GAELIC GAMES:AFTER ALL the talk and analysis of what Tipperary and Kilkenny will bring to Sunday's All-Ireland hurling showdown – hunger, revenge, willingness to die, etc – it's difficult to know what might ultimately set them apart.

Inevitably it will come down to the individual battles, the mano-a-mano, which is why Conor O’Mahony has such an important role for Tipperary.

For the third successive final O’Mahony commands the centre back position, which means he could face off against any number of Kilkenny forwards (Henry Shefflin, Richie Power et al) during the game, such is their tendency to move around.

Not that O’Mahony seems bothered: ever since winning the 2008 league at centre back he’s looked relaxed and comfortable in the position, and although he has endured some injury and illness since, has no fear of the changing faces of the Kilkenny attack.

“You get used to it,” says O’Mahony. “That kind of tactic is around for a few years, teams naming a player somewhere and he plays somewhere else. As a defender you have to study the six or seven players and luckily enough we’ve played them a few times, so you’d have come across them all at different times. They all bring something different to it – Henry, Eoin Larkin, Richie Power – if you’re not up to scratch on the day they’ll destroy you.

“Okay we’re going in champions this time, but that doesn’t make much of a difference on the day. You still have to perform and if we don’t perform we’ll be beaten, simple as that. It’s great to go in as All-Ireland champions, but it counts for nothing when the ball is thrown in, it’s 15 on 15.”

Indeed it is – although it helps that Tipperary have no shortage of confidence when it comes to taking on Kilkenny. O’Mahony still rates them as the benchmark of hurling success, but, having come so close to beating them in 2009, before overcoming them last year, he knows there can’t be much between them again on Sunday.

“That expectation is there,” he says, “and that comes from being All-Ireland champions. But when you come from a hurling county like Tipperary there’s always going to be pressure. It’s up to the players to deal with that and hopefully that won’t affect us too much.

“Kilkenny have been beaten only once in six years of championship hurling, probably something that’ll never be done again. To get back to the final again this year is unbelievable. Even if we beat them they’re still the benchmark for me, because they’ve made it to six or seven finals in a row.

“Yes, we’ve stood up them physically in our last few games, but while you can go down the physical road, you have to be able to hurl with them as well. There’s no good trying to leather into lads who’ve been there for years, who’ve seen it all. You have to match the physical side with the hurling.

“In 2009 we were well up for it and so were they. We were unfortunate we didn’t get the result that day but it gave us confidence that we were getting closer. Last year we did beat them, but we knew if we didn’t put in more of an effort this year we wouldn’t have made it to the final. I’m sure Kilkenny worked harder this year as well, so you really have to as well, just have to keep raising the bar.”

What also makes Sunday’s game so difficult to call is the fact both teams endured tough yet not overly spectacular semi-finals. Yet for Tipperary, the hard slog against Dublin was exactly what they wanted, not just hurling-wise, but to help dispel some of the hype that had blown up around them after they put 7-19 past Waterford in the Munster final.

“Well, from a player’s point of view, we knew the Waterford game was a freak result,” he says. “Waterford aren’t that bad. They didn’t show up on the day, so we sat down and said, ‘look, we have to be realistic, we can’t get carried away’.

“Still there was a good bit of hype. We were favourites to beat Dublin in the semi-final, there was a lot of talk about the final before that, even. But give credit to Dublin, they never allowed us to hurl the way we’d done in the first three games. By playing an extra defender they cut down on the space for our forwards getting in for goals.

“From our side we also showed that we don’t need goals . . . It was a great test to get in an All-Ireland semi-final. And the supporters are more realistic now, they know Sunday will be a 50-50 game.”

And in that case the mano-a-mano battles can only prove decisive.

Conor O'Mahony

Position: Centre back (vice captain).

Age: 26.

Club: Newport.

Height: 6ft 1in.

Weight: 14st.

Occupation: Sales Rep.

Championship debut: 2005, v Limerick.

Championship appearances: 32.

Championship score: 0-6.

Honours: 1 senior All-Ireland hurling; 1 National League; 2 senior Munster; 2 Munster minor; 2 Munster Under-21; 1 All Star; 1 Fitzgibbon Cup (Limerick IT).