Shane McGrath
By Shane McGrath
Big game match week. There’s nothing like it.
This week, both camps in Tipperary and Waterford are gearing up for their biggest game of the year thus far. Depending on the type of player you are, you either love this week or can’t wait for it to be over and have that ball thrown in on Sunday.
I loved game week. The build-up, the buzz around training, and of course the handy training sessions. A few ball drills to keep the eye in, lads in great form, maybe having a little skills competition just to pass the time. I especially loved a side-line cut challenge with whoever was up for it. Lads always fancied themselves at side-lines on the Tuesday and Thursday before championship. On one such occasion, Noel McGrath, Bubbles, and I decided to push the boundaries and really delve into the skills locker.
We placed the ball on the ‘21 and tried to chip it over the back net in Thurles. Tick. Next challenge please. I said, "Ok let’s try it on the '14." Now it’s only a few yards, but it’s an Atlantic Ocean of a difference when trying this challenge.
I went. Fail. Noel went. Fail. Bubbles says, "Ok lads, I’ll make it fair. Left hand on top." First go - straight over. Needless to say, I didn’t ask Bubbles for anymore challenges after that!
You’re probably wondering what the hell this has got to do with a Munster Final. Well, that’s the kind of player Bubbles is. Always relaxed. Plays hurling because he loves playing hurling, and that’s why I feel his loss this Sunday is massive.
Last year, whilst many of the teams playing Waterford were getting hung up on systems, sweepers and lack of goal chances, Bubbles went out and picked off four or five points from distance and just hurled.
The great Italian midfielder Pirlo said of playing the World Cup Final in 2006, “I don’t feel pressure, I don’t give a toss about it, I spent the afternoon of Sunday July 9 2006 sleeping and playing the PlayStation. In the evening I went out and won the World Cup.”
Bubbles is Tipperary’s Pirlo.
Bubbles
I wonder are too many others putting too much pressure on themselves to perform? Are they more worried about a rating out of ten or getting a so called Team of the Week on social media rather than just going out, throwing off the shackles, and playing?
After all, no player is asked to play for their county unless they have something special to offer, but I feel we are not seeing enough of that talent on game day. Brian Cody said before that to be a good county hurler you must first be an outstanding club hurler. I agree 100 per cent with this.
What I’m getting at here is this - you can train 10 times a week from the middle of November until July to get ready to perform in a Munster Final. But if you don’t go out there buzzing and loving the fact you’re playing in a massive game for your county and playing that game because you love the game, that jersey and what it stands for - your club, friends and family and everything that goes with it – then you will not perform.
I loved the big days. I wasn’t always the best player on the pitch, by no means, but more often than not I relished the big days and feel I played well. Why? I just loved the big crowds, the buzz driving to the stadium on the bus. Meeting the first crowd of fans either waving at you or cheering or…well, maybe not waving at you!
Listening to a few tunes as we approached the stadium, the adrenalin pumping, and just looking around the bus thinking…Yes…It’s here now…Let’s do this.
This Sunday, as Al Pacino says, will be ‘a game of inches’. Space around the middle will be harder to come by than snow in the Sahara. I read a very interesting thing recently where Clare midfielder David Reidy said he shortened his hurley by an inch in a bid to get the ball away in such environments.
Having played against Waterford last year I can vouch for this. I would say I hit the ball maybe two or three times during the 70 minutes. It was all hooking, blocking, hand passes and turnovers. Trying to make space for other players. It was one of the most frustrating games of hurling I was ever involved in. But I am a firm believer in the ethic that when the Team wins, everyone wins. And we did.
Shane McGrath
Waterford’s way is to crowd out the middle third of the field. Positions and numbers on backs mean nothing to them. They know their job within that system and are very good at executing it. Their fitness levels and stick work allow them to do this. They have a hunger to win every breaking ball, every ruck, but a team that can match that ferocity to win the dirty ball and give it to the man in the best position have a great chance of winning this vital area of the field.
