Camogie: Barrs ready for another tough test in Munster series

St Finbarr's senior side will be out to keep their Munster title defence on track when they travel to The Ragg on Sunday for their AIB Munster senior camogie championship semi-final clash with the back-to-back Tipperary champions, Thurles Sarsfields.

Throw-in is at 1.30pm at the home of Tipperary camogie, and it promises to be another tough test for the Togher side as they seek to retain the provincial title they captured last season.

The Cork champions come into the semi on the back of a hard-earned 4-10 to 1-12 victory over Clare kingpins Truagh-Clonlara last weekend, a game that tested their experience and resilience.

After storming into a 3-7 to 0-4 half-time lead, the Barrs were forced to withstand a spirited response as the Clare side reeled off the first seven points of the second half. However, Brian O'Sullivan's side kept their composure when momentum swung against them regroup and come out on top.

Captain Stephanie Punch believes that battle-hardened display could prove invaluable ahead of another major challenge.

"We knew it was going to be hard coming in against Clonlara. They're a fantastic team," Stephanie said.

"It was an incredibly tough game. Even the lead that we had didn't reflect the actual game. It's a quick turnaround now for next weekend, but we're looking forward to it again."

She feels the demanding nature of recent championship outings has helped prepare the Barrs for the challenges that await in Thurles.

The Sars game in Cork set us up well going into the final and then coming up against Clonlara. We knew that they'd throw it all at us in the second half.

"We built up a good lead but we have so much experience from last year in closing out really tough games. I think we just kept our composure. It felt like everything was against us at one point, but the girls kept going, kept taking the scores."

The Barrs will monitor the fitness of Kate Cahalane after the defender was forced off against Truagh-Clonlara with an ankle injury, though there is optimism she will recover in time to feature.

Their opponents arrive full of confidence after securing a second consecutive Tipperary senior title. Thurles Sarsfields overcame Clonoulty-Rossmore by 2-11 to 0-15 in the county semi-final before defeating Drom-Inch 5-12 to 1-13 in the decider.

The Tipperary champions boast a formidable inter-county contingent, including senior stars Caoimhe Stakelum, Karen Kennedy, Emma Carey, Lucy Purcell, Aoife Dwyer, and Leanna Coppinger.

Stakelum underlined her importance by hitting 1-9 in the county final victory over Drom-Inch, while Kennedy remains one of the Premier County's most influential defenders.

Stephanie knows her side will have to be at their defensive best to contain such quality.

"We've always prided ourselves on how good defensively we are," she said.

"Gemma anchoring that defence this year has been incredible. From Ciara Hurley upwards, I thought the girls were fantastic in what was an incredibly tough period in the second half last week.

Consistent

"They're two-time back-to-back Tipperary champions, so we know they're going to be extremely tough. It's going to be tough going up to play in their back garden.

"They're going to know all about us, and we probably need to learn a bit more about them this week, but we're looking forward to it. I think it'll be a fantastic game."

Having already claimed three Cork senior titles in succession and added a first Munster crown last year, St Finbarr's remain driven by the opportunity to continue building on the most successful spell in the club's recent history.

"When it finally came for us in 2024, it was addictive," Stephanie admitted. "We just kept going because we knew all along that we had the calibre. 

We're so confident in this group of girls and they're so motivated to go on and go further again.

"We're hoping that we'll push on again now on Sunday."

Sunday's game has all the ingredients of another high-quality Munster championship encounter, with the prize of a place in the provincial final awaiting the victors as the Barrs will look to the likes of Sorcha McCartan, Kate Wall and Orlaith Cahalane to come through.