‘Ambitious’ Dubs target silverware
Having seen their minor side’s hopes scuppered last Sunday, the onus falls to Daire Plunkett and his Dublin teammates in tonight’s All-Ireland U21 final in Semple Stadium.
“The one thing that this team has brought is ambition and it’s one of the main changes in Dublin hurling in the last few years”, reveals Plunkett.
“There are guys with ambition, they want to win and they’re not being happy winning Walsh Cups. Even this year with the seniors they were not happy winning the league, they wanted to win Leinster championships and now it’s pushing on, wanting to win All-Irelands.”
Captain Liam Rushe sings from the same hymn sheet as Plunkett.
“It has been a decent enough year. But after being in two All-Ireland finals, it would be poor enough not to win one, wouldn’t it?
It was disappointing for the minors not to win it, but that’s the minor team – that’s their thing. All year we have been going under our own steam and hopefully now we can do the job.”
Rushe is the standout player in the U21 squad given his exploits on the senior stage, yet he does not feel there is a heavier burden placed on his shoulders to deliver.
“There’s plenty of leaders in this team all over the park. We have kept five or six lads from last year and they are the backbone of the team so it doesn’t need any extra work from me. I think this year, we have said it again, it’s more the mental aspect that we have focused on – bringing those skills and that energy into the game.
“I don’t notice any different to be honest and I find myself asking people what they’re doing with themselves because they don’t have training. I’m at it since minor and you just keep it going.”
Rushe’s versatility has been a shining feature of his play for Dublin at senior level this season but he is perfectly content with his U21 role at centre-back.
“Centre-back is a lovely spot, isn’t it. If you’re on form you can control the game. You can get bypassed a lot at midfield – you can do everything right and then if the break goes the other way you can’t get yourself on the ball.
Centre-back, provided you are moving to the right position, the ball should be landing on you. Seanie McMahon was the man to watch for me in that position, when I was growing up. He was just a fantastic player.”
Dublin have had interesting arrangements with their U21 management structures in recent seasons. After Richie Stakelum double-jobbed as a senior selector and U21 boss last year, John McAvoy has taken the reins this campaign and Plunkett sees the benefits.
“Last year the two panels were very close together so maybe they got the balance wrong but I think this year they’ve definitely got the balance right. John’s involved in the senior management as a trainer and he’s manager with the U21’s so there is a link. But the panels aren’t as close as they were last year so I think there’s been a good blend. The players that are U21’s that aren’t on the seniors can see that there is still a link there so if they’re producing, they will be brought up. Danny Sutcliffe was brought up halfway through the year, probably on the back of his potential because he’s been a very good hurler all the way.”
Rushe and Plunkett were blessed in the wake of their defeat to Tipperary in the All-Ireland senior semi-final that the U21 grade provided a shot at redemption. And Plunkett is determined to seize that chance.
“I suppose it was a very down dressing room inside in the Hogan Stand after the Tipperary game and what better way to get over that than with another All-Ireland semi-final. I’m delighted that the year wasn’t over. It wasn’t like the rest of the senior lads where you’re kind of wondering, ‘What do we do now?’
We’ve been putting in the commitment all year and an U21 All-Ireland would be a very nice way to cap off the year.”
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