Jason Forde is expected to finally make his Munster SHC bow against Limerick on Sunday.

The highly-rated forward was just hours away from making his championship bow against the same opposition this time last year, only to be struck down by illness the night before.

"I'd a bad stomach bug the night before," he remembers in an interview with The Irish Times.

"I got on to the bus that morning all right, but then went up to Eamon (O'Shea) and just told him . . . he said there was no chance for me, that I'd only last a few minutes. So they pulled the plug there and then.

"That was a bit of a disaster. For something like that to happen was a big blow, and a huge disappointment. I'd only played bits of games in the league, but this was to be my first championship start. It was a big, big thing for me, to have it taken away, through illness."

Forde's misery was compounded by the fact that Tipp ended up losing to the Munster champions-elect after leading by four points with 20 minutes to go.

"We had the chances to win the game," the 20-year-old says.

"We missed a few chances in the first half, and maybe our intensity wasn't up to Limerick's. These games always come down to small things. But going on a game from last year is irrelevant in a way." Tweet

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