Cork v Limerick: The same six? Ben O'Connor happy to shuffle Cork defence
CASE FOR DEFENCE: Cork manager Ben O'Connor. Pic: ©INPHO/David Ribeiro
In his final Irish Examiner column of 2024, Seánie McGrath wrote of his firm belief that at least two positions in the Cork defence were up for grabs going into the 2025 season.
No change in the Cork defence ever came. Nobody from the wings was successful in usurping O’Leary, O’Donoghue, Joyce, Coleman, or the Downey brothers.
Cork’s back six for the 2025 All-Ireland final defeat to Tipperary, save for a positional switch between Ciarán Joyce and Rob Downey in the half-back line, was the exact same as the red rearguard from the unsuccessful bid 12 months earlier.
The conversation heading into 2026 was largely unchanged from what Seánie had written 12 months earlier. There was a No.3 shirt up for grabs. No columnist, pundit, or punter disagreed on that point.
Dáire O’Leary was auditioned in said No.3 shirt across Cork’s opening five games of the League. For the first four, the Watergrasshill clubman acquitted himself fine, albeit the debate around the position went unsettled.
The debate was fully reopened following O’Leary’s difficult evening in the company of Limerick’s Shane O’Brien. There was no sixth game audition.
It was Ciarán Joyce who got handed the full-back shirt for the subsequent Offaly visit. The expectation - and we could of course be way off here - is that Joyce will hold onto the jersey for Sunday’s League final and beyond.
What all that means is Cork would be headed into a third consecutive championship with the same back six. The latest search for Liam MacCarthy, save for a positional switch between Joyce and Eoin Downey, would be unchanged from the two previous failed bids.
With Joyce in mind, we asked manager Ben O’Connor at last week’s League final media night if he’d have an issue playing someone in such a specialised position, come championship, who spent so very little time there during the spring.
And bear in mind also that Joyce, prior to the Offaly game on March 21, had started 42 games across League and Championship for Cork but never once occupied the full-back berth. Indeed, across those 42 games, he had only once started in the full-back line, that the 2022 League final defeat to Waterford when he operated at corner-back.
He’s actually played at midfield in red on more occasions than he’s been found in the last line of defence.
None of that, of course, is to say he won’t thrive in the No.3 shirt, if persisted with. It is just to make the point that he’s an absolute novice in this position.
“Is there any such thing as a full-back any more?” asks Ben in reply.
“One time, you had two corner-backs, a full-back, and that was it. Now, most teams play with two inside.
“One time, the slowest fella on the field was probably your full-back. Him or a corner-forward that had good hands. Normally, a big, strong fella would be put in full-back. Now, you have to be able to hurl and you have to be able to move.”
Eoin Downey held down the role for the past two years. He finished 2024 as All-Star full-back. His finish to 2025 was in stark contrast. Downey has spent the entire spring in the half-back line, turning in really impressive performances against Tipp and Limerick.
And yet the Cork manager is adamant that Downey’s residence at full-back is not a closed book.
“Oh no, every fella is an option. He hasn't played there this year because we know what we have there, so we've played him on the wing and at centre-back just to see what options we have. But Eoin has played full-back numerous times at training.
“Joycey was full-back against Offaly and that's just trying him out there. He was an All-Star wing-back last year and he went inside. We just want options for as many positions as possible.
“We have Eoin Downey, Joycey, Rob, and they can all play in the full-back line. Niall O'Leary and Seánie O'Donoghue, was it two or three years ago the two of them played centre-forward for their clubs? They're two of the best corner-backs in the country and they were playing centre-forward for their clubs. We have good hurlers and they're versatile. Fellas have to be able to perform in different positions.”
Friday’s team announcement will be interesting beyond the identity of Cork’s full-back. Further up, will there be inclusion for Barry Walsh after back-to-back Wednesdays of shooting 0-14 and 2-9 for the U20s?
There has been no surprise, for Ben anyway, as to the instant impact of the Killeagh teenager at senior level.
“Anyone who thought he was coming in just to get a... if they saw the size of him. He's a 19-year-old in a 25-year-old's body. The boys have racks for weights and he was put on rack one straightaway when he came in. That's the heavy stuff that the big boys are lifting. We're looking at this year [with Barry], not the year after or the year after that.”
Following their win over Galway, Limerick manager John Kiely said he expected to face two different Cork teams in Sunday’s League final and the championship instalment at Páirc Uí Chaoimh three weeks later.
“We'll be putting out our strongest team for the League final. Three weeks after that, we'll be putting out our strongest team for that as well. We're going out to win all games in front of us,” was Ben’s latest reply when Kiely’s comments were put to him.
“We're not shadow-boxing anyway, and I'm sure Limerick won't be either. We're going down to put ourselves up against the best and see how we get on.”
A collection of the latest sports news, reports and analysis from Cork.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