Tipp can do this. They have the work ethic, skill and determination to match Waterford in this sector. This is where the team ethic comes into play. TEAM - Together Everyone Achieves More - a great saying from a former manager of mine that you simply must live and die by in games like Sunday.
Of course, there are key men on both sides that will seize the moment, be the turning point, and drive the rest of the team on. It might be a catch, a brilliant hook and track back that doesn’t amount to much for the majority of spectators, but every man on the pitch will give a huge lift from. The ‘If he’s willing to do that I’m not gonna let him or the rest down’ kind of feeling for players.
In my opinion, there are leaders all over the pitch on both sides, both young and experienced. And if one of your players can negate one of their key leaders, then it is a massive edge gained, both in terms of the physical ebb and the flow of the match and the mental battle of wills. Here are three key battles that stand out for me.
Cathal Barrett v Patrick Curran/Shane Bennett/Colin Dunford
Waterford tend to rotate their forwards, so Cathal Barrett could be up against any of these three or all of them or even others at various points in the match. Barrett is in the form of his life. His fitness levels, stick work, and ferocity in the tackle make him in my opinion the best corner back in the country at present.
He will provide one of those leader moments on Sunday with his ability to take ball on from the back and drive the team forward. Another guy that just relishes the big day, Full of confidence and a real, ‘The bigger the day, the better I play’, kind of guy.
Whoever Waterford choose to play in his corner will be in for a tough afternoon, but if they can manage to break even with Barrett it will go a long way to helping them win.
Brendan Maher
Brendan Maher v Kevin Moran
The next key battle for me is of these two heavyweight midfielders. Brendan was given a job to pick up Moran last year and did it perfectly in the Munster Final. He worked very hard to nullify Moran, and there were very few of those supporter-energising long runs the Waterford man normally makes.
Will Derek McGrath allow the same thing to happen this year? Moran is a natural leader. When Waterford need something extra, more often than not Moran will step up. A top guy both on and off the field. Everything is hard but fair with him.
Kevin is a difficult man to contain, but Brendan is back in his best position and has the tools for the task. I was lucky enough to play beside him in midfield for a while and he is the full package for a midfielder - fitness, strength, work rate and skill. And now with Mikey Breen lighting up the hurling world, I feel Tipp will have too much in this area for Waterford.
Seamie Callanan v Barry Coughlan
The final battle that is crucial for both teams is this one. Can Barry Coughlan hold Callanan? I’m sure every full back in the country is probably saying, “Give me a go at Callanan I’ll do a job on him!”
But Callanan has proven time and time again over the past few seasons that he can walk the walk. People looking in would say this guy has come out of nowhere over the past two years but I can tell you Seamie has been putting in serious performances for a long time for Tipp.
How he did not get an All Star in 2008 for his performances, I just don’t know, but that’s another day’s work. So, Seamie has being doing this for some time, but I will say he has really pushed it onto the next level recently.
Making Seamie one of the main men on the team has definitely helped this progress. He loves that responsibility which many players shun from - taking the frees, penalties, the real pressure situations. If the supply of ball into him continues to be as good as it has been from the Tipp half backs and midfield recently, it’s going to be hard to hold him.
But this is where that crowded area Waterford create in the middle-third will make it more difficult for them to get that quality ball into Seamie and the full forward line. Seamie is a class act, but if Barry Coughlan can impact on Seamie’s performance it will tip the scales in Waterford’s favour.
Not everyone can be Man of the Match on Sunday but everyone will win if the team does. In 20 years time when I meet someone and they ask me who won the Muster final in 2015, they’re not going to remember individual performances but simply that Tipp or Waterford won. I know that in 1996 Limerick were Munster champions. Who played well that day? I couldn’t tell you. The Team wins, everyone wins.
Let’s see which team will make the most of those inches in the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday. Which players will relish this day and just go out and play, and which group we’ll be talking about in 20 years as the Munster Champions 2016.
Let the games begin.
