Preview- All-Ireland Under-20 title up for grabs in Nowlan Park showdown

We are back on a familiar footing as Kilkenny and Tipperary meet in an underage final at UPMC Nowlan Park.

Kilkenny supporters don’t need any reminding about how last year’s minor final transpired so this presents another opportunity to get one over their arch rivals with silverware on the line.

While the home comforts is undoubtedly a huge carot and you’d hope it results in a big local crowd attending the game, it’s up for debate how much of an advantage it actually is.

LISTEN: Niall Bergin, Mark Dowling, Brendan Cummins and more - Kilkenny People Sport Podcast

Only last year, Tipperary were at the Noreside venue for this subsequent fixture and while they ultimately lost out to a brilliant Offaly team, they would have gained valuable experience all the same.

Add in winning two of the last three All-Ireland Minor titles in the Marble City and it’s easy to see why the Premier County wouldn’t have any major quibbles about making the short journey to face their near neighbours in their own backyard.

Kilkenny have got to this decider somewhat against the grain as there wasn’t huge expectation behind them coming into the year but they have won all four of their games thus far in impressive fashion.

The last two games against Laois and Dublin have been particularly striking as they arrived on the back of a month of inactivity that has caused Mark Dowling and his team a lot of issues in the previous two seasons.

The Leinster success was their first since they last won the All-Ireland title in 2022 and there are many similarities with that team as they weren’t fancied to go all the way either but they have all the attributes to be in with a right chance on Saturday.

Looking ahead to the final, Kilkenny boss Mark Dowling knows they will have to step it up but he’s equally pleased with the progress that the squad are making.

“It’s great for the lads to win a Leinster title and they are definitely hard won and people may think that Kilkenny should be winning everything, right, left and centre but all these titles are hard fought,” he said.

“Every team you come up against at this grade are so well drilled and so well coached so to get through the Leinster Championship is fantastic and we’ll set about our business to try and go one step further.”

Both teams have senior experience in their ranks so are used to the big day but Tipperary are the ones that definitely have the advantage in this regard with Sam O’Farrell, Darragh McCarthy and Oisin O’Donoghue all getting decent gametime for Liam Cahill’s senior side in recent weeks and in McCarthy they look to have a real star of the future.

Kilkenny’s four senior panelists include Eoghan Lyng, Marty Murphy, Jeff Neary and Darragh Vereker but only Lyng has got any competitive minutes in a senior jersey and even that has been limited to appearances off the bench.

All that will count for little on Saturday however and Dowling feels the Leinster title win could act as a huge boost of confidence to his players.

“There’s five or six of the lads that have been with us for the last three years and we’ve been narrowly beaten by Wexford and Offaly in Leinster semi-finals in the last two years so it was hard for us watching those championships unfold.

“Finally the lads now have silverware by their name and a medal in their pocket and they’ll be focused on trying to add to it this weekend.

“The final comes around quick for us and there’s a positive in that as well as lads want to be hurling as opposed to training and it’s something to really look forward to having a Kilkenny and Tipperary final in Nowlan Park,” the Kilkenny boss concluded.

Tipperary come into the game as huge favourites and are as short as 1-3 in some places but that shouldn’t deter a Kilkenny team that are strong in many areas.

From the man-marking capabilities of Ivan Bolger and Darragh Vereker to the sweeping strengths of Jeff Neary and the attacking instincts of Cathal Hickey and Eoghan Lyng, the Cats are very much built from the back.

Add in a strong midfield pairing of Tom McPhillips and Sean Bergin and dangers in attack like Marty Murphy, Aaron McEvoy, Ed McDermott and Rory Glynn amongst others and there’s every chance they can win this game but they’ll need to play near their full potential.

Limiting the influence of Darragh McCarthy will also be crucial in determining the final result and Graignamanagh’s Ivan Bolger may well be the man detailed to follow him.

The corner back was man of the match in the Leinster final and Bolger is eyeing up another success this weekend.

“The Leinster Final win was basically an All-Ireland Semi-Final and we’ve turned our attention onto Tipperary.

“Our goal at the start of the year was to reach an All-Ireland final and that hasn’t changed now and we are going all out to win that game,” he said.

The talented defender was also wholesome in his support for the Under 20 management team after some comments over the last two years.

“I thought our management was maybe treated a little harshly even within the county with some comments here or there and maybe people think that the players wouldn’t see that type thing but we do see it.

“A lot of people that didn’t really know what was going on behind the scenes were having a pop and as a result, there was then a little bit of added motivation to get over the line for the lads as they have put everything into it over the last three years so we are absolutely delighted for them as well as ourselves.”

The All-Ireland decider will have a 3pm throw-in at the Park on Saturday and a big crowd is expected for another final meeting between the two rivals.

LISTEN TO THE LATEST KILKENNY PEOPLE SPORT PODCAST BELOW: