Kelly: Clare play without fear

Tony Kelly is diplomatic enough not to be drawn on whether it’s Clare’s U21s who are benefiting more from the seniors or the other way around.

All he knows is that the arrangement between the two groups, who are once again sharing approximately a dozen players, is working.

Clare travel to the Gaelic Grounds this evening putting their Munster and All-Ireland crowns on the line after they last year became the fourth county in eight years to do the senior and U21 double.

If the Banner are the latest example of how mutually beneficial the two grades can be, then the 2013 hurler and young hurler of the year is the personification of it.

In the recent Cork-Waterford game, he saw more examples of just how U21 players are graduating with top marks on the senior stage.

“Looking at the conditioning of lads at U21 and minor, they are fully grown men,” said Kelly. “There is no minding them and managers are adopting the approach ‘if you’re good enough, you’re old enough’.

“I think it is only right. If you look at Austin Gleeson, he was a minor last year, coming in didn’t faze him one bit. He had a great game.

“Same with Alan (Cadogan), his first senior outing as well and you would swear the two of them were playing senior hurling for two or three years.

“I think it was the same with ourselves. We had no real fear, you don’t know what to expect, we just went out and hurled.

“That is the advantage of being youngsters, they have no inhibitions, they just go out and hurl. That is a boost to the senior set-up as well.”

Kelly accepts that Clare, with three All-Ireland U21 titles in the past six years, reaped the benefits of that success at senior last season.

“We have been successful the last two years and then if you take in 2009 as well, those three winning U21 teams make up the entire senior panel.

“For any team, you need underage success, you need minor and U21 teams winning, so when they come to senior they are no strangers to winning. With that comes more competition for places — you’ve 12 to 13 of us coming in from the U21 in the last two years, pushing the more senior statesmen in the panel and maybe pushing them out of position. You need that healthy competition for places as well.”

There’s a slight trepidation among Clare’s U21 ranks too as expectations grow of them winning a third consecutive All-Ireland title. In a knockout competition, Kelly insists the players feel it’s a conversation not worth having.

“You have to be wary. Success brings with it pressure and I was asked previously about the three in a row, and I answered there was no talk of it. It is all about Limerick. If you start getting carried away with yourself, that is when you’re going to get caught. We’re just focussing on the first round of the Munster senior and the first round of the Munster U21, and I think if you start getting carried away with yourself, thinking ‘these U21s are going to be around for a long, long while, they’ll win a lot later on’, it doesn’t work like that. You have got to make the most of the opportunities when they arise. We are going to try and get over the first hurdle.”

Limerick’s Dan Morrissey feels they’ve a point to prove this evening having been dumped out of the Championship at the first time of asking the last two seasons.

“For myself and a few others, it’s our last year U21. There is maybe extra pressure on us, we’ve won nothing our team, even going back to Tony Forristal. Maybe we’ve underachieved a bit.

“I don’t think it was even Clare’s wins that hit me most last year, it was more the U21 team being knocked out early while the minor and senior sides went on to win the Munster finals.

“Obviously, we were delighted for them but we were kind of the forgotten team. Hopefully this year we can get past the first round. On paper Clare are a great team, and they were a phenomenal team last year.”

Meanwhile, Kilkenny’s Tom Aylward is hoping to renew his school battles with Wexford star Jack Guiney in this evening’s Leinster quarter-final in Nowlan Park.

“I used to have to mark him in secondary school in training,” says Aylward. “We get on very well, (we were) in the same class. He has a few marks on him since then!”

Naturally, Aylward doesn’t have great memories of last year’s extra-time final defeat in Wexford Park. “We were just unlucky at the end. Maybe heads dropped at time but we’re just trying to put things right now, that is in the past now and it’s a new beginning. We’ll forget that but we need to beat Wexford. You need to be ready from the first minute. You only get one shot, it’s my final year and I want to make the most of it, and so do a lot of lads. It’s the last time to shine.”

LIMERICK (U21H v Clare): D Stapleton (Doon); M Callaghan (Knockaderry), R English (Doon), S Irwin (Bruff); M Carmody (Patrickswell), D Byrnes (Patrickswell), D Morrissey (Ahane); W O’Donoghue (Na Piarsaigh), C Lynch (Patrickswell); S Dowling (Na Piarsaigh — Captain), D Dempsey (Na Piarsaigh), M Fitzgibbon (Feohanagh); L O’Sullivan (Knockaderry), K O’Brien (Patrickswell), P Ryan (Doon)

CLARE (U21 v Limerick): K Hogan (Clooney-Quin); J Colleran (St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield), J Browne (Ballyea), S Morey (Sixmilebridge); J Shanahan (Sixmilebridge), C Cleary (Kilmaley), G O’Connell (Ballyea); E Enright (Kilmaley), C Galvin (Cratloe); S Gleeson (Cratloe), T Kelly (Ballyea), P Duggan (Clooney-Quin); A Cunningham (Wolfe Tones), D Reidy (Eire Óg), B Duggan (Clarecastle)

Subs: E Quilligan (Feakle), S McGrath (Feakle), S O’Brien (Clonlara), E Quirke (Whitegate), D Conroy (St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield), B Carey (Sixmilebridge), S Taylor (Broadford), S Ward (Clarecastle), N O’Connor (Newmarket).

Tonight’s U21 previews

Bord Gais Energy Munster U21 HC quarter-final

Limerick v Clare, Gaelic Grounds 7.30pm (J Ryan, Tipperary)

The feelgood factor in Limerick hurling can’t be discounted this evening, nor can the talk of how good their U21s have been performing in recent challenge matches. Ciarán Carey appears to have them champing at the bit and Clare will realise they are in a precarious position given their loss of key players through injury — Shane O’Donnell, Cathal O’Connell and Alan O’Neill. The visitors’ attack will be blunted slightly but they should just about have enough to keep Limerick at bay.

Verdict: Clare

Bord Gais Energy Leinster U21 HC quarter-finals

Kilkenny v Wexford, Nowlan Park 7.30pm (D Hughes, Carlow)

There are strong concerns on Noreside about the ability of this current group of U21s to make amends for the disappointment of last year’s crop. At least at under-age level, Wexford are slowly but surely chipping away at the psychological hold the black and amber jersey has had on them this last 10 years.

Verdict: Wexford

Westmeath v Carlow, Mullingar 7.30pm (G Quilty, Kilkenny)

The buds of promise in Westmeath are flowering a little quicker than those in Carlow. The home draw will help too.

Verdict: Westmeath