Copying Cats the wayforward for Rebels

IT’S only one game, one result, but what a stark contrast in reaction from the two counties involved.

The high in Kilkenny hurling circles from their comprehensive win over Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final in Croke Park on Sunday, the knowledge that the historic five in a row is now just one game away, is balanced by the low felt by those with a love for Cork hurling.

In Kilkenny, their minors also obliterating the challenge of what was felt was a talented team from Galway, it’s all go; in Cork, it’s all gone, or so it would appear.

Three times in the last five all-conquering seasons Cork have fallen to this Kilkenny team, in the All-Ireland final of 2006, the semi-final of 2008 and now again last Sunday, and on each occasion the beatings have got progressively worse.

In ‘06 it was three points, 1-16 to 1-13, in ‘08 it was nine, 1-23 to 0-17, on Sunday it was 12, 3-22 to 0-19, Kilkenny hitting new heights each time, Cork hitting new lows.

And so, the Cats now face into the future with justifiable optimism, the Rebel County is enveloped in pessimism. What’s to be done? Where’s the hope? In the circumstances, perhaps the best place to go for answers is to Kilkenny, and to Michael Walsh, member of one the many hurling dynasties in that county.

Michael’s father, Ollie, played for 15 years for Kilkenny, won four All-Ireland medals as a goalkeeper, was an All-Ireland-winning manager; Michael himself won two All-Irelands and two All-Star awards, also as a keeper, and his son, also Ollie, was midfield in the Kilkenny minor team last Sunday.

Real hurling pedigree then, but along with that, Michael has also been involved as manager and coach in underage hurling in Kilkenny for a decade and more, has been with the county U21s for the last three years, reaching two All-Ireland finals and winning one.

Where, then, should Cork start their rehabilitation, Michael?

“Look to the underage, and the lack of success at minor and U21 in recent years – that should be a major worry for a county like Cork. In Kilkenny, everyone knows now about the development teams, the so-called academies, and there is no doubt but that has proved hugely successful.

“It was started by Ned Quinn, the current county secretary and former county chairman, starts at U14, goes up to U17, and one of the cornerstones of it is that it involves a lot of former county players as coaches. All those who are involved in those teams get expert coaching all the way up to minor.”

Okay, so that’s the model up to minor, and in fact that’s already underway in Cork, though its organisation is a lot more demanding in what is a much bigger and more diverse county. But what else? Where are the players to come from in the next couple of years, while Cork waits for those development teams to bear fruit?

“The players are already there,” reckons Michael; “I saw the Cork minor team a few times this year, and their U21s, and I was very impressed with both, a lot of fine hurlers.”

But, Michael, they were both beaten, didn’t even get out of Munster?

“You can say that, but not by 10 or 12 points – then you can really worry. The U21s were within a puck of the ball of beating Tipperary, a super team and favourites to win the All-Ireland, and that was without two players (Aidan Walsh and Ciaran Sheehan) who were held back by the senior football management – that would never happen in Kilkenny.

“That was certainly a very talented team, and I did expect they would go places. The minor team was also a very talented group who were expected by a lot of experts to challenge for All-Ireland honours this year, but they were beaten by Waterford.

“Sometimes people can read too much into the fact that those teams didn’t win – go back to last year and again Cork U21s were very unlucky to lose to a very good Tipperary team.

“The talent has to be there to build a new team. I’m not saying either that this is the end of this great Cork team now, but a lot of them have been there since 1999, some of them even earlier, and it’s very hard to keep that kind of intensity going. The O’Connors, Seán Óg, Donal Óg and those, people all over the country would have huge respect for them and for what they’ve done in hurling, they’ve been fantastic, and they’re now entitled to make up their own minds on what they want to do.

“But Cork have to look to the likes of William Egan, Patrick Horgan and those, they are the way forward, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see that happening in next year’s league.

“There will be a new buzz in Cork next year – you never write off Cork. They got to a Munster final this year, were beaten only after extra-time in a replay, were beaten on Sunday by what everyone knows now is an exceptional team.

“All this will die down after a while, Cork will recover.”