Latest news with #JakeMorris
RTÉ News
a day ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Jake Morris hopeful of fairytale ending to difficult journey for Tipperary
It's been quite the journey for the Tipperary hurlers. From bottom of the table in the Munster Championship round-robin last summer, to an All-Ireland final on Sunday. The signs of improvement were there in the National League as they won five of their six regular games, and made it to the final, only to be well beaten by Sunday's opponents Cork. They'll be aiming to avoid a repeat of that result this time around, but going from June 2024 to July 2025 has taken a concerted effort from the players and management. "It's been a long road," attacker Jake Morris told RTÉ Sport ahead of the game. "It was a sobering winter for us all [after] being knocked out of the championship early again. "Lads had to go away and have a hard, long look in the mirror, really. It's a hard thing to do but it had to be done. "Pride was swallowed and really it was about coming back in and giving this one hell of a rattle. "We worked extremely hard as a group to give ourselves a chance of being in an All-Ireland final and it shows what you can do with a bit of hard work and determination. "Liam and the management have done superbly. They really learned from the last two years. There was never a doubt with our group and Liam Cahill and the people he has in with him. "It wasn't an overnight switch, it's been a lot of hard work and realisation that this county deserved better than what we had given them as players. "The onus was on us, we're the ones that take to the field, and that was it - we're really happy to be in an All-Ireland final." According to Morris, there were real low points for the players and it made being a Tipperary hurler a lonely place, at times. "The journey, what we're after coming through together over the last couple of years. Tough times, sleepless nights, being ashamed walking down your own street after how you're after performing on the Sunday. "Being told about it as well, really harsh conversations we're after having. "The hard work that's gone in this year so that when something does get thrown at you like that, you rally for each other." Talking about being competitive and actually delivering on the promise are two different things, but for Morris, one game stood out this years in terms of getting the players to really buy into the plan. After an encouraging draw with then All-Ireland favourites Limerick, they were brought back down to earth by Cork at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. It mean that Tipperary's season was on the line against Clare. "The win in Ennis was massive; in the lions' den, knocking out the All-Ireland champions," he says. "That did give us a massive boost." For such a storied rivalry between Munster's two most successful counties, this is the first meeting of the old foes in an All-Ireland final. Cork have an element of a psychological edge, having won the league final meeting between the pair by 10 points, and followed it up with a 15-point trimming of the Premier County in Munster. Whether Tipp can turn that around, and how they go about it, is what makes the final such a fascinating duel. There's a real risk of a repeat of some of the one-sided finals, like 2000, 2008 or more recently 2021. But Morris says that Tipperary will always believe that on their day they can put it up to anyone. "We're always told to play to the final whistle and there's a really good, 'never say die' attitude in this team. "There's a massive bond there and it's not a bond that's fake. It's hard to create a bond when you're not winning games. "We've stuck at it and it's a really good group. No egos, an honest group, and that's coming from the management down. "We're proud players to represent our county and it's something we all love doing. Regardless of what way the result goes on Sunday, I think we can all hold our head high."
The Sun
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
‘Full belief' – Jake Morris sets out Tipperary's approach to upsetting Cork in All-Ireland final
TIPPERARY star Jake Morris knew brighter days were ahead after a 2024 to forget. The Premier finished bottom of the Munster SHC group last summer after a winless provincial campaign. 2 The Tipperary public questioned the squad's ability and boss Liam Cahill came under fire in the wake of the dismal campaign. But the players stuck at it, knowing a good crop was coming through, and redemption was the motivator when they reconvened last December. There were signs of progress in the league. The Premier reached the NHL Division 1A final but lost out to Cork. Cahill's men opened their Munster SHC campaign with a draw against Limerick in Thurles. Wins over Clare and Waterford secured third place in the group and passage to the All-Ireland series. Vice-captain Morris led by example as Tipp swept aside Laois and Galway to reach a first All-Ireland semi-final since 2019. The Nenagh man, 26, shot four points at Croke Park as the Munster giants saw off Kilkenny by 4-20 to 0-30. And Morris and Co fully believe they can go all the way in Sunday's showpiece against Cork. The half-forward said: 'We have full belief in our group and management team — 100 per cent. We know we have top hurlers in the county. 'Our Under-20s won the All-Ireland and the minors won the All-Ireland last year. 'It was really about getting the hard work done in the winter months and coming in under the radar, taking it game by game through the league, picking up a bit of momentum. 'It's really important what a few wins can do for a team and the morale of the whole county, the people are getting back behind us. 