from Paddy McCormack.
76 nóim, #GAABEO @KilkennyCLG
3-12@TipperaryGAA
2-17
Ní creidim é! Cúl eile do Thiobraid Árann scóráilte ó Billy O'Brien!!
BEO/LIVETG4 AR @TG4TV pic.twitter.com/CGM87SPTWB— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) June 29, 2024
He has used the advice he received under former managers Liam Sheedy and Eamonn O’Shea to help his management style.
“Even with 14 men down and a slightly off performance, the boys didn't give up. They showed the same resilience and determination as the group tonight. They fought till the end, and that's all you can ask for every time you step onto the field,” Woodlock said,
“It's my responsibility and the management's to open those players' eyes to everything that could happen, and I'm so glad that we had all those things covered. If they have a player sent off if we have a player sent off. When you have all the homework done, the boys believe in everything we tell them. We knew exactly what to do when we had a man sent off, and the boys rejigged it themselves. Our biggest concern was whether we could keep the legs going, and we didn’t want anyone to go down with cramps. But we have huge work put in. Kilkenny had oceans of chances to win it, but we had the last four in normal time to try and clinch it, and we didn’t. It was a chance gone in most eyes,
“Tipp people today came down in probably hope, but we believed, and that’s the difference. All the talk over the last two weeks suited us in Nowlan Park; the toss was wrong, the venue was wrong, they were bigger and stronger and sure, it's very easy for a team to motivate yourself all against that,
“I’ll be honest: Yeah, I was coming down. I was hoping you would ask that question because inter-county players often answer it, and the feeling out on the field is simply outstanding. Still, when you can get an army of men around, yeah, and succeed the way we did today, the way we did two years ago, Jesus, it means as much because you’re doing it for someone else. It was never about me or the management team,
“I don’t want any accolades, I don’t care about them, but to see the joy on their face and for Tipperary, I broke my leg obviously, but I came back. Tipperary were very good to me. Liam Sheedy, Eamonn O’Shea, they were probably the best mentors to have when I was involved with them I learned. I learned, and I brought it through. They believed in me, so now I try to pass that on to the new generation. So it’s a toss of a coin.
My All-Ireland is very important to me, but winning two All-Irelands and the way we did both of them is very special, and that’s the truth. I’ll be a very happy Tipperary man going home tonight but disappointed for Kilkenny. To be fair to them, there are 15 players on the field, and when that happens, the gust comes behind the 13 players and it's very hard to turn the tide, but we stayed at it, and I'm delighted to be coming away with the result.”
It will be a day that will live long in the memories of Tipp hurling supporters.
