Rock: ‘We know what’s expected’

DIARMUID O’Sullivan is recalling last autumn’s heartbreak, the game he nearly rescued with a late foray up the field.

It wasn't the big show in Croke Park, however; it was the Cork county semi-final, when O'Sullivan's last-second penalty cannoned off the Blackrock crossbar, condemning his beloved Cloyne to defeat. It was a scant couple of weeks after the loss to Kilkenny, but he shrugs: "Every player would like more of a break but there was a county title to be contested, so we had to play."

At least it was a distraction after the misery of losing the All-Ireland final. "That was very bad, particularly compared to 1999. I suppose the disappointment stemmed from the fact that we knew we'd come so close. At half-time we felt we hadn't really played, then the second-half just flew there never seems to be enough time when you're chasing a game."

Cork reeled Kilkenny in gradually before a sequence of play that's still scorched on O'Sullivan's memory: "When we got that point ahead Niall Mac hit a fantastic shot off his left side which hopped off the upright; 99 times out of 100 that'd fall over the bar or go out wide, but it fell into the corner-back's hand, he drove it down the field to Henry Shefflin, who took it on, hand-passed it in and Kilkenny got a goal."

Other memories linger from the game, including O'Sullivan's second-half impersonation of a bowling ball scattering Kilkenny skittles. "All I know is I should have had a free out, the hurley was pulled out of my hand!" recalls O'Sullivan. "Nothing really goes through your mind, though, with something like that, you're concentrating on the game. The main thing was to get the ball into the forwards to get scores, because time was running out."

The Cork fans didn't view the exchange with quite the same strategic detachment, but then the Cloyne man's irresistible surges out of defence always get a unique crowd reaction. He professes indifference to the reaction: "It's not really a lift, every player would prefer to use the easier way, to hand-pass the ball ten yards on to the next man. Still though, when you have to go out with the ball, you have to."

That's a lot easier with O'Sullivan's physical presence. Training has been better for him than 2003.

The training regime itself has changed - "Time was when training was all about how many laps a guy could run, but now it's about how fast a guy can do 30 yards, recover and go again," - while O'Sullivan finds working outdoors as a site foreman is also beneficial for fitness.

Though reluctant to make comparisons between this year's team and last year's, O'Sullivan points to a big difference between this season and the breakthrough year of 1999. "We were only young fellas then," he says, "We were learning all the time. It was a new experience for us and we didn't know what we were heading into. Times have changed we're heading into our third final so we know what's expected."

A third All-Ireland final in six years against Kilkenny means he knows exactly what to expect: "You always get a tough game against Kilkenny, they give it hard, they give it fair, it's something to look forward to." That doesn't mean the match will be predictable, though; the fluidity of the modern game means focusing on one opponent before the throw-in can be counterproductive: "You can't look at any one forward any more. Any forward can end up in any given position over the 70 minutes, so it doesn't matter who you're on - you have to outwit them and hopefully win the battle."

The poverty of the challenges from Wexford and Antrim have raised concerns on Leeside about the Cork's level of readiness, but the team can't help that. "It's always better to have stiffer opposition and harder games," says O'Sullivan, "That's not how it turned out for us." He points out that Kilkenny's journey to the final was broadly similar to Cork's: "Both teams have come through in much the same way, with mediocre form early on. Still, if we play to our strengths, and play as well as we can, we're in with a right shout."

So is everyone else in Cork; can that be a problem for the team? "At this stage the game is on everyone's mind, you're listening to people talk around town and that, but there are times when you have to be mature enough to shut it off. If someone comes up to you sometimes you have to be polite and say, 'Be fair, we've better things to be talking about,' and people understand that."

People understand because they know that O'Sullivan will be absolutely focused on going one step further than last year. What if that involves a late late penalty, as happened in last year's club championship? "Look, if the chance arises and Cork are two points down you have to take your opportunity and go for it if time is running out. If it happens, it happens, but hopefully we'll be after performing and we won't be in that situation, we'll be a few points up."