Canning out to make good first impression

TOMORROW sees a baptism of sorts in hurling. It is Galway’s first game in the Leinster senior hurling championship as they face Laois in Portlaoise.

A baptism of fire? Bet on it. While the entry of the Tribesmen and Antrim into the eastern province was widely acclaimed, there were many from inside the province, and from the lesser-known hurling counties especially, who were less enthusiastic.

This may indeed do a lot of good for hurling in both Antrim and Galway, goes the logic, but what is it going to do for the likes of Westmeath, of Carlow and Kildare?

What good will it do Laois, already struggling to make an impression in their own provincial championship? The last team to break the Kilkenny/Wexford duopoly over the past several decades in Leinster was Offaly in the 80s; Laois were on a par with their neighbours during that period, but time and again just failed to make the breakthrough. What chance now, with Galway added to the mix? Take it as read then that with a local man, former star Niall Rigney, at the helm, Laois will make things as hot as they can for the Tribesmen in Portlaoise on Sunday, certainly won’t want to become the answer to a trivia question, the first Leinster team to lose to Galway in the Leinster championship.

It is with that full knowledge then that Galway approach this game, a potential early banana-skin, acknowledged as such by forward star Joe Canning. “Exactly — even last year they stayed with us in Pearse Stadium for a long period and it was only two or three years ago they beat us in the league. Laois can cause an upset on their day but hopefully it won’t be on Sunday.”

Their territory, their championship, that’s exactly how Laois will be looking at it, that’s how every Leinster team will approach a match against Galway, that’s why Galway won’t find it easy against any of them.

In their 10 seasons in Munster, from 1959 to 69, Galway didn’t just struggle against Tipperary and Cork, they were also met head-on by everyone else, by Limerick, by Clare, by Waterford, and in those 10 seasons they managed just one championship win.

In fact so broken was Galway hurling after that experience that in 1969, when they again went solo from Connacht, they were beaten by London in the All-Ireland quarter-final, a London team backboned by Galwegians, one of whom was Frank Canning, uncle of Joe. Is he conscious of that history, that failure rate, the potential for disaster? “You’re the first person that ever asked me that question! I don’t think we’re conscious of that at all, we’re a different group of players, different hurling, just going in, treating this as our championship, hope to progress.”

Any medal you win you’re going to cherish it. Obviously a Connacht medal would be nicer, being a Connacht man, but it’s a provincial championship. It’s something to win, a Leinster medal, that’s as good an incentive as you want. It will mean as much as any other medal I’ve won if we are lucky enough to win it.”

While he was still a minor he twice turned down the overtures of Ger Loughnane, his priorities elsewhere. In a display of maturity to match anything he was doing on the field, the youngster decided he needed to enjoy a couple of teenage years before committing to what he knew was going to be a pretty suffocating schedule at senior level. He suffered criticism, suggestions that he could be passing up on an opportunity that mightn’t wait for him, but an All-Star award in his first season would suggest that he made the right decision — is he comfortable with it now? Wrong question!

“I don’t think you can be too comfortable any year. If you’re too comfortable, too relaxed, you’ll get found out. You have to put that pressure on yourself to be the best you can be everyday you go out and be better than you were the last day.”

Well, Joe’s last senior championship game with Galway was in last year’s All-Ireland quarter-final loss to Cork, and if you are, in fact, only as good as your last game, well, how’s this: Cork 0-23 Galway 2-15, Joe Canning 2-12.

It’s no exaggeration to say that on that afternoon in Thurles, and in his first senior season, he carried the team almost on his own.

It will take team effort to beat Laois, team effort for Galway to progress in Leinster, the kind of team effort shown so often by Joe’s own club, Portumna, the kind of team effort so lacking so often in Galway. Do they have it in them?

“A small bit of success brings a group of players together very much. If Galway even won a league or a big game, that’s all we need. We’ve been so successful with Portumna that we’re so tight-knit through the good days and the bad days. If we get success, I think we will be a force to be reckoned with.” Given how they fared all those years ago in Munster, an early win in Leinster would be a good start.