'Easiest interview I've ever had' jokes RTE GAA host after pundits go back and forth before Meath vs Donegal "The support at the semi-final was absolutely phenomenal. Coming up on the bus we knew we would have massive support and that spurred us on in the last 12 minutes.' The Premier faithful have waited six years for those last 12 minutes. Trailing 0-26 to 3-16, Tipp were reduced to 14 men when Darragh McCarthy was sent off for a second yellow after clipping Cats stopper Eoin Murphy on the hand. It was the youngster's second dismissal of the summer, having also seen red in the early moments of the Munster clash with Cork. But Morris fired the equalising score before Oisín O'Donoghue's wonder goal. And Morris knows that resolve will be needed again in Sunday's clash with the Rebels, who are favourites. 'REALLY SWEET' He said: 'It's just really sweet. It will bring the group on a massive amount to get through that battle with 14 men. "It was really satisfying but that is down to the hard work the group has put in all year long, how honest it is. 'We've been doing that all year, even when we went down to 14 men in Cork, we still stayed trying and stayed playing to the final whistle. 'That is something we were conscious of since the start of the year, that no matter how a game is going, we stay hurling to the final whistle. It is a good trait to have.' Morris made his SHC debut in 2018. He has scored 0-22 in his six Championship appearances this summer — he missed the Laois game — and is in Hurler of the Year territory. But new faces such as O'Donoghue, 19, are also stepping up. His stunning strike against the Cats was his third major of the summer and Morris knows there is a lot more to come from their wonderkid. He said: 'It was pure joy and relief to see that hit the back of the net. 'He's fearless and when he comes on, he knows he is going to make an impact. "He's a year younger than Darragh McCarthy and Sam O'Farrell — he's Under-20 again next year. "He is not afraid to back himself and go for the shot — and up against one of the best goalies in Ireland for the last ten years. 'Oisín is a really top-class player and is going to be a massive player for Tipperary in the years to come. We are really lucky to have him.'
Irish Daily Mirror
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Liam Cahill weighs in on the point controversy as Tipp 'move on' to All-Ireland
Tipp boss Liam Cahill and vice captain Jake Morris have heaped praise on Kilkenny for showing class in response to the score fiasco during Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final. The game was influenced by a huge mistake by the scoreboard operator on 70 minutes when a score for Noel McGrath was incorrectly credited to Tipp on the scoreboard inside Croke Park. However, neither ref Barry Owens nor either of his umpires signalled a point - leading to a mistaken belief that Tipp had moved four points ahead. That clearly influenced Kilkenny's decisions in the closing stages when first Eoin Cody and then John Donnelly opted to go for a goal rather than a point. Had both men taken a different choice, the game conceivably could have ended level and moved into extra-time. However, neither player knew that Tipp trailed by just three rather than four points when Cody lined up his shot, and by two rather than three points, when Donnelly's goalbound effort was cleared off the line by Tipp's Robert Doyle. While there are no grounds for appeal from within the rulebook, Kilkenny could still have made a case for a replay to be ordered on the grounds of fair play. Instead they have accepted defeat with dignity, drawing praise from Cahill and Morris for doing so. Cahill stated: 'It was out of our control really, it's just unfortunate.' When asked if he any concerns the match would be replayed, the Tipp manager replied: 'No. What can I say? It's human error, that's the bottom line. A mistake was made. 'Everybody in the GAA, we do our best. We do things voluntarily; it was just human error and we move on. What can be done now only we move on?' And yet the Tipp manager has no shortage of sympathy for Kilkenny. He said: 'It was out of our control, really. It is unfortunate (for the Cats). 'From the outset, these boys here were just concentrating on getting over the line. 'Look, you can go into all the ins and out of it, there were several other passages of play, decisions that work out throughout the 74-plus minutes. 'The reality is that's what big matches like that are made of and you just roll with the punches and you take the hits. 'We know Kilkenny from the start of time are a huge hurling county and I said that afterwards. Like ourselves, if Kilkenny don't win it on the field, they ain't going to bring it to the boardroom, that's for sure. That's one thing in Tipperary we were fully 100% sure of.' And the manager's respect for Kilkenny was echoed by his vice captain, Jake Morris, who expressed respect for the way the Leinster champs reacted to the fiasco. Morris said: 'They are a serious, proud hurling county with some serious hurlers. They are a really good team. Derek Lyng seems to be a really good operator. It is credit to them that they didn't make as much of a complaint out of it as they could have. 'As Liam said inside, it was a human error. It was unfortunate for them but it is just the way it goes sometimes. Sometimes you get the rub of the green and it fell our way last Sunday.' Yet he too admitted he was unaware that Noel McGrath's shot ended wide. Morris said: 'I didn't know what the story was when John Donnelly was hitting that shot. We would have been three up (in my head); but to be honest you don't even think about the score. You are just playing every ball as it comes to you. 'I suppose there was a bit of relief when the ball ended in Bryan O'Mara's path and he carried it out.'
