All Ireland preview: Seán Óg says Tipp will be a ‘very different’ team

The Tipperary side who will line out in Croke Park this Sunday for the All-Ireland final will be a very different team to the one Cork faced earlier in the year.

That’s according to Cork hurling legend Seán Óg Ó hAilpín who said previous meetings between Cork and Tipperary this year will have “no relevance” to what's going to happen on Sunday.

“We’re so used to playing Tipperary in the Munster championship, so this is new territory really,” said the former Cork captain.

“It took 18 years since the back door system came in for this to happen, which is a unique pairing in one way, but it's an old traditional pairing in another way.

“This is a very different Tipperary team now to the Tipperary that Cork met in the National League final and in the round robin. Tipp have been unbeaten since then,” he added.

Cork defeated Tipp in the Allianz Hurling League Division 1 final on 6 April by a margin of ten points, and again on 27 April in the Munster Championship by 15 points.

Seán Óg, who was the last Cork captain to lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup back in 2005, said the Rebel County has every reason to be confident ahead of Sunday’s clash as long as they respect the rivalry between to two counties and know who they are facing.

He said: “The history between Cork and Tipperary goes back to the start of the association and even before that. It's a rivalry unrivalled.

“Once we know who we're up against and once we give that the respect it deserves, I think Cork will do well,” added Seán Óg.

Having come so close to ending Cork’s almost two decades-long title drought last year against Clare, the pressure on the players to finally bring the Liam MacCarthy Cup back to Leeside will be immense on Sunday. Having played in numerous finals for both Cork senior hurling and football teams, Seán Óg said it’s crucial that the players treat the coming days as they would any others.

He said: “If you have scrambled eggs in the morning then you have scrambled eggs in the morning.

“The danger for players when it comes to All-Ireland final day is they think they have to do something differently altogether,” he added.

A win for the Cork hurlers on Sunday would flip a long-running narrative of disappointment and frustration to one where Cork can finally go out and defend an All-Ireland hurling title again, something Seán Óg said would give a much needed lift to Cork hurling at all levels.

“They say a rising tide lifts all boats,” he said.

“The county winning an All-Ireland, the lift that it would give at grassroots level, kids going training on a Saturday; if they witness Cork winning an All-Ireland, that's where it starts, on a Saturday morning, 6s, 7s, 8s, and you having the dream of winning an All-Ireland with Cork one day,” said Seán Óg.