Collins: all on the day, finals are funny

Donal Collins is the only member of the Cork hurling management with no previous involvement at this level. Sean O’Leary and Fred Sheehy were part of the All-Ireland set-up in 1999, as was John Allen as team masseur.

A former Blackrock star (and member of the well-known Castlehaven sporting family), he came on board as the county champions' representative. The other three were chosen by O'Grady, the first ever manager to be given this freedom.

Collins played as a substitute in the 1972 All-Ireland final, when current selector Noel Skehan captained Kilkenny to a dramatic victory.

"Looking back, we still think we should have won the 1972 final. We were eight points up with 20 minutes to go, but went out of the game. It was a talented Cork team; a lot of them were involved in the three-in-row afterwards. Having said that, Kilkenny were a good team and had been in the final the year before. They had the likes of Eddie Keher, Pat Delaney, Fan Larkin, Pat Henderson, all these fellows who were legends."

Interestingly, Collins won an All-Ireland club medal with James Stephens in 1982 while working in Kilkenny - in the company of Cody and Larkin. Added to the three he won with Blackrock in the previous decade, he was the only player to hold four All-Ireland club hurling medals until Birr's success in this year's final.

He admits, when the Cork management was assembled at the start of the year, he was surprised to be approached by Blackrock. But also delighted. "I have always been very passionate about Cork hurling, more so since my time in Kilkenny, when I was 'in exile' as it were," he explains.

"Donal has had a massive impact on the team. He is a superb modern coach. Apart from the drills and his attention to detail, he's just an excellent operator especially the way he talks to the team. As a selection committee we're working fine together."

When they settled down initially to organise the panel for the League, they had the reassurance of knowing the previous year's team difficulties had been overcome. "The solution reached cleared the way. All we were concerned about was getting the best players available and preparing and motivating them. I must say we didn't have too difficult a job with that."

Like most Cork people at the time of the 1999 triumph, he hoped the young team would enjoy further success. In retrospect, he reasons it didn't materialise because Kilkenny bounced back so strongly after two successive defeats, while the loss of Brian Corcoran and Fergal McCormack were serious blows to Cork. The lesson, he says, is 'you get nothing soft'.

The introduction of new players and a degree of managerial experimentation resulted in a predictable level of inconsistency in performances. However, they were learning and the team was improving.

"We were optimistic they would play well against Clare based on training and application. When you get those two ingredients, you won't be too far away," he says. "We knew Waterford would be well prepared. They were superb last year in the Munster final. With the brand of hurling they played they just blew Tipp away. There was a feeling around Cork they would be an easy touch, but, that wasn't shared by the team or anybody attached to it. We might have won it fairly well at the end, but we enjoyed a bit of luck. And we got the rub of the green in the first game with Wexford.

"Certainly the extra match is a help to us, bearing in mind we are at a disadvantage playing Kilkenny. Croke Park is their home pitch.

"They will look back on '99 as one they probably left there. They will expect to win this game; they expect to win all their matches. That's their belief. They think they are the best and its their prerogative to think like that. But, it's all on the day and finals are funny."