Alan Connolly says Cork hurlers must become more adaptive to avoid All-Ireland final repeat

There's a sense that Ben O'Connor doesn't need to change much to finally get Cork over the line, having lost the last two All-Ireland finals.

PROJECT CORK: Cork hurler Alan Connolly poses for a portrait at The Anner Hotel in Thurles. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile.

There is a growing feelgood factor around Cork GAA at this moment in time and Alan Connolly is keen to ensure it continues.

Since the Rebel hurlers made it three league wins out of three when they defeated Tipperary in front of a record crowd at Páirc Uí Chaoimh almost three weeks ago,  the Rebel footballers made it four league wins out of four when they squeezed past Meath at Páirc Uí Rinn last weekend.

Now it’s over to the hurlers again to see if they can match that feat when they travel to Kilkenny this Sunday after what Connolly feels was a much-needed break.

“I’m buzzing for (the footballers), they’re flying at the moment in fairness. It’s great because they don’t get the support the hurlers get, and that's disappointing, because it must be so tough for them to get up for that. They're brilliant. They do just the same amount of work as us and they deserve all the support in the world as well and it's great to see them doing so well."

Of the county's hurlers, Connolly welcomed last week's break: "It was needed, to be honest. It was tough, playing three games in a row is tough on anyone. It's the first time I've played three games from start to finish in a row.

“I've always missed a bit of pre-season and league matches, but I’ve built up a bit of resilience now this year, just trying to stay fit. But there’s a lot of confidence definitely playing those three games now.

“I was only talking to a few lads there on the team and we were just saying, you can't get up for every weekend, it's so hard to get up for a game every weekend. It's pretty tough but it's been nice to have a bit of a break from matches.” 

A break from matches and matches only Connolly is keen to stress, with training remaining as intense as ever with new manager Ben O’Connor continuing to make his mark on the squad after taking over from Pat Ryan.

“We’ve been training, getting our gameplan right and our platform right, and building new lads as well. It’s been brilliant, the transition from Pat to Ben has been pretty easy. They’re both obviously great hurling men, love Cork hurling, natural respect for him and Pat as well, both winning All-Irelands with Cork, Ben captain of Cork. You'd go through a brick wall for him.

“He’s brilliant, I won’t give too much away now but he’s special.” 

There's a sense that O'Connor doesn't need to change much to finally get Cork over the line, having lost the last two All-Ireland finals. Though Connolly does suggest they need to be more adaptible that they showed in last year's All-Ireland final loss to Tipperary.

"No, I don't think we tried everything - I think we just tried the same thing and failed and failed and failed, it was just repetitive.

"We probably lost confidence, probably just panicked a bit.

"It's in the past now. We're trying to better that, to be more adaptive. We can't just do the same thing over and over again. And we can't lose our confidence that easily as well." 

A win over the Cats on Sunday at UPMC Nowlan Park would edge Cork another step closer to returning to the league final. The Rebels ended a 27-year wait for a league title triumph when they beat Tipperary in the decider almost 11 months ago but despite the significance of that success, Connolly insists the squad are just as determined to reclaim the silverware in 2026.

“We want to win every game,” enthused the 24-year-old. “We’re three from three so we need to build on that at the weekend now and further on. We want to win every game. No one goes out to… no manager goes out wanting to lose a game.

“You don't give a team talk saying ‘we're gonna lose this one’. Every game we want to win.

“We want to everything.”