Rebels raring to go, says O’Leary

JOE O’LEARY was enjoying his spell as a Cork selector even before Tipperary arrived as Cork’s opponents in this year’s Munster final.

“It’s been great,” says O’Leary. “The level of professionalism has been fantastic, working with elite players and backroom staff.”

The approach of both players and staff has been exemplary, says the Na Piarsaigh clubman.

“We’re happy with the preparations, we’ve had great attendance at training. We were a little worried when the players went back to their clubs a couple of weeks ago but they all came back fine and fit.”

Those who weren’t fit have been struggling with injury for a while, with Wayne Sherlock and Timmy McCarthy heading that list.

“The unfortunate thing about Wayne is that while he’s hurling very well and training full out, and he’s made a 100% recovery from his groin injury - the last championship game he played was the middle of last October. He played a few games with Blackrock but this game has probably come a little soon for him.

“Timmy McCarthy was flying at the start of the year in the league, he was superb. But unfortunately he got injured, and the doctor described the hamstring tear he suffered as one of the worst he’d ever seen.”

O’Leary points out that Cork don’t lack replacements, however.

“When you think of it we have Brian Murphy, the Young Hurler of the Year, a superb man-marker, and in the other corner Pat Mulcahy, a fantastic player and a great leader.

“By his own high standards Diarmuid O’Sullivan had an off-day against Waterford but he’s a man for the big occasion, so it’s hard to see how you’d chop and change. There’s strength in depth in defence and even some lads whose form dipped in the latter stages of the league seem to be peaking again. The likes of Neil Ronan, Jonathan O’Callaghan and Kieran Murphy of Erins Own are doing well in challenge games and putting in a huge effort.”

That huge effort will be needed against the old enemy. O’Leary sees parallels between the two sides.

“Tipperary are probably in the same position Cork were in a few years ago. They’re young and hungry, they’re playing the All-Ireland champions and they have nothing to lose. They’ve been tweaking their team, and slowly getting to a stage where they have their best 15 in their best positions.

“It’s not going to be a foregone conclusion - it never is with Tipperary. Even last year, though Cork won well in the end, Tipperary missed a few relatively easy scores that could have changed the game completely.”

Tipperary will look to a couple of new players, with Micheal Webster, the hero of their win over Clare, the principal discovery.

“He played against us in the league game, and I would have known of him as a footballer - I couldn’t believe he was such an accomplished hurler for a big guy. Diarmuid had his hands full with him that day and you saw what he did against Clare.

“Destroying a guy like Brian Lohan has to be good for your confidence and I’m sure he’s going to relish the thought of having a cut off Diarmuid again. There are other players as well - Francis Devanney, Evan Sweeney, Lar Corbett, they’re all very accomplished. What they’ve been lacking in the last few years is confidence, and now they have it, their tails are up. They’re in a Munster final, where they want to be, taking on the old enemy - that’s bound to get them going.”

Cork have advantages of their own, such as experience of the big occasion - on the field and on the bench.

“The panel is really important, John (Allen) is always at pains to point out it’s not a 15-man game. You can play any member of the panel and every game now takes the team and five subs.

“Probably the disappointment in the league campaign is that we didn’t unearth any completely new talent. Some lads who were there before, like Neil Ronan, came back, which was great, but at minor and U-21 we don’t seem to have the conveyor belt that the likes of Kilkenny have.”

First things first for O’Leary, however, that little matter of a Munster final.

“It’s great to be playing Tipperary, a lot of young people would never have seen a Cork-Tipp Munster final. Having the game in Cork is great for the city and for the GAA in the city. I suppose tickets will be like hen’s teeth, but that’s part of it too!”