O’Neill: High time this Cork group won something

Shane O’Neill loosened up his limbs after Sunday’s rigours courtesy of a session with Bishopstown on Tuesday.

Truth be told, he only felt like he had recovered from Thurles yesterday. His next port of call is Páirc Uí Rinn next Monday night when the club face St Finbarr’s.

It’s an active comedown, but he can’t imagine what it must be like for the dual players as they turn their attention to football this week. For Aidan Walsh, Saturday’s semi-final with Tipperary will be his fourth Championship outing in five weeks. Win it and he’ll be facing six in eight.

O’Neill readily acknowledges Walsh, Damien Cahalane and Alan Cadogan have been Cork’s “three biggest players we’ve had this year”. But ask him to put himself in their shoes? No thanks.

“It’s not easy. I struggle myself just playing hurling. It’s not the physical side, it’s the mental impact it has. After games I definitely find it hard to sleep or come down from it because it’s such a high playing in front of a big crowd,” he said.

“It’ll be interesting alright to see what happens in terms of where the players are over the next few weeks because if Cork beat Tipperary on Saturday they’ll be preparing for a Munster final too. And, to be honest, up to now it’s probably been a week-on-week basis the two managers discuss what players are going to be released and stuff like that. It’s not easy but you need to pat them on the back for doing what they’re doing.”

O’Neill was a sub when Cork won their last Munster title in 2005. Incidentally, that was the last time a finalist from the province won the All-Ireland.

As much a reward as July 13, it could turn out to be a drawback too. “You look at us last year,” O’Neill says. “If we hadn’t gone through the qualifiers we would have been down a few games so it’s a catch 22 situation. You want to go through the front door and especially that it’s a final you want something to show for your efforts. There is a case for the more games you get the better it’s going to stand to you. I think we probably showed that over the last two weeks that the two games against Waterford stood to us.”

The chance to win the provincial title in the last inter-county game in Páirc Uí Chaoimh also has its appeal. “To be honest, I haven’t played a whole pile in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. We obviously train there a lot and it’s a lovely pitch and a lovely venue as well so I’d love if the game was on there. I obviously understand from the Munster final point of view that they’d sell more tickets and more fans would get to go to the game [if it was in Thurles], but at the same time I’m a Corkman so I’d like it to be in Cork.”

Páirc Uí Chaoimh or not, O’Neill agrees it’s high time this Cork group won something. “In reality we have won absolutely nothing. Even though we had a great win against Waterford and we played well enough in getting to a final last year, we lost the Munster final and we lost the All-Ireland final. We can’t keep losing those, we have to turn it around at some stage.

“They definitely make you more hungry for success because you don’t want to be in a losing dressing room again, especially if it’s a Munster or All-Ireland final.”

What O’Neill has been most thankful for this season is the new options in defence like Cahalane that have released him from full-back where he was plugging a hole last season.

“My few performances when I was full-back last year probably didn’t come off that well, but I think definitely we’ve more confidence knowing that out panel is stronger.”

No Cork interview these days can escape a mention of the Anthony Nash rule interpretation. What says O’Neill of the strong perception penalties and 20 metre frees being struck before the 20m line will lead to more cynical fouling? “In the heat of the moment you probably wouldn’t even think of doing something like that but here is a case where does it really give an advantage to an attacking team? [Cynical play] hasn’t so far.”