Eoghan Connolly reveals Tipperary's B team gave them a hammering before All-Ireland final turnaround
The newly-minted champions curtailed
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Eoghan Connolly of Tipperary celebrates with the Liam MacCarthy cup after their win over Cork in the All-Ireland final
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Eoghan Connolly revealed the Tipp second string team beat them in a practice game before the final
The plan implemented by boss Liam Cahill and coach Mikey Bevans worked a treat on a day that saw
But defender Eoghan Connolly revealed that they were given a reality check by their second string in a practice match the previous weekend.
He said: 'Liam and Mikey put in massive work in the background. We just got told last week as to what you were going after.
'We actually trained last weekend and it didn't actually work out for us. We had a terrible game in-house — the A versus B. But we got our match-ups right on Sunday and thankfully got the result.'
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Asked if the B team were victorious, Connolly said: 'Oh, absolutely. By an awful score as well.
'There was wicked heat inside in Thurles last weekend and it was probably our first time playing with a plus-one in a long time - since the Clare game.
"I think — so it just took us a while to get to grips with it. But even by Friday evening we were training and we couldn't get enough of it.'
Connolly was paired up with Joe Fogarty, who did not make the 26-man Tipperary panel for the All-Ireland final.
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It was a chastening experience for the Cashel King Cormacs man, though he managed to perform when it mattered.
Connolly said: 'He's sick. He's actually a carbon copy of Séamus Harnedy. I got an awful licking off him last weekend. I was even half worried as to what my form was at, to be honest.'
RTE GAA pundit embrace Tipperary captain Ronan Maher after his epic display toppled Cork in All-Ireland final
Still, Connolly made a case to claim his first All-Star award as he helped Tipp to their first All-Ireland since 2019.
He added: 'I've been involved since 2021 and I've been on the B team for a few years of that.
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'It's just the competition. Them boys are mad for a jersey as well. They're all so competitive so it just drives everybody's standards higher.'
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