Nothing personal

AT one stage, Justin McCarthy spoke as if he was wearing his Cork hat. He was talking about the Rebel county’s approach to the Munster championship and who better to articulate it.

"There is an air of confidence always in Cork, don't forget. We never played a game we thought we couldn't win." Wearing his Waterford hat, he quickly added: "and I'm the same."

McCarthy has been spreading the hurling gospel in different parts of the country for over three decades. He has been doing so ever since his playing career ended prematurely following his unfortunate motorbike accident prior to the 1969 All-Ireland final. Just eight years later he was coach to the Clare team (with Fr Harry Bohan as manager) which opposed Cork in the first of two consecutive Munster finals. So, he knows what it's all about being on the opposite side to his native county.

Reflecting on the passage of time, he poses the rhetorical question, 'am I mad or not' in relation to his continuing involvement. The answer, of course, is dictated by his passion for hurling. "I'm fairly focused on the day of a game, fairly single-minded about what I do," he elaborated. "I'll be back in Cork on Sunday evening and at work on Monday morning. This is a mission I am involved in with Waterford, to try and help them develop their game.

"If I can do that well and good. The game is bigger than any one of us. That's my life and that's the way I go about it. I'll take it in my stride."

Waterford's early season form was mixed, for a variety of reasons the fact that they had injuries and they were mixing and matching players from game to game. They would have liked to do better, but he was pleased with the work they got through. In any case, he believes Waterford teams find it easier to gear themselves up for championship hurling.

Already, they have played three games to Cork's one starting off with the opening round against Kerry in Walsh Park. They won as easily as expected, but the team benefited from the fact that the preparation was intense. Based on the recent history of games with Limerick, he knew that Waterford would have to be at very their best to win.

For him personally, there was the extra bit of rivalry in that club-mate David Keane was in charge of Limerick. And, believing that their success at U21 level had been due in large measure to grit and determination which enabled them to overcome better teams on occasions, he knew exactly what to expect from them.

Their own approach was indicated by their powerful start to the game, which had them 2-4 to 0-1 ahead after 14 minutes. It was arguably the best form they had displayed since last year's Munster final. Aficionados of the game would love to see hurling played like that all the time, but McCarthy agrees that this is unrealistic. "The other team is always going to come back and Limerick did. But, we stood our ground to a large extent. We learned a lot from the draw and we had a bit more experience going into the replay."

Going into tomorrow's final in Thurles as defending champions is 'neither a help nor a hindrance,' he points out. And, the fact of playing a fourth game would be more of an advantage if the opposition was different, as he explained.

"Cork are a bit special in a Munster final. The tradition is there and eight or nine have played in an All-Ireland final and in Munster finals already."

Cork's qualification for the final didn't surprise him, in the sense that he expected something of a backlash from the players after their much publicised protest for better conditions last year.

"I said when all the rumpus was around, 'beware of Cork in the championship' because they will come back and they will be a big force.

"And, they have certainly got their house in order. It would be different if they had just scraped through against Clare, but they were totally in control from the word go. They gave the type of display which showed that they meant business. No matter what Clare threw at them, on the day they played exceptional hurling."

After such an emphatic win, he knows that if he was in charge of the Cork team he would be saying, 'this is what we can do lads.'

In answer to the big question, whether Cork can play as well, he again donned his Cork hat. "I don't think Clare are Cork, to be straight........

"Cork are Cork."