hurling

Preview: Ireland v Scotland Hurling-Shinty International

29 May 2018 - 10:10AM

Mickey Burke

2016 Hurling-Shinty International

Scotland v Ireland, Bught Park, 2.00pm

By John Harrington

Ireland hurling team joint-manager, Jeffrey Lynskey, hopes to put some painful lessons to good use ahead of Saturday’s Hurling-Shinty International at Bught Park, Inverness.

When the two teams met in the same venue last year, the Scots stormed to a 3-15 to 2-8 victory as the Irish players struggled to adapt to the compromise rules.

Ireland trailed by 3-13 to 0-4 at half-time, and even though they were much improved in the second-half, they had left themselves too much to do.

Lynksey knows they cannot afford a similarly slow start this time around.

“I had a look at the game during the week there to see what we did last year and how we could improve on it,” says Lynskey.

“When it's the first game out it's always difficult, but this year our lads are a bit more experienced.

“We've a few lads coming in, Cian Dillon and David Reidy, who haven't played before, but all the rest of them have. We'll train again this evening and do a bit of video analysis tonight so it's fresh in the mind regarding what they do and tactics-wise and everything else.

“It's simple enough regarding tactics. They played it very similar to soccer. It's the ball down to the corners and they cross it in. We're looking forward to the challenge tomorrow.”

Ireland avenged that heavy defeat in Inverness by winning the second match in the series at Croke Park, but this year’s game is a one-off clash.

Jeffrey Lynskey

Scotland manager Ronald Ross believes that gives his team an advantage, because the Irish players tend to take some time to come to grips with the rules of the game.

"Last year at home, we played really well at the Bught Park,” says Ross. "The first game we tend to do better because they've got to adjust as catching a ball is a big part of their game, kicking the ball too.

"But Ireland get used to the rules, so it's more competitive in the second."

In recent years hurling has become a more possession oriented game. The first instinct for a player now is to get the ball into this hand, and ground-hurling has become virtually extinct.

That presents a problem for hurlers when it comes to this annual match with Scotland, because the comprise rules of the International means they can’t catch the ball.

Instead they must strike it on the ground, or rise it and then strike it first time in the air. Another tenet of the compromise code means they can’t kick the ball either.

“Yeah, the big thing is not being able to kick it,” says Lynskey. “The hardest thing for them is actually just getting them turned. Once you have them turned you have some hope because they're facing the wrong way then.

“So that's a lot of the stuff we'll be working on this evening. Usually when our lads come to a ball they're controlling it first time into the hand and then they're turning. But now you have to control the ball on the turn and you're trying to put them facing the wrong way.

“The other challenging side of it then is the speed of the ball. It's a size four, it's a juvenile ball, and the speed of it in the first 10 or 15 minutes takes them a while for their eye to come in.

“After that they settle down so it's about us being in the game and not conceding early and being in it by half-time.

“You don't want a situation like last year where we were 15/16 points down and then trying to make a comeback. Again, look, we've experienced lads now who've played it and there's a nice blend there.”

John McGrath

The Scots bring an uncompromising physicality to the contest, especially when they play at home in Bught Park, but Lynksey is confident his players will meet them head on.

The opportunity only comes around once a year, and pulling on the green jersey and representing their country means a lot to those players selected.

“It's a huge honour, even for myself,” says Lynskey. “To manage your county is important, to manage your county on All-Ireland day is a special day in the Irish psyche.

“The big thing is to win an All-Ireland with your county and the second thing is to represent your country, and that's what they're doing.

“It's an honour for them, they understand that, it's a prestigious kind of thing.

“For us it's about going out tomorrow and putting on a good performance and having a positive outcome. You obviously want to go out tomorrow and put in a really good performance and get positive. It's going to be hard work because it's two 40 minute halves.

“They do tire, our lads are physically fitter than them, but physically they match us now. I’ve seen a huge improvement in them in the last three or four years.”

“A lot of SAQ work, strength and conditioning coaches, they've learned from us, whereas we haven't learned that much from them. They're even hooking now, which they haven’t done before.

“Like most things you adapt and the boys will have to adapt tomorrow.”

The senior Hurling-Shinty International will be preceded by an U-21 match between the two countries, as the Irish team managed by Conor Phelan and Willie Maher seeks to repeat last year’s convincing win.

Ireland Senior Team: