Coach’s couch

Dropping Greaves a brave call

Bravest coaching call, any sport? (Substitutions, etc)

Alf Ramsey dropping Jimmy Greaves in favour of Geoff Hurst for the 1966 World Cup. Greaves was a super player, one of the most prolific international scorers at the time, but Ramsey went for Hurst, who went on to score a hat-trick in the final. That justified the selection and brought about ‘they think it’s all over’ line. After the hat-trick Hurst said to Ramsey, ‘see you at the next match’, and Ramsey replied, ‘if you’re selected, Geoff’.

One free to win it, one player to take it (not one of your own players)?

There’s only one man. Henry Shefflin. I don’t think he’s the classiest forward I ever saw, but he’s the most effective I’ve ever seen. He’s a fierce competitor, yet a fantastic sportsman. One of his strong points is that he knows what’s wanted from every free. When players stand up to frees they sometimes change their minds — so quickly they may not notice it themselves — but Henry always knows what he wants. He’s a great decision-maker with frees.

Greatest pressure free you’ve seen, hurling and football?

Richie Bennis’s 65 in the 1973 Munster final. It’d be easier to take now but it was tough then, and he was told it was the last puck of the game. How many times have fellas choked on that — when Ireland won the Grand Slam a professional rugby player couldn’t take that pressure, for instance. That free helped them cross the Rubicon and, as I’d played against a lot of them, I was delighted when they won the All-Ireland.

Stephen Cluxton’s free last year to win the All-Ireland was another huge one.

The best ref around? Why?

There’s only one hurling referee for me — Dickie Murphy was by far and away the best. He knew the game and he’d played it at a high level. People got annoyed with him for pulling players up off the ground or for smiling but that was just his way, he’s an outgoing, friendly guy. His level of perception as someone who played at the top level was invaluable when players were trying to play for frees, and it’s something that’s missing with some referees at present. In football, Pat McEneaney was the best by far.

Managerial challenges: Keane and McCarthy in Saipan. Who was right?

I think both showed a complete lack of emotional intelligence there. They showed the self was more important than the group and both were totally to blame and it was very badly handled all round. Despite what they might say, it’s something they’ll carry with them always.

Who’s the most underrated sportsman in Ireland?

Eamonn Coghlan, though that might sound strange. I don’t think he got the credit for his achievements or that people recognised what he did. When he did win the World Championship in 1983 people gave out about him raising his hands as he rounded the Russian on the last bend, but given what he’d come through — fourth in two Olympics — I wouldn’t have been too worried about the Russian.

Athletics is probably a sport that’s only recognised with Olympic gold — you think how hard it is to be the best in your parish, or your county, so imagine how hard it must be to become the best in the world. Sometimes we give a left-corner-forward who scores 1-3 in a game huge credit while we don’t give world-class athletes the credit they deserve. Coghlan won Wanamaker miles, held indoor records and admittedly he came fourth in two Olympics, but I still feel he’s underrated.

The ugliest moment in sport?

For me it came during a county semi-final in Wexford when John Meyler, who played for Wexford and Cork, passed me a high ball and I stretched to my full height to win it but I was struck by a fist in the kidney.

I lost the kidney and was anointed that night. I lost a lot of blood and was at death’s door. My son Niall was born two days later — two weeks premature. It was a great doctor in Wexford, who didn’t specialise in kidneys, Dr Johnny O’Sullivan, who saved my life that night. It was a despicable act but I fully forgive the fella who did it. He certainly didn’t mean to do that much damage but it was thuggery. I still have the scar but it’s over, gone. I don’t bear any grudges

An extra ticket falls into your lap for your favourite sports event — what sportsperson would you bring along? Why?

There are any number of sports events I’d go to — the World Cup, the All-Ireland hurling final, an Olympic track and field final and so on — but there’s only one man I’d bring. Muhammad Ali in his prime. He was one of my favourite sportspeople of all time. Ali fought Al ‘Blue’ Lewis in Croke Park and I bet Dave Bernie, who played for Wexford, a fiver I’d get my arm around Ali when he came out of the ring. There was a gang of fellas formed around Ali as he came out but I got in and put my hand on Ali as he passed and said, ‘Good man Muhammad’. Next thing a Garda hit me a box and laid me out. The only lads laid out that night were Al ‘Blue’ Lewis and myself. We were both clocked but at least I got the fiver off Dave Bernie.

If I could choose another it would be Michael Phelps to listen to his complete story from the beginning. What he has achieved is beyond belief and may never be achieved again. It also shows mental and physical toughness allied to extraordinary physical ability.

The biggest sports tearjerker of all time? Why?

Alain Mimoun was a great French runner who was known as Emil Zatopek’s shadow; Zatopek was the one man he couldn’t beat.

In the 1956 Olympics he was finishing up but he convinced the French athletics body to let him run in the marathon, though he had very little experience in the race. As it happened, he entered, he won and he beat Zatopek, and when Zatopek came in over the line he hugged Mimoun. Zatopek was a Czech and when he got married, Mimoun was his best man.

Years later, in 1996, I was training Wexford and we were trying to make the breakthrough, and I came home one night after training and there was a documentary on with Mimoun in it, describing the races and so on. There were tears pouring down Mimoun’s face, and it was a fair tearjerker for me as well.

For me personally, I came from a non-hurling club, but I moved to Clare and played for a great Newmarket-on-Fergus team and lined out for Clare.

In 1968 I had to go to Switzerland for work and my last game for Clare was against Waterford. The lads came along to see me off at the airport and they handed me the Examiner as I got on, and the headline read ‘Clare lose player to Switzerland’. I remember seeing the tears drop down onto the page as I was reading it. That was the realisation — intercounty hurling is finished for me. It’s over.

The worst choke of all time?

When Greg Norman lost the Masters in 1996, that was bad enough for him, obviously. But it resonates for me because I remember there was a headline in one paper which read, ‘Even Wexford don’t lose them all, Greg’.

I put that up in the dressing-room. It offended me.

The one player in any sport you’d love to coach?

DJ Carey. You’d learn more from him than from anyone else. His touch, his stroke . . . , his personality was such he’d be easy to coach.

The one player in any sport you’d hate to coach?

There’s thousands . . . I’ll pick another Kilkenny man, Pa Dillon, I’d have been afraid to disagree with him. He was a placid guy off the field, but I remember I did well in a game one time and we played Kilkenny the next day. I met Pa going out to start the game and he said, ‘there’ll be no headlines today for you sir’. And there weren’t any either.

Your dream selector not counting your current ones?

Jose Mourinho. I think you’d learn a thousand different things.

The one sports moment you wouldn’t wipe from the VCR?

The 1996 Leinster final. Everything we tried to do worked, we had a fantastic display from our players — and Offaly gave a fantastic display, so it was a privilege to be involved, to see everything we’d prepared come off on the day.

The one sports moment you’d visit if you had a time machine?

The All-Ireland hurling final of 1954 — you had Wexford’s greatest team trying to make the breakthrough, with Bobby Rackard supposedly giving the greatest display of all time. I didn’t see him in his full pomp, but that game was well discussed. The 1960 All-Ireland final, then, was the first I was at, and I had two cousins playing. Pat Nolan was in goal and John Nolan played his first game for Wexford that day against Jimmy Doyle. Tim Flood came out of retirement and Wexford were supposed to be hammered but they hammered Tipp instead. My first final, two cousins playing, Wexford beating Tipperary: the whole experience. Happy days.

The one sports moment that’s more overrated than any other?

Men’s beach volleyball. The women’s is a different story.