Quick-learner Duffy making up for lost time in Mayo

Before Gavin Duffy was brought into the Mayo fold, the team’s sports scientists met and discussed the burning question everyone else has been asking since the announcement was made: can a professional rugby player become an elite inter-county footballer?

The answer they came to was a resounding yes.

“There’s a lot of science behind it,” said manager James Horan.

“It’s not something we would have just gone with. We looked at it from a sports science background. They’re both evasion sports. The sports scientists will tell you the skill pack is similar and there is quite a high transference, particularly from his position in rugby to Gaelic football. There is a bit of rewiring to be done for sure but we’d be confident that process can happen.”

That brings the second question everyone wants to know — full-back or full-forward? Neither, it turns out.

“He’s a powerful guy and a powerful runner. If you look at Gaelic football now, powerful and athleticism are big parts of the game in a number of different positions,” said Horan.

“We’ve played him wing back, midfield, half forward [in A v B games]... around that area. And look, that could change but that’s where I’d initially be looking, from five to 12.”

But despite the sports science and Duffy’s conditioning from 14 years of professional rugby, there are two areas concerning the Mayo management; his skill set and capacity to complete the number of lung-bursting runs required at the top level.

“The main one is the aerobic capacity and the repeatability of the runs that Gaelic football has. It’s frightening the level that the Lee Keegans and Donal Vaughans, these guys, have and the amount of high-paced runs they can do in a short space of time.

“If you look at rugby there’s a huge amount of set plays. There might be a sprint, followed by a scrum or a set piece where you get your break in play whereas a Gaelic football match can go five, six or seven minutes without a break. That’s definitely the standout from a fitness point of view.

“From a skill point of view he’s working hard on his hand passing. Simple things like that can be the most difficult things. His kicking is actually very good. That’s one area where you would think he’d struggle but he’s very strong there. He’s training daily to try and catch up. If you are kicking a couple of hundred balls a day your technique and timing will improve quickly.”

Horan picked up the phone to Duffy when he was not offered a Connacht contract. Did the Mayo manager detect a hint of surprise from the player who had not kicked a ball within the county since 1999?

“I don’t think so. He’s a very keen and ambitious guy. As any of the Ballina guys around here will tell you he’s very passionate about football and has been in contact with a lot of players down through the years. A lot of them would get texts from him before a big championship match.”

While he suggested Duffy would be in the running for selection against Roscommon for the Connacht SFC final on June 8, it’s highly unlikely he’ll feature. Perhaps most interesting, though, was Horan’s assertion that should the experiment fail, Duffy would fulfil other roles within the squad.

“There’s always a number of different ways to improve a panel or a team. Gavin was captain of his province for a number of years at professional level. You need to be made of the right stuff to do that year after year. You need to be a guy of the highest integrity.”