Noel Furlong relishing Tipperary challenge as Cork U20s begin campaign

It’s as tough a Fulfil Munster U20 hurling Championship opener Cork could have wished for but manager Noel Furlong is embracing the challenge.

The Rebels head to FBD Semple Stadium tonight (7pm) to face Tipperary, who are the All-Ireland champions in the grade. It’s a tall task but one that can be framed positively just as easily as negatively and Furlong is keen to make the most of it.

“That’s exactly it,” he says.

“We respect Tipp because they’re the All-Ireland champions, the last four Harty winners have been from there, they’ve won two of the most recent minor All-Irelands.

“They have a lot of good talent coming through but, at the same time, we do not fear them and we're going up on Wednesday night to win that game.

“We fully believe that we will win the game, so we believe in the group we have as well.

“It’ll really tell us where we are and a good, positive results will set us up for the rest of the tournament, definitely.”

Three years ago, the equivalent minor championship saw Cork lose the Munster final to Clare before going down to Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. Captain Barry Walsh has of course featured with the seniors this year while Barry O’Flynn is another key attacker and David O’Leary joined Walsh in being chosen on the minor team of the year in 2023.

Furlong is assisted by Dónal Óg Cusack and Tadhg Óg Murphy, both of whom were part of the set-up last year, while Patrick Horgan and Niall McCarthy are new additions to the backroom for the coming season.

Having familiarity with what they would be working with is of course an asset, though the manager was keen to ensure that as many players as possible were given an opportunity to stake a claim.

“We had five trial games to start off the whole process,” he says.

“Obviously, then, you’re at college games and school games and club games and, having been in place for the previous 12 months, we had an awful lot of ground work done on what players were out there, what players were available and what players were up to it.

“We have a huge amount of work done on the process of selecting the squad and we're very confident in the squad we've picked.

“No doubt about it, Cork have a lot of good players coming through and we're looking forward to seeing them now on Wednesday.”

In the early part of the year, players in the U20 cohort can be involved for secondary school sides as well as third-level colleges, meaning that opportunities to convene can be difficult.

Despite the obstacles, Cork have managed to lay down a strong foundation, helped by a clear lead-in to the provincial campaign.

“We have, in fairness,” Furlong says.

“We’ve had an excellent block of preparation. We’ve 16 challenge games played, which is a lot, especially given the weather conditions.

“Our preparations, I’d have to say, have been excellent but Wednesday now is when you find out exactly how good, in the white heat of battle above in Thurles.

“We’re really looking forward to that now, to be honest.”

In tonight’s other game, Clare take on Waterford at O’Garney Park in Sixmilebridge.

Next Wednesday, Cork will host Limerick at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh and then there is a fortnight’s break before the trip to Fraher Field to take on Waterford.

After another two-week gap, Furlong’s side wrap up their round-robin campaign at home to Clare on April 29. At the conclusion of the league section, the second-placed side will be at home to the team in third in a semi-final on May 6, with top side straight through to the final on May 13.