Weekend as good as it gets for Tuohy

Zach Tuohy’s tweet on Sunday night perfectly captured the attitude of the Carlton football player.

Tuohy had lined out in Ireland’s first Test victory over Australia the previous evening, but it was his nine-minute cameo in Portlaoise’s county final win, their seventh in succession, that brought greatest satisfaction.

“County final night. Quite simply as good as it gets,” he posted.

The 23-year old was a central figure in the club’s three-in-a-row from 2007-09 and though leaving for Australia the following year, Tuohy still played a key role in the 2010 and ’11 triumphs.

“There was never any doubt about my plan for the weekend,” he explained. “I was always going to line out for Ireland on Saturday night and sit on the bench on Sunday then for Portlaoise.

“Regardless if I never got a game I would always tog out. The highlight of the year is getting to come home. If the management decided that bringing me on late in the game would help the cause, then we would go ahead and do that. Fortunately I pulled up pretty well in the Irish game, there wasn’t too much strain on the body. I knew there would be no injury worries lining out the next day.”

Tuohy attended the post-match meal in Cavan town following Ireland’s 22-point win, but didn’t hang around for the celebrations.

“I didn’t mind forgoing one night out so I could play with my club. It isn’t much of a sacrifice to make and I was happy to do it.

“The games against Arles-Killeen developed into a tight game and I think it is the best county final we have won. We showed a lot of spirit because we haven’t had it put up to us like that before. It is a massive pat on the back to the lads to come back the way they did. The general consensus was that this was the best county final win of the recent seven. To be part of it then was brilliant.

“You never forget where you are from. If you are not playing then you feel a bit helpless. You just want to get out there and help the lads win the game. You can’t do that from the sideline.”

Having found the net in the third quarter against the Aussies, Tuohy almost repeated his goalscoring heroics at O’Moore Park.

“My eyes lit up when I got in on goal. I missed the target by a good 10 yards! In the end, I’d rather come in, play terrible and win as opposed to come in, play brilliant and lose.”

Portlaoise manager Mick Lillis hailed Tuohy’s introduction on 51 minutes as a pivotal factor in the 2-8 to 1-8 win: “He is a great asset to have and probably the finest athlete I have ever come across. He is a man mountain with the speed of Usain Bolt.”