Kilkenny and Tipperary well tested ahead of All-Ireland minor decider

You might have figured on a couple of occasions throughout this season's Electric Ireland All-Ireland MHC that Kilkenny's title bid was doomed.

They lost two of their first three games for starters and finished bottom of their group in Leinster.

They bounced back strongly from that, collecting the provincial title, but then found themselves eight points down in an All-Ireland semi-final against holders Clare. Another set of players might have tossed in the towel.

Somehow, Kilkenny fought back that day, brought the game to extra-time and won it in the additional minutes.

The thing is, and this is what makes Saturday's final such a tough game to call, opponents Tipperary have dug similarly deep themselves to get here.

They bounced back from their own provincial difficulties, conceding 4-11 and losing to Clare, and needed extra-time as well to get past Galway at the All-Ireland semi-final stage.

"They've shown a huge amount of character this year," said Kilkenny manager Niall Bergin (above) of his group. "It belies their years in many ways, what they've produced in games.

"Even the last day against Clare, we were 2-03 to 0-01 down after 17 or 18 minutes but they showed the determination to come back. We were creating chances but we weren't scoring them and when we rectified that issue, thankfully it came good. But it comes down to the resolve and the spirit that's within the group."

Jake Mullen, brother of county senior star Adrian, hit Clare for 0-13 last time out, bringing his tally for the championship so far to a staggering 4-52. Eoin Brennan has consistently picked up points from midfield while Ollie O'Donovan is in red-hot form with five goals in his last four games.

Tipperary have their own stellar cast of performers. Cillian