Reshuffled Banner show their strength in depth

Last September Pat O’Connor lined out with 14 Clare team-mates in a thrilling All-Ireland SHC final replay to claim an unlikely fifth championship title in the county’s long history.

On Sunday he again lined out with 14 team-mates for Clare’s first competitive appearance of the season against Limerick in the quarter-final of the Waterford Crystal tournament. There were differences of course.

This was a low-key season opener in front of less than 2,000 spectators in wintry Sixmilebridge instead of 72,000 fans at GAA HQ.

But there was another significant difference as he was playing with an entirely new 14 team-mates.

Seadhna Morey and Nickey O’Connell were on last year’s winning panel but others were making their senior debut. Among them was 18-year-old Bobby Duggan, who top scored with 12 points in Clare’s 1-14 to 0-11 win, and last year’s All-Ireland-winning U21 star Cathal ‘Tots’ O’Connell.

“Sure we’re hurlers at the end of the day,” smiled O’Connor.

“We’ve been written about in papers and talked about on sports programmes, but we like to train and play matches and we’re delighted to be back and winning.

“You saw the quality of lads out there. I’m just trying to keep my place no more than any other fella. I wouldn’t have much interest in sitting on the sideline watching. You saw probably 18 to 20 lads last year but there’s 38 lads who, on any given day, could give a performance like that. You saw Tots, Conor Cleary who had his first place, Bobby Duggan. These are seriously quality players.”

The depth of talent is emerging in Clare after several years of outstanding work at underage. Even despite missing the All-Ireland team, last year’s U21 winning corner backs Paul Flanagan and Jack Browne were among several college-tied panel members.

“Yeah that’s another factor. You’d kind of even forget about lads, you’d only think of who’s here. Podge (Collins), Shane O’Donnell, all these names that roll off the tongue after last year and they were off representing their colleges. It’s January and no All-Irelands are going to be won but we’re back training and working hard.” Of those who played on Sunday, Duggan and O’Connell really caught the eye up front.

“Bobby is a class act but no more than anyone else he works seriously hard. You see the scores, the catches but look at his turnovers and tackles.

“I’m a firm believer in making your own luck and when you work as hard as he does, luck will come your way, and he then has the quality to back it up. ‘Tots’ is a small man but if you get in a tackling drill with him he’s plenty strong enough. You saw him dispossess a lad nearly twice his size here. We’re blessed with a couple of those players at the moment but it’s the hard work that makes a winning formula.”