James Barry knew a week or two before that he wouldn’t be starting the All-Ireland final but, to his credit, he redoubled his efforts.
If he wasn’t to make a contribution on the field, he did his level best to ensure that those who did were as well prepared as possible.
Barry was full-back on Tipperary’s previous All-Ireland winning side in 2016 and started all bar one of their games in the Munster Championship this year, the win over Clare being the exception as he was sick.
He remained in the team for the All-Ireland quarter-final over Laois win but Barry Heffernan displaced him for the semi-final and held his spot for last Sunday’s win over Kilkenny.
“You kind of knew,” says Barry. “They were lining out the team, getting the tactics right for the last week or two weeks and you knew the way they were lining up the team that you weren’t going to be in.
“It’s up to the lads then that aren’t playing to push the team, the A team, let’s call it, it’s up to the subs to make sure they are ready to go and you don’t know what can happen, someone can get injured in the first 10 minutes.
“I had been there before. Obviously I had come across Colin Fennelly before so you give a bit of advice to Ronan (Maher) or Barry Heffernan who maybe haven’t played in the position before, whatever way you can you help and give all you can to the Tipperary jersey.”
Easier said than done, though.
“Yeah it’s hard but I have been on the other side. I have been starting in the lead up to two All-Ireland finals and I have seen it.
“In 2014 Michael Cahill wasn’t starting because he was coming back from injury and the energy he gave to the group so you take learnings from that.
“In 2016 we had Conor O’Brien and Paddy Stapleton, who had hurled for years with Tipp and weren’t starting in 2016 final and the energy they gave.
“So you learned from that and you go through different stages of your career that you are not always going to be starting but you still have a role to play.
“I took from the lads in ‘14 and ‘16 that you have a role to play and you still bring the energy you can to training for the week up to the All-Ireland final.”
And an All-Ireland medal, even one won in a non-playing capacity, is still worth savouring.
“It’s huge. My father (Seamus) would have played with Tipp back in 70s but was part of a poor Tipp team that never really won anything.
“He was there for two or three years and never actually won anything.
“One of my favourite moments was, and it was the same in ‘16, was after lifting the cup. Those five or 10 minutes when you are there with your family, they are special moments and that’s what you’ll remember forever.
“He knew I wasn’t going to be playing in the cup u and he’d often say, regardless of whether you are playing or not, to run out on the field in the blue and gold no matter what number you wear on All Ireland final day, is a special moment.
“In a couple of years it will be all over and you’ll be a supporter looking in so it is important that you enjoy the day.”
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