Irish Examiner
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Oisín O'Donoghue the gamebreaker after Tipp show depth of conviction
All-Ireland SHC semi-final: Tipperary 4-20 Kilkenny 0-30 The original scoreline was in question but Tipperary's conviction and character was in no doubt here as they defied the odds to set up a first ever All-Ireland final against Cork. Noel McGrath's 70th-minute strike at goal was erroneously given as a point when it had been waved wide and Kilkenny could have reason to complain that they could have gone searching for points instead of hunting for a goal after a Jordan Molloy point had narrowed the gap to two instead of three as was advertised around Croke Park and on RTÉ. Oisín O'Donoghue's 69th-minute piledriver of a goal, as referee James Owens played advantage, came 10 minutes after his fellow U20 star Darragh McCarthy had been sent to the line for a second bookable offence. He won't miss the final as the red card was of a different category to his straight dismissal against Cork in April. Read More GAA confirm scoreboard error in Tipperary v Kilkenny semi A point down, instead of breaking Tipperary the numerical disadvantage rebuilt them. Jake Morris levelled the match for the fourth time in nine minutes. They were the team who had been doing all the chasing and they had to play catch-up some more when Cian Kenny's second point after Martin Keoghan's fifth broke the tit-for-tat pattern. Jason Forde sent over two clinking frees to tie the game then arrowed over another from close to the sideline to give Tipperary a lead. Keoghan's sixth point tied it up again before O'Donoghue's match-winning strike. Afterwards, there was consternation among officials and media about the legitimacy of McGrath's point that followed. Molloy cut the margin to what the scoreboards told Kilkenny was three points and consequently their eyes were trained on grabbing a goal, but Robert Doyle was in the right place to keep out John Donnelly's shot. TJ Reid was one player who could have taken a handy point. Like Cork, Kilkenny's four weeks off the road didn't appear to affect them in the opening clashes. They were three points up after eight minutes although posted as many wides. The squally weather and cross-wind didn't lend to good hurling and the ball was a bar of soap at times. 'We had a poor start and that's down to Kilkenny as well, to be fair to them,' said Liam Cahill. 'They were all over us, they had loads of energy, they were winning most of the breaking ball. 'We seemed to be hitting the ball off-the-cuff a lot early on, just not hitting in good ball to our forwards and Kilkenny were kind of gobbling it up and working it up the field. Then after 10 or 15 minutes, we started to trust our hurling a bit more, and that really gave us a platform to go at Kilkenny.' Tipperary hit their first major in the eighth minute. Jake Morris's goal attempt was foiled by the Mikeys Butler and Carey but the ball spun out to John McGrath whose execution was perfect. Only for Carey's hook, Andrew Ormond would have been in for another goal and the next four points went the way of Kilkenny for a five-point lead by the 14th minute. Fine long-range shooting from Conor Stakelum kept the till ticking over for Tipperary but the margin was still five up to the 21st minute when Tipperary went on their rampage. McCarthy anticipated a ball that broke the Kilkenny cover and he had the strength to hold off Huw Lawlor and find the net. Morris with the leveller and McGrath to push Tipp ahead for the first time followed it up with points. A third Tipperary goal came the way of Jason Forde in the 25th minute. McCarthy was the provider and in keeping with events the evening previously, Forde's strike was one-handed and Tipperary were four ahead. A Reid free ended Tipperary's 2-2 rally but Kilkenny did not make great headway. Alan Tynan, a temporary substitute for Ormond, sent out a signal with a block on Martin Keoghan who landed three points earlier. The Leinster winners sent over a brace to get within two points but Tipperary scored four of the last six in the half to go in four up, 3-11 to 0-17. In front of this 60,738 attendance made up largely of Tipperary support, Kilkenny made the most of some questionable Tipperary shooting (five wides in seven minutes) to square the game in the 50th minute and lead two minutes later when TJ Reid punished an infringement on Billy Ryan. Michael Breen had given the ball to Ryan before the Kilkenny forward was fouled. But Tipperary didn't yield. Forde's free-taking after McCarthy had missed a couple was excellent and guided Cahill's side through that iffy patch. All from under the Cusack Stand side, they were exquisite scores. Why Kilkenny only went three times to their bench — two in the last eight minutes — will be scrutinised. Whereas Tipperary were springing reserves relatively early and there were distinctly quite afternoons for Adrian Mullen, who was eventually replaced, and Eoin Cody. A victory for Tipperary but Munster hurling too? Cahill wouldn't go too far down that path of theory. 