Mark Rodgers: Clare can look forward to championship 'with quiet confidence'

Clare hurler Mark Rodgers poses during an Allianz National Hurling League finals media event. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Having spent their spring in Division 1B, Clare might not know precisely where they’re at, but they can approach the championship with quiet confidence.

Mark Rodgers isn’t certain whether there’ll be any cost to playing a season outside the top tier. He’s sure, though, that they will get a first-grade test against Dublin in Sunday’s final.

“It's impossible to tell, as of now. We've watched all the other teams in Munster have big wins the last few weeks, and they all know exactly where they are,” says the Scariff sharp-shooter.

“There's an element of maybe we don't know, but we have an opportunity to play Dublin now, who were a top-four side last year, and we’ll know a lot about ourselves then.

“We're very comfortable in our own group. We've been in a lot of situations down the years. We've been tested and we've been resilient.

“So we can look forward with a quiet confidence, but we fully understand that we have to produce far better than we produced last year in terms of performance to expect any results.” 

Rodgers believes Clare possess the know-how to navigate the fortnight into a first-round Munster Championship clash.

“It’s a similar situation to when we played Kilkenny in the league final in ‘24. It was a two-week turnaround, and I know we were beaten that day, but for about 50 minutes, we played some of the best stuff we played all that year against Limerick.

“At the weekend, it's a brilliant opportunity for us. We’ll be getting to play in front of a huge crowd. Maybe they'll only be filtering in from the halfway stage on or whatever, but it's going to be great preparation for the first round against Waterford. And an opportunity with silverware on the line to also claim that.” 

Clare have won six games on the bounce to build that sense of momentum. Still, Rodgers feels that promotion to Division 1A was “hugely important” to secure the top standard of hurling.

Reflecting on their unsuccessful All-Ireland title defence, Rodgers reckons there are “tonnes of different reasons” why the Banner didn’t reach those same heights.

“The All-Ireland campaign was unique in that we ended up picking up a lot of injuries out of it. You end up starting a bit later and you're on the back foot, but that wasn't the reason we weren't good enough. There was three teams in Munster better than us. You're only as good as what that table shows you.

“You’ve to take your medicine. If you can learn from it, it can be a positive thing, but that's only if you can learn from it.

“We had the whole rest of the summer to look on. We were able to watch teams that we would have been very competitive with and would have maybe got the better of the last couple of years, and watched them go on and do so well.

“We got together at the turn of the year. It's been a real positive experience. Our training has been excellent. We've got good results on the pitch as well. Hopefully, we can carry all that through now.” 

Rodgers has assumed full-time free-taking duties since last year, scoring 1-50 (0-37 from dead balls) across the league. He feels a strong vote of confidence to get those responsibilities among accomplished and experienced takers such as Tony Kelly and Peter Duggan.

“I don't think it covers for your contributions in open play. That's the most important thing. That's what’ll get you onto a team. It's just another thing on the side,” says Rodgers, who speaks with a free-taker’s unflappable air of assurance.

“You're very present during the moment. When you're at your very best, hitting them, you pretty much can't hear anything. You're very much… you’re present.”