There’s a big game in Limerick, but it’s still Tipp

Limerick can cry rivers over the tough hands they’ve been dealt in the last few years, starting with three years ago when they ‘won’ promotion to the top tier of the Allianz Hurling League only to be denied in a subsequent league restructure. Only one loss in three regular league seasons yet they’re still now stuck in that second tier.

The brutal truth though is that in the last two years, when the chips were down and they had just one game – a championship-type game if you like – to win to gain promotion, twice they’ve failed, first to Clare, then a few months ago to Dublin.

They have talent, no question. They have the hurlers too but they don’t have the killer streak, not yet anyway. Even last year in Munster they had Tipperary on the rack, two points ahead with only six minutes on the clock yet lost by four. In the All-Ireland quarter-final they had Kilkenny on the run in the first half, the Cats only holding on by virtue of two Henry Shefflin goals. On the 42nd minute it was tied, Limerick still in there, 1-11 to 2-8. Only 13 minutes later it was all over, Kilkenny scoring 2-5 without reply.

There’s a big game in this Limerick team. Could this be the day? It could, but their problem now is that they’re taking on a Tipperary team hurling with a lot more confidence than the side Limerick ran so close last year. Eamon O’Shea, coach of the side that won the All-Ireland in 2010, is now at the helm and the players have responded well. Tipp are not unbeatable, but are Limerick fully aware of that yet?

Verdict: Tipperary

Callanan’s work paying off

How do you make that kick to win a Heineken Cup or hit that point from 40 yards to win an All-Ireland title? Confidence, that’s what it boils down to, a clear head, no room for fear or indecision.

Seamus Callanan will line out at full-forward for Tipperary tomorrow in the Munster SHC semi-final at the Gaelic Grounds. He will also be the designated free-taker. He’s there because, after a couple of seasons of frustration, his confidence is back.

“I think everybody really is a confidence player. If your confidence is low you’re not going to get the best out of yourself and that goes for everyone. It’s kind of obvious that the more confident a player is the better he’ll play, though obviously over-confidence is probably bad too.”

How does a player become confident though? Simple, says Callanan, work.

“Just work really, really hard; if you’re doing everything right off the field — say like if you’re doing your gym sessions right, if you’re improving on your frees for example on the nights you’re off; if you’re doing all those things your mind will be right. You’ll have that confidence to go, ‘I’ve done that, I’ve done the work outside of it and now it’s time to show the results’.”

For a forward especially, whose role is to split those posts again and again, confidence is key, thus all those additional sessions the likes of Ronan O’Gara did with Munster, the additional free-taking sessions Callanan refers to above.

You’re not going to score them all, from frees or from play, but the ones that don’t go over you can’t allow to affect you — if a forward drops the head, he’s gone.

“You have to live in the now. If you hit a ball wide you just have to live for the next moment, the next ball. You have to work really hard to get the ball, then take the right option; if you’ve hit four wides in a row but the right option is to go for the score again you make that choice in a split second — you don’t have time to think about it.

“It’s the usual, a forward’s reaction or a back’s reaction, you have to make that call in your mind in a split second. If you keep working hard you’ll get onto those breaks but if you stand up, you won’t get onto any of them.”

It makes for a very demanding schedule, all this training, yet it’s a burden Seamus shoulders easily and willingly. He’s not working at the moment, helping out on the farm at home while he sends out his cv. “Banking, marketing management, sales repping jobs, that’s what I’d be looking into,” having just finished his business degree in LIT. Hurling — even the training — offers a break.

“I love to meet up with friends around home, go for a few pucks in the evening. That’s actually my way of relaxing — going for a few pucks. Even the nights you have off training, there’s always something to be done. If I wasn’t happy with my first touch on a Tuesday night, go to a ball alley on a Wednesday night to sharpen up again. I love the nice evenings, relaxing, going down to the local field and practising a few frees. No question of overload though – I wouldn’t put myself under that much pressure!”

He’ll be put under pressure tomorrow, not just in the free-taking department but in general play. Richie McCarthy is the Limerick full-back; he’s fair, buttough. This is Munster championship, a day when referees are slower to find their whistle, a day when the hits will come in fast, furious and often. Just what we’ve been training for, says Callanan. “There’s nothing like a few hits to make you feel alive, make you feel the real championship pace of hurling.

“Limerick are a fierce proud and passionate county and we’d respect that about them. Last year they gave us a serious game in Semple Stadium, pulled six or seven points ahead at one stage. They’ve a great mixture of experience and youth, we’re going to have to be really on top of our game to go down there and get a result in their own back yard with all their supporters. We’ll try and encourage our own to come down and really make a good day of it because there’s a rivalry there, a healthy rivalry.”