Ethan Twomey of Cork poses for a portrait with the Liam MacCarthy cup during the national launch of the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship at Spanish Point in Clare. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile.
By John Harrington
No-one doubted Cork’s potential at the outset of this year’s hurling championship.
The big question was whether they could get the blend right given that that had multiple options in multiple positions with little to choose to between them.
The notion that manager Pat Ryan still didn’t know his best team by the end of the League was given credence when they were beaten by Waterford in Round of the Munster SHC and them made six changes for their Round 2 clash with Clare.
They lost that match too but there was a marked improvement in their performance level and that graph kept going upwards as they qualified for the All-Ireland series after a dramatic win over Limerick was followed by an annihilation of Tipperary.
Pat Ryan named the same starting XV for both of those wins, so it’s fair to say he knows his best team by now.
A key cog in it is Ethan Twomey, the 21-year-old St. Finbarr’s club-man who has a bit of everything to his game.
He’s a powerful athlete, has a good pair of hands, knows how to take a score, and has a knack for being in the right place at the right time both defensively and offensively.
In the modern game you need to have hard edge, both physically and mentally, to survive in the middle third of the field, and Twomey ticks both of those boxes.
“It's tough alright,” says Twomey of the midfield battle-zone. “In the game these days there's so many bodies in the middle third that it's kind of like a mine-field in some games, especially in Munster Championship games.
“There's a load of bodies in there and the space is very condensed and there's loads of hits coming in so you have to be well-conditioned. It's about getting up to the pace of the games really and that takes a bit of time.
“Conditioning is very important and we have Ian Jones in our backroom there who has done a great job with us this year in that regard.
“Playing midfield in the modern game is tough, but you learn as you go from other lads like Darragh Fitzgibbon in terms of how to get through games and find pockets of space to get on the ball.
“Getting in tackles is a massive part of the game now as well and you could see in last week's Munster Final just how feisty an encounter it was with the amount of hits that go in so you have to be well-conditioned.
“It's good, I'm enjoying it so far.”
Ethan Twomey of Cork in action against Cathal O Neill of Limerick during the Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Round 3 match between Cork and Limerick at SuperValu Páirc Ui Chaoimh in Cork. Photo by Daire Brennan/Sportsfile.
Twomey is proving to be a very effective foil for fellow Cork midfielder, Darragh Fitzgibbon, who has been one of the best players so far in the championship.
He’s scored 13-points from play in four matches, and Twomey has relished the opportunity to play alongside and learn from one of the best.
“It's unbelievable really, he's a class act,” says Twomey. "Even in the Waterford game when we weren't going so well he was still the shining light and leading the team on from the front.
“He's just a class player and his work-ethic is unbelievable. Everyone sees the scores he gets and the big, long runs he makes, but there's also a lot of unseen stuff that he's doing every night in training.
“He's just a class act and a joy to play with. For me it's great to be able to learn from him. It's the same with all the players really, you're learning bits and pieces off every player that you might bring into your own game, and Darragh is definitely someone I've learned lads off.
“He's a well-rounded player and from watching him and playing with him and against him in training you're only going to better yourself.”
The chemistry between Fitzgibbon and Twomey in the middle third is a nice illustration of how Pat Ryan is now successfully blending a core of experienced players who’ve been around for a few years with a new generation that have won multiple All-Irelands at U20 level.
Hurlers in attendance at the national launch of the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship at Spanish Point in Clare, from left, Jason Sampson of Offaly, Lee Chin of Wexford, Tony Kelly of Clare, Seamus Flanagan of Limerick, Paddy Deegan of Kilkenny, Ethan Twomey of Cork, David Dooley of Laois and Conor Donohoe of Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile.
Getting that mix right can be a tricky thing to do, and Twomey believes the process has been aided by the fact that there’s no cliques in the cork panel.
"Yeah, you have your younger fellas, your older fellas and everyone gets on in the camp very well,” he says.
“You could sit next to anyone in the dressing-room and you'd have a great chat and a bit of craic.
“That all pays off on the pitch when people know each other inside out and you're training four or five nights a week together and you're having the craic and chatting to lads about hurling, about life, whatever.
“It's very easy to get on with fellas and it helps on the pitch when you have that bond. When things aren't going well that bond helps you through games.”
A Cork hurling team with momentum is always a very dangerous prospect and they’re certainly bringing plenty of it into Saturday’s All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final against Offaly after those wins over Limerick and Tipperary.
It would be a major surprise if they didn’t come away with the win, but Twomey insists they’re taking nothing for granted against the recently crowned Joe McDonagh Cup champions.
“No, not at all. We watched the game on Saturday and Offaly were very good. They got a few lovely goals and they have some top-class forwards.
“You could see that with their U20s they have massive confidence in the county at the moment and they bring massive crowds to the matches who seem to be their 16th man.
“They're a very passionate hurling team so we won't be taking them for granted at all. It's in their home ground and earlier this year we went away to Waterford and lost there so we'll have to go there fully focused because it will be a massive challenge for us.
“We have a bit of momentum alright with the last two wins and hopefully we can keep it going on Saturday but it will be a massive test and we're hoping there will be a big Cork support up there because you really feel it when you have support behind you.”
