Former Tipperary All-Ireland winner Shane McGrath believes the county has been driven on by its own 'Class of 92'.
Tipp won their third hurling crown of the last decade on Sunday after beating Kilkenny convincingly. McGrath was part of the 2010 triumph and a clutch of players that he compared to Manchester United's famed homegrown youth team were young players on that side.
Patrick 'Bonner' Maher, Paudie Maher, Brendan Maher, Noel McGrath and Seamus Callanan all emerged around the same time. And all five have also been part of the Tipp All-Ireland winning sides of 2010, 2016 and now 2019.
McGrath reserved glowing praise for that particular generation of Tipp players in their late 20s, most of whom are now three-time title winners. He was speaking to Off The Ball as his county basks in their latest All-Ireland win.
Tipperary Hurling Legends
"I would compare Paudie, Brendan, Noel, Seamie and Bonner - even though Bonner was injured yesterday but one of the biggest roars was when Bonner lifted that cup - I compare these guys to Man United's Class of 92 where you had Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes, the two Nevilles," he said.
"A group came through together and they made just a difference on a team. That's what them boys have done for us now. They're our Class of 92. They were Minors in '06 and '07, winning All-Irelands. I don't know if we're going to get a group like this again together. Five or six guys who we can really call Tipperary hurling legends now. They've three All-Irelands, All-Stars and Hurlers of the Year titles. These guys are phenomenal and we're lucky to have them at the moment.
"Maybe there's another year or two in these guys and I really hope they push on. But as we can see now, we're talking about 7-8 games to win an All-Ireland."
Ex-Clare All-Ireland winner Jamesie O'Connor also feels that group would've underachieved with just two All-Ireland wins.
"If they'd ended their careers with two All-Ireland medals, they absolutely would've underachieved, given all the big games they've been in," he said.
"But listen, they were the best team yesterday. They were probably the best team all year if you take the blip in the Munster final out of it. I think in fairness to Shane, what Padraic Maher and Brendan Maher, Noel McGrath, Bonner and Seamus Callanan have given the game in general, I think most neutrals would be happy for them. And they certainly did it in style."
You can watch Jamesie O'Connor and Shane McGrath's full analysis of the All-Ireland hurling final above.
