Luke getting used to the pressure points

It’s claimed that there are 170 different skills in hurling. Master those, develop the requisite strength, athleticism and hurling intelligence, and theoretically you should become a top-class inter-county hurler.

There’s one critical element though that’s not in any of those skill manuals. Self-belief, self-confidence – call it what you like but in sports where skill is critical it’s that magic ingredient that allows a player to perform that full skill-set even under the most intense pressure, it’s what so often divides winners from losers. Talk to Luke O’Farrell about it.

Tomorrow, Luke starts again for Cork as the Rebels take on Dublin in the All-Ireland SHC semi-final in Croke Park.

Pressure? From his experience at the same stage last year, against Galway, a game Cork lost and a game in which he ended up being replaced after 51 minutes, Luke knows all about that.

“It’s gas, the game can just slip by you in minutes. I think I had three wides in the space of 15 minutes against Galway and suddenly it’s all going against me – one of those goes over and you can have a different day.”

That’s the thing about hurling forwards. That first ball goes wide, you silently curse yourself. The second one misses, now comes the test. If you’re strong enough mentally, you call on your self-belief; if you’re a young player battling to make the breakthrough though, you’re more likely to start looking to the sideline.

That’s where Luke was in 2012. “Last year was a year where people (management) were still finding a team so that when you hit a wide or two you might have been called ashore. Now we have a bit of experience under our belt and maybe the management feels, ‘alright, it’s only one or two, we can still leave these guys out there, they’re a bit more used to it and can get themselves together’. It’s nice not to have that feeling – ‘okay, I’ve a wide here, another one and I’m gone’. I think there’s a bit more trust in the panel and in the team and that’s important if you want to go places.”

Cork’s last game was a case in point, both Luke and Conor Lehane, in the opposite corner, left on for the full 70 minutes of the win against Kilkenny, though each had their problems finding the posts.

“I had two stupid shots in the first half, something I’ll have to look at improving in my own game – maybe flash it in instead of taking shots from the corners.

“Jimmy (Barry-Murphy, manager) has been in my ear about it in a big way. Conor (three wides) is a huge player, a massive talent and everyone knows that. He’s from my own club in Midleton, he can just turn things on with a flick of a switch. I think it’s fantastic that Jimmy is starting to show that faith in his players. It’s a strange game, hurling; the first two balls, the difference between a ball going over the bar and the ball going wide could be just a small gust of wind or something like that.”

Or a poor umpiring decision? “Well we have Hawk-Eye now in Croke Park so we can’t have any more complaints about that!”

It is critical, however, that mental strength, and it’s something that’s overlooked, ignored, dismissed far too often in the GAA. All that time and effort spent on perfecting all those skills, on getting bigger/faster/stronger, but what about that most critical element of all?

Of what use is all that if you find yourself with a forward afraid to take that shot, who because of a lack of confidence has sent the ball wide even before he has pulled the trigger?

This is where Jimmy Barry-Murphy comes into his own. On this Cork management team he’s not the stats and facts guru, he’s not a hurling scientist.

As a player he was an artist, honed his skills yes but he also had the instinct, the intangible.

It’s that instinct that now sees him nurture another young Cork side, sees him bring through players of the undoubted ability of O’Farrell, expertly but gently managing the formative stage. The pay-off? A second All-Ireland semi-final in two years, albeit against a formidable foe. Dublin have been awesome, having a massive season altogether. Danny Sutcliffe also – they have class all over the field really. The number one thing for us, no matter who we’re playing, is that we bring our own level of intensity to it, 100%. If we do that we give ourselves a right chance, if we don’t it’s not good enough.”