Séan Óg may soldier on for Rebel cause

SEÁN ÓG O hAILPÍN is having second thoughts about plans to retire from inter-county hurling at the end of the championship.

The 33-year-old went on record a few seasons ago to say that he was contemplating calling time on his illustrious career in the red jersey at the end of the 2010 season, but he may well continue on for longer.

“When I sat down a couple of years ago, I earmarked this year as my last year and that might well be the case,” he said yesterday.

“I’m going to try and get through this year as best I can and sit down [and think it over]. It’s well and grand for me to say I’m going to retire but the manager mightn’t want me to. Plus, there are young fellas in the panel, good young fellas. Okay, they are not heralded in the same calibre as the Kilkenny young fellas coming up, but there are good young fellas there.

“Maybe it is a time to throw in those young fellas. I’m gonna have to think about that as well. As of now, no, I’m not retiring but at the end of the year, hopefully September, I will sit down and weigh up things after that.”

Seán Óg has enjoyed a glittering career with the Cork senior hurlers and has earned a league title, five Munster crowns, three All-Irelands and three All Stars since joining the senior panel in 1996.

The last of those baubles was claimed back in 2006, however, and the falloff in the amount of matches and, more importantly, training sessions in the last three years seems to have prompted the rethink.

“A few years ago I was looking at it on the assumption that it’s going to be three years of September after September but that hasn’t been the way. I do miss Croke Park in September, I do miss Munster finals.

“Sport can change very quickly, you know. With 2003, 4, 5, 6 we were getting to Croke Park year after year.

“Big games. Big following. The last four years have been the complete opposite. You do miss it because part of training in January is setting your targets on sunny days in Thurles or Croke Park in September. At the time, maybe, it was a miscalculation. The hunger is back there again.”

That was proven in some style with his superb display in this year’s championship opener against Tipperary and one that was delivered just four weeks after being cleaned out by Damien Hayes in the league final.

Doubts were expressed about his place on the half-back line after that defeat to Galway, doubts which his Na Piarsaigh clubmate John Gardiner described as “laughable” this week.

His commitment to training down the years is already legendary. Traditional down times such as the morning after an All-Ireland final or an All Star trip were no reason for him to take his foot off the pedal in the past.

These days, he has learned that less can sometimes mean more.

“The body is fine. Obviously I wish I could do things that the body could do 10 years ago. I have to box clever in terms of my training. We have physical trainers in Mark McManus and Donal Burke who are very good that way.

“They’ll say skip that training session or you don’t have to do that whereas years ago you would have just done it. Flogged yourself. It is smarter that way. If I can keep injury-free, the body is fresh and the mind is up for it.”