Kerry V Cork: Plámás, picardia, and penalty pain
All of their performance issues were aired and then categorised into one of these two circles. The theory was that they would focus their attention solely on the things that were within their control and not waste energy on the things outside of their control.
Two things they initially relegated to the ‘Can’t Control’ circle were ‘The Past’ and ‘The Ref’.
However, this exercise then evolved whereby a third circle called ‘Can Influence’ was drawn.
The realisation followed that much of the topics listed in the ‘Can’t Control’ circle could actually be moved into an area that was actually within their scope of influence. This was empowering for the players.
For example, ‘The Ref’ was a prime example of one thing the players had initially deemed outside of their control but that they subsequently decided was actually within their scope of influence.
They set about concentrating on ways to get on the referee’s good side. For example, they would give him credit for a call against them when it was black and white anyway. Be mannerly. Cajole him during a break in play. Richie McCaw became a master at it and benefited more than most.
In Ireland, we call this Plámás. The RWC World Cup final of 2011 was an exhibition in the dark arts of Plámás with McCaw and colleagues manipulating referee Craig Joubert, unknowingly and inarguably, into downright favouritism of the home team.
Kerry are the intuitive masters of this dark art of ‘referee plámás’.
If there were ref microphones in football, you would be in hysterics at the dialogue between some of them and the match officials. A hand on the shoulder, a quick joke. Make him think we’re friends kind of thing but ball him out of it a few minutes later before making up again somewhere through the second half. The dial is turned up and down throughout the match. They’re genetically cute and play the hand they are dealt brilliantly.
More credit to them for finding an area of influence where most find only a stone wall.
Of course, it’s impossible to be definitive on this approach. However, a curious leak came about during the week which appeared to support the contention. The picture, which emerged on Twitter, is allegedly of a poster on the Kerry dressing room wall. These posters or themes are used by many inter-county teams and will be reflective of the values the players and management want the team to display on the field.
Such leaks in Kerry are rare; especially when they would have you believe no such tools are used. However, one of the key words on this poster was ‘Picardia’, the translation of which mean craftiness or cunning but with a naughty streak in there somewhere too.
The superstar status doesn’t exactly hinder their cause. For example, before the throw-in, Kieran Donaghy when at full-forward, can often be seen going to each umpire in a very deliberate and deferential manner to shake their hands.
Umpires are fans first and foremost. It would take a strong mind not to be influenced by such charisma.
Ironically, the structures are there to be taken advantage of. After all, the definition of a foul is the last great con in Gaelic football. It is so subjective that the officials can become more than just men with flags and whistles; they can decide games. What’s a foul to one ref is a good tackle to others. What’s a fair collision at the start of a game for one team is a penalty for another at a different stage of the game.
Let there be no blame attributed here. This phenomenon is common across all sports. The majority agree that the bigger team tends to get the bounce of the ball. When they are at home, it’s easier to take advantage. When the home team is behind, it’s an easier call again.
Manchester United are the prime example, what human would be immune from influence at a packed Old Trafford with Roy Keane and company bearing down on you in attack mode? The frustrations aired by the endless string of visiting managers never really changes the fortunes of the next.
And so it happened in Killarney two weeks ago. Realistically, Cork were robbed by a bad call.
However, Pádraig Hughes did not go out to ‘do’ Cork. He simply succumbed to a very human condition and found safety in bringing the world back into order. Kerry don’t lose in Killarney.
Moreover, through the ages, even the best referees have been predisposed towards the safe haven of a draw.
A more peculiar assertion is that some of the refs can be a bit deferential, especially to some of the bigger names.
A few years back, the story of one ref ‘having the craic’ with a Kerry player on a night out after one Cork v Kerry championship game did not go down well with the Cork players. In the drawn game two weeks ago, take a quick look at Michael Shields and Paul Kerrigan’s seemingly disproportionate reaction when James O’Donoghue approaches the ref for a chat after Stephen O’Brien was pulled down near goal in the first half. They knew exactly what O’Donoghue was up to and reacted as such. Like many before him, O’Donoghue was plámásing.
In any case, the ref for this game, Maurice Deegan, is a very strong character. He is not prone to easy persuasion and will not buckle to home town pressure, but sometimes it can be an unconscious manipulation. Cork are making a habit of drawing in Killarney when they would generally have been adjudged to have done enough to win the game. They will be commended for the performance but chastised for just not being able to close the deal.
People will wonder where their sense of injustice at the venue comes from but Cork’s scars in Killarney have stories.
The 2007 match in Killarney ended in controversy with Tomás Ó Sé’s clever but blatant yank of Derek Kavanagh’s jersey in the penalty area as he went through one-on-one. What should have been a certain Cork penalty was not awarded. In the 2009 drawn game in Killarney, Kerry benefited from seven of the last 11 frees in the game as they finally pegged Cork back in the 74th minute of a two-minute injury-time period.
In 2010, the game again ended in a draw in Killarney with 12 of the last 13 frees being awarded to the home team chasing the game. For all the hard luck stories, the Cork view has to be that the past is indeed outside of their control. Some of those Kerry comebacks could have been nipped in the bud in the same way that Kerry have often finished off Cork in Croke Park. What’s more, the Cork management team cannot afford to indulge their players in a victim mindset with the replay still to be won.
This past can reside in no other location that the ‘Can’t Control’ circle. It would have been disempowering for the players to focus on this stuff.
What’s particularly interesting about the ref debate in the context of this replay is the approach Kerry might bring. Circumstances would indicate that they will come out of the blocks like maniacs on day release.
The evidence is subtle but telling. After the drawn game, a core group of the unused Kerry subs were in The Killarney Towers hotel before much of the crowd had left the ground. Anyone who has ever shared a dressing room with aggrieved ‘A list’ players will recognise that huffed rush to get out of the dressing room after a game, that purposeful, pissed-off walk at having not featured in the way they would have liked.
Subsequently, Eamon Fitzmaurice’s selection policy was called into question by Eoin Liston.
The Kerry press conference was then stripped back to bare essentials and no individual player interviews were permitted. The tension has been heightened and Kerry are in ‘Lockdown’ mode. If this has thought us anything in the past, it’s that a storm is coming and Kerry will bring it. What’s more, since the drawn game, Cork have apparently knuckled down also and trained with their own maniacal intensity. Refereeing through the eye of this storm will not be easy.
This storm will be physical. Earlier this year, Tomás Ó Sé revealed that Kerry like to ‘hammer the hammer’ on opposition teams. We probably knew this intuitively before.
However, clarification of this point makes the ‘off the ball’ stuff almost as appealing as the ‘on the ball’ stuff on Saturday.
Undoubtedly, Cork’s hammer is Alan O’Connor. He is the epitome of a fair but uncompromising player. His direct opponent will be challenged to stand up to him.
What we would give for a player cam on that match-up tomorrow evening? A storm is definitely coming. The collateral damage will dictate the winner.
And if you see Maurice Deegan smiling, be sure to check out who cracked the joke.
@ConorMcCarthy
