McCaffrey insists Dublin are better as well as bigger

ASKING an inter-county hurler if he has put on weight is a precarious exercise but Johnny McCaffrey doesn’t mind.

Yes, he’s put on the pounds. About seven, in fact, over the last couple of years.

“I have put on half a stone of muscle over the last few years,” he revealed.

“In that regard I feel a lot stronger. I suppose as you get older, naturally you’d be getting that bit bigger. But I do feel that I am stronger than I’ve ever been.”

Dublin’s physicality has been one of their big pluses this year just as much as it’s been used by some as a stick to beat them with.

McCaffrey, again, doesn’t mind.

He knows himself Dublin wouldn’t have made the strides this year without a high degree of skill.

“You don’t win leagues, Walsh Cups or whatever without having good hurling. At the end of the day, it is still about the hurling, you just have to do it at a fierce pace.

“We have brought that to our game thankfully and being able to hurl at the same time is a massive thing. I think we have shown that we can do that.”

To emphasise his point, McCaffrey highlights the recent classic finals between Kilkenny and Tipperary.

“The intensity of the last two All-Ireland finals, the hitting and the aggression and the tackling creating a new normal, I suppose. A lot of other teams have seen that.

“The game is a lot faster, a lot more physical in the tackle and you need to be fitter. That is one thing we have definitely worked at all year.”

But is Sunday’s game coming too soon for Dublin to bridge the gap?

“I don’t think so, no,” argues McCaffrey. “We know if we produce a performance that we are capable of then we can run Tipp very, very close.”

Whatever about the imponderables, McCaffrey knows Dublin aren’t going to go away in a hurry.

The novelty factor surrounding them is still strong but with the minor and U21s also in All-Ireland semi-finals, the message from the capital is there will soon be a new hurling power.

“Ultimately, we are here for the long haul. With the underage structures there will be a constant flow of lads coming through and competing with the lads on the senior team.

“It could take a while to get back to this level again — All-Ireland semi-final day — so we are just going out to enjoy it and live for the now.”

But as a GAA coach, McCaffrey sees what the team are doing for the children in the county.

“The big thing I found this year was the spring series games and after the Tipperary and Kilkenny games parents were telling me they were out the next morning at 10 o’clock hurling away and they’ve never seen that before. On greens where soccer would only be played.

“That’s only a small area in Lucan. This is probably happening across the whole area of Dublin. It’s a sign of the impact we’re having on kids, I suppose.”

They’re looking up to hurlers now who are not pigeon-holed into positions. “The way hurling’s gone now it’s a bit like football, you can end up in any position.

“We do have great versatility in the team. Lads have had to adapt to that but I’ve think we’ve done quite well.”