Win is even better than Harty success, says jubilant McGrath
Prior to this season De La Salle had never won the storied Munster colleges’ title. This year, however, the young Waterford co-manager (along with Dermot Dooley) was determined to break the mould and a couple of months ago, De La Salle had that long-awaited win. All-Ireland champions, however, did they believe in this?
“We believed in the Harty, but to be perfectly honest with you, we kind of took the approach that we’d hurl with abandon in the semi-final against Castlecomer, hurl free, but then when we won that we said to ourselves we could have a right cut off the All-Ireland,’’ McGrath said.
“The media coverage, the build-up, was even bigger than for the Harty Cup, we were kind of contradicting ourselves then in our motivational speeches to the lads. We had been saying that the Harty was everything — and it was everything — but this kind of tops it.”
In 1992, Derek was part of the Waterford team that won the Munster minor champions for the first time, and while many of those went on to have big careers at senior level, Derek used his own less-successful experience as a motivational tool over the past few weeks.
“I was 15, but one thing I kept pointing out to the lads, I was a much talked-about hurler at that age but I never really made it – in and around the senior panel from ‘96 to ‘98, but that was it. I was saying to them, their approach to the whole game had to be absolute, they may never get back to this stage again, Croke Park.
“We emphasised that to them, that only three or four of them might ever be back here again. They really seized their opportunity, we’re thrilled with them.”
Thrilled with his own, sorry for the opposition — for Mark Bergin especially, — whose late 60m free from wide right came within a whisker of bringing this to a replay before it came back off the upright.
“I’ve been tracking Mark Bergin for a while,” said McGrath, “I’d be a bit of a fanatic that way – and I made it my business to go up to him afterwards and have a word with him. Something similar happened to Galway’s Niall Healy a few years ago but he came back stronger – Mark will do the same, he’s a fabulous player.”
Also feeling for Mark, feeling for all his players, was veteran Kilkenny CBS mentor Seán Breathnach.
“Absolutely cruel — hit the post with the last puck of the game, ball bounces out when it could have bounced in just as easily. Poor Mark is gutted; it was no easy free, very awkward, but he hit very well. It was almost there — heartbreaking.
“They played so well, two great teams, a marvellous final, absolutely excellent. You couldn’t fault anyone, could have gone either way, just heartbreaking that one team had to lose.
“It would have been marvellous to have seen a replay, possibly in Thurles before the league final next week between Kilkenny and Waterford. Not to be, losers again, unfortunately. They’ve done us proud this year – no trophy to show for it but by God they’re winners, all the way.”
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