'If I'm being really honest, when you come out of the likes of Cusack Park in Ennis in a tight game and you come out of the likes of Thurles fighting for your life to be one of the three to qualify, it does battle harden you that little bit more. 'If you're asking me the question, what's the difference in Munster and Leinster hurling out there today, it's only a puck of a ball, to be fair.' Indeed, a puck but only two points, not three. Scorers for Tipperary: J. Forde (1-5, 0-4 frees); J. McGrath, D. McCarthy (0-2 frees) (1-2 each); J. Morris (0-4); C. Stakelum, E. Connolly (0-3 each); O. O'Donoghue (1-0); S. O'Farrell (0-1 each). Scorers for Kilkenny: T.J. Reid (0-11, 8 frees, 1 65); M. Keoghan (0-6); J. Molloy (0-4); B. Ryan, E. Cody, A. Mullen, C. Kenny (0-2 each); J Donnelly (0-1). TIPPERARY: R. Shelly; R. Doyle, R. Maher (c), E. Connolly; C. Morgan, B. O'Mara, M. Breen; W. Connors, C. Stakelum; J. Morris, A. Ormond, S. O'Farrell; D. McCarthy, J. McGrath, J. Forde. Subs: A. Tynan for A. Ormond (temp 29-31); N. McGrath for J. McGrath (50); A. Tynan for S. O'Farrell (53); D. Stakelum for W. Connors (57); O. O'Donoghue for C. Stakelum (63); S. Kenneally for A. Ormond (70+1). Sent off: D. McCarthy (59, second yellow). KILKENNY: E. Murphy; M. Butler, H. Lawlor, S. Murphy; M. Carey, R. Reid, P. Deegan; C. Kenny, J. Molloy; J. Donnelly (c), E. Cody, B. Ryan; A. Mullen, T.J. Reid, M. Keoghan. Subs: D. Blanchfield for S. Murphy (h-t); S. Donnelly for A. Mullen (66); K. Doyle for C. Kenny (70). Referee: J. Owens (Wexford)
Irish Daily Mirror
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Kilkenny v Tipperary LIVE updates from the All-Ireland semi-final
Kilkenny and Tipperary will resume their old rivalry at Croke Park this Sunday afternoon as they battle for a place in the All-Ireland Hurling Championship final. This is familiar ground for both sides although Kilkenny have enjoyed the better time of things in recent years without lifting the Liam McCarthy Cup. Indeed it is hard to believe that it is ten years since the Cats last won the All-Ireland, with four final losses arriving after their 2015 success. Perhaps more surprising though is that this is the first time Tipperary have been back to Croke Park in six years. The Premier County have seemingly been a team in transition in recent times, but their 1-28 to 2-17 victory over Galway in the quarter-finals confirmed their place back at the top table. The match is scheduled for a 4pm throw-in at Croke Park and will be shown live on RTE 2 and on the RTE Player. You can also follow all the action right here on Irish Mirror Sport Tipperary have lost plenty of stalwarts in recent seasons, but it has allowed many of their younger guns to establish themselves in the team. The likes of Andrew Oscomod, Jake Morris and Darragh McCarthy have really stepped up for the Premier, while older stagers like John McGrath and Jason Forde continue to showcase their quality in attack. There is an older profile to Kilkenny's team, many of whom have much experience in these huge matches, not least their talisman TJ Reid. But they also continue to unearth many great prospects of their own, with Cian Kenny and Jordan Molloy among those impressing this season. TIPPERARY (SHC v Kilkenny): R. Shelly, R. Doyle, E. Connolly, M. Breen; C. Morgan, R. Maher (c), B. O'Mara; W. Connors, P. McGarry; J. Morris, A. Ormond, S. O'Farrell; D. McCarthy, J. McGrath, J. Forde. Subs: B. Hogan, J. Caesar, S. Kenneally, S. Kennedy, B. McGrath, N. McGrath, O. O'Donoghue, J. Ryan, C. Stakelum, D. Stakelum, A. Tynan. KILKENNY (SHC v Tipperary): E. Murphy; M. Butler, H. Lawlor, S. Murphy; M. Carey, R. Reid, P. Deegan; C. Kenny, J. Molloy; A. Mullan, J. Donnelly (c), B. Ryan; M. Keoghan, T.J. Reid, E. Cody. Subs: A. Tallis, T. Walsh, D. Blanchfield, P. Moylan, K. Doyle, ZB Hammond, F. Mackessy, S. Donnelly, L. Hogan, L. Connellan, B. Drennan.
