Eoin Kelly has claimed that Tipperary's Munster SHC defeat to Cork has helped them on their path to Sunday's All-Ireland SHC final.

The Rebels showed Tipp the exit door in the southern province before eventually losing out in the final to Waterford, but it all turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Liam Sheedy's team, according to Kelly.

"There were a lot of lessons learned that day," said the Tipperary captain. "We have to complement Cork as they were excellent that day too in their play and the way they went about the game and their hunger.

"We came out of it and came through the qualifier route, a couple of the players got their chance and took it.

"It has really upped the ante in the squad as lads are fighting for places. Once you have that there, it's a healthy position for Liam Sheedy to be in."

Kelly now claims that Tipp are preparing for their showdown with Brian Cody's Kilkenny in the same way they did 12 months ago when they were narrowly beaten by the Cats.

"The hurt is still there and we don't want to be going back into a losing dressing room again," he stated.

"I think they (the preparations) were handled very well by us last year, and we are hoping that will be the exact same this year, but you can't tell I suppose until the day - and your team goes out and performs.

"The experience of knocking around Croke Park and playing big games I think is definitely standing to us. The more times we are playing at Croke Park, the more times we know that we are playing in quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals. It's only good for Tipp hurling." Tweet

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