Developing Limerick and vulnerable Tipperary? Talking points ahead of MSFC opener

Limerick travel to Semple Stadium this Saturday evening looking for a first Munster championship victory since 2012 and a first over Tipperary since 2009 where they were victorious over the Premier county in Semple Stadium.

Ahead of the game we look at some of the main talking points from the game.

Limerick look for their first Munster championship win since 2012

Limerick enter this Saturday’s game without a win in the Munster championship since they overcame Waterford 2-12 to 0-7 in the Gaelic Grounds on 20 May 2012. Since then Limerick have been beaten by Cork (2013), Tipperary (2014) and Clare (2016-’18) in the opening round of the championship.

There has been some success in the qualifiers but Limerick’s last appearance in the quarter finals of the All-Ireland was back in 2011 where they were beaten by Kerry comprehensively.

However, there has been some signs of growth by Billy Lee’s troops in his second season in charge with his side starting the league with a pair of victories. This was subsequently followed by a succession of losses but to their credit, Limerick were well within touching distance of each of those games bar the loss to Derry who would run out eventual winners of the league.

After the inspiring success of the hurlers last summer, Lee will be hoping that his side can follow in a similar vein, starting with Tipperary on Saturday. And while many of this side have yet taste a championship victory in Munster, Saturday is a huge chance to rectify this and reach a Munster semi-final against Cork on June 1^st.

How will Tipp recover after league relegation?

Tipperary have no doubt made great strides under Liam Kearns over the past number of years. The former Limerick manager has been a huge success story since his appointment in Tipperary, guiding the team the 2016 Munster Football final before leading the team into a first All-Ireland semi-final in over eighty years, before being beaten by Mayo.

The following year, the Premier county would earn promotion to Division 2 for 2018, winning the third division of the National League.

Yet, there hasn’t been much to celebrate in the time since. Last year, Tipp were beaten by Cork in the Munster championship semi-final, before being beaten by Mayo in the second round of the qualifiers.

This year they were relegated back to Division 3 of the league after picking up a solitary win in the League, albeit against the eventual champions Donegal in round 3.

Tipperary will be looking for a response against Limerick and on paper they should prove too strong for their neighbours. However, they are a wounded side and have shown signs of vulnerability in recent times.

Time for new players to step up

Limerick captain Iain Corbett noted that his debut in 2012 was his only taste of success in the championship. Since then Limerick have flattered to deceive with plenty of new faces trialled year on year.

This hasn’t amounted to any victories and the Newcastle West man says it is now time for players to “step it up” starting against Tipperary in Thurles.

There is a strong core of players in the Limerick spine with Donal O’Sullivan in goals, Sean O’Dea at full-back, Corbett at 6, Darragh Tracey in midfield with Seamus O’Carroll in the forward ranks.

Yet, Limerick have failed to build around these players. There is an opportunity on Saturday for younger players to showcase their talents with players like Sean McSweeney, Pa Begley and Colm McSweeney impressing in the league.

The Munster championship is on a whole other level to the league, but it is high time for Limerick to reap the rewards of their academy as the hurlers have done in recent year.

Fast start imperative

Speaking at the launch of the Munster championship, Limerick manager Billy Lee praised his sides improvements over the past eighteen months, with the results in the league not a fair reflection on his sides performances in Division 4.

However, there comes a time when performances have to be complimented with the right result. Limerick have gone six successive Munster championship campaigns without a win having reached the decider in both 2009 and 2010.

It is time for the rebuild in the academy to bring about a positive result and this can only be achieved by a strong and focused start in Thurles.

Limerick need to start on the front foot and bring the game to Tipp on their own turf.

Tipperary will not be planning for an early onslaught from Lee’s men but should they find themselves behind, they may suffer from some of the doubts that saw them relegated from the league.

An early deficit in football is exceptionally hard to come back from and Limerick need to ensure that it is Tipperary doing the chasing from the start.