McLoughlin: Tipp test the perfect way to prepare for summer

Lorcan McLoughlin says Cork are “realistic” about their place in the hurling world, warning that they still have “a lot of work to do” ahead of this year’s championship.

The Rebel hurlers face Tipperary in the NHL semi-final this Sunday, but while McLoughlin says Cork are keen to win, this weekend is a “build-up” to the championship.

“Everyone knows that Tipperary and Kilkenny have been the top teams in the last couple of years, but the more often you play them the better because you learn more about yourself and adapting to how they play,” he said.

“I know they’ll learn about you but until you compete against the best teams you don’t know where you’re at. We’re realistic, we know we’ve a lot of work to do but at least we’re going about it the right way. We’ve plenty to do before the championship but things are going well enough.

“With the new format every league game this year has been competitive, and managers haven’t had a chance to move lads around, but it’s all a build-up to the championship and a preparation for that.”

The return of Cork icon Jimmy-Barry Murphy as manager has been instrumental in their revival, despite some key players retiring.

“The first get-together we had, Jimmy spoke to all of the players,” said McLoughlin. “He was very honest and straight with us all, which you have to respect.

“As a hurler and a manager, with what he’s achieved, you’d have to have total respect for him. I wouldn’t have known him personally, I knew of him as a player and of course when he managed Cork to the All-Ireland final in 1999, but he commands huge respect and you can tell there’s a good vibe about hurling in Cork since he took over.

“Since I started we’ve lost some very good players, the likes of Ben and Jerry O’Connor, and Ronan Curran, but some good new players have come through as well.

“We seem to be gelling well but it’s early days. It’s a semi-final, but it’s still the league.”

McLoughlin, from the Kanturk club, has benefited from tough campaigns in this year’s Fitzgibbon Cup with Cork Institute of Technology — which CIT lost in extra-time to neighbours UCC — and in last year’s Cork SHC, when CIT lost the final to outsiders Carrigtwohill by a point.

He said: “The Fitz is a great competition — you’re in tough games against some of the best young players in the country, and in Cork Institute of Technology we had a very professional management set-up as well, which meant you were going from a very professional set-up there to another top set-up with the county team.

“With the county final, you see the effort it takes to get to one. Fair enough, everyone was saying Carrigtwohill were a club team, but we felt as much of a club team as anyone.

“Look, it was hugely disappointing but we also unearthed some very good players for the Fitzgibbon. For myself, I suppose it put me in the shop window — the bigger the game the more of a test it is, and in Cork it doesn’t get much bigger than a county final, so it was another step up for me. You’d learn more from games you lose than games you win.”

McLoughlin’s club, Kanturk, hasn’t always been in the limelight, but Cork sub keeper Anthony Nash has always been a role model within the club. Aidan Walsh is also putting the North Cork outfit firmly on the map with the Rebel footballers.

“Kanturk wouldn’t be a massively renowned hurling club but when you see Anthony making the step up to senior inter-county it would encourage you,” he added. “When you see the effort he puts it in with his own time, and with the club, it makes the whole thing more accessible.

“We learned so much from Anthony, and now Aidan has given the younger lads in the club something else to emulate. The two of them have been fantastic ambassadors for Kanturk.”

McLoughlin has benefited from a focus in the Duhallow division on hurling, and in particular the U21 divisional side entered in the county championship.

“You look at the city teams, the bigger teams, and people say they’re playing at a very high standard, but you don’t know how high that standard is until you play at that level.

“It brought me on hugely, playing in those U21 county finals. You know the county selectors will be watching those games and there’s an incentive there to do well.”

And plenty of incentive to do well again this weekend.