De La Salle have set the bar but Sars can raise it
And yet the team with far the greater reputation in Munster is De La Salle. Champions of 2008 and 2010, in the final again now, and every game they’ve played has been on the road.
It’s a great reflection on the club and everyone involved that they can achieve so much in a short time. Especially in a city. To keep players is one thing, to keep them playing at this level for so long, I’m sure that has taken a huge amount of effort.
A man that has played a crucial role in all that development is at the helm this year, Derek McGrath. He was in charge when De La Salle won their two college All-Ireland titles and came across many of these current senior players, had a major say in how they developed as hurlers. He was still a player when De La Salle won their first title of modern times in 2008 and was a major influence in the dressing-room then.
It wasn’t just Derek of course. There are so many great hurling people involved with De La Salle and I’m thinking especially here of current chairman Seamus Quirke. It’s so difficult, as we all know, to keep hurling going in a city but with fellas like Seamus and Derek involved, De La Salle to the core, they’ve done better than that. They’ve grown the club. On the field they’ve done so well but off it they’ve progressed a fantastic new complex in Gracedieu.
Greatest praise of all though is due to the players themselves, and again I’d single out a few for special mention, the old guard. Brian ‘Bull’ Phelan, Stephen Brenner and John Mullane. Of the ‘middle-aged’ brigade, Kevin Moran springs to mind, a worthy All Star winner this year. Also you have Stephen Daniels, Paudie Nevin, Dean Twomey, add in the younger lads like Jake Dillon, and this is a club well served by its players.
They’ve been reinforced too by a couple of hurlers from other clubs, John Keane from Borrisileigh in Tipperary and Jack Kennedy. You’ll always get that with big city clubs.
It’s not all about De La Salle, however.
Thurles Sars have their own stars, fellas who’ve been involved in Munster before and who know De La Salle well from the Munster final loss of 2010.
You’d have to say Thurles have answered a few big questions in Munster already this year, questions that were asked of them by Kilmallock in a tight game and again by Sars of Cork in a more open game.
Thurles Sars won both those games by showing very different qualities but their main men did very well on both occasions. Padraic Maher and Michael Cahill in defence, Lar Corbett and Pa Bourke in the attack but you also had former stars Johnny Enright and Michael Gleeson in midfield and new stars in Michael O’Brien, Denis Maher and Aidan McCormack.
The real strength of their team is their half-back line of David Kennedy (an import from Clonoulty), Maher and Cahill. Maher plays a deep role covering the full-back line — a line that has become their wall.
If De La Salle are to win they must break it while curbing the attack at the other end. They’ll have to stop Pa and Lar but they can’t afford to take their eyes off the others either.
Then again Thurles are going to have to try to curtail Mullane and Kennedy and that isn’t going to be easy.
John Mullane isn’t just the best forward De La Salle has ever produced, he’s one of the best that Waterford and hurling has ever seen. He’s certainly one of the most consistent, with club and county.
The last time they met was a low-scoring dour game — I think this one will be different. I think it could turn out to be a super game. This time though, I think it will be a game too far for De La Salle – Thurles Sars to just shade it.
