Sars’ Quigley admits pressure took fun out of county hurling

Wexford’s Eoin Quigley believes it is more difficult to gain enjoyment from inter-county hurling given how “pressurised” the game has become.

Quigley (32), who lives in Cork and plays with Sarsfields, informed his county team-mates on Friday he wouldn’t be playing in 2014, admitting the decision was “something I had been thinking about for a while”.

“I have a lot coming up right now, my wife Lisa is expecting our first child in three weeks and we’re building a house as well.

“I’m 32 and the travelling was taking its toll as well, it was about two and a quarter hours up and the same back after training. I’ve taken on a new role at work with Grunenthal, a pharmaceutical company, and I’m travelling all over Cork, Kerry, Limerick and a bit of Clare and Galway too. The logistics of that and playing for Wexford are almost impossible and it’s dangerous too when you’re driving so much, especially at night.”

H admitted: “The way hurling has gone, it’s hard to really enjoy playing inter-county anymore because it is so pressurised so I’m looking forward to getting back with Sars and being with them for the full year.”

That increase in pressure goes hand in hand with the changes in hurling over the past decade.

“It’s totally different now,” he said, “from a physical point of view to just how fast the game has become. Teams are a lot younger now, I’d say the average age on a county team is about 24, whereas when I started, it was probably around 28. The strength and conditioning element has stepped up a gear and there are so many things players have to be conscious of, like nutrition and even psychology.

“There’s a lot being asked of players and when you invest so much time and effort and then you don’t perform, it can be very hard to take. When you start playing hurling as a child, you love the enjoyment that it gives you but at inter-county that’s not there.”

The former St Martin’s player won one Leinster senior title, in 2004, as well as a Division 2 league medal four years ago.

“I don’t think you can have any regrets that way,” he said. “It’s a team game so if you do the best you can then that’s all you can ask for. Not everyone can win, we managed to win Leinster in 2004 but then Kilkenny totally took over. Maybe it would have been nice to have taken a year off to go travelling but that’s not a huge thing. I’m happy I trained hard and gave my all in matches. There a lot of players who never win anything, so I’m thankful for what I won.”