Ireland selector Terence McNaughton in attendance at the Hurling Shinty International 2023 launch at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile.
By John Harrington
Ireland manager, Damien Coleman, knew what he was doing when he asked, Terence ‘Sambo’ McNaughton, to be part of his coaching ticket for the upcoming Hurling-Shinty International with Scotland.
It’s unlikely there are many hurling people on this island with more knowledge of shinty than the Antrim legend. After all, he was handy enough with a shinty stick in his own playing days.
“Our club used to play Fort William in this every year, they used to come over to us,” says McNaughton.
“Then I lived in London for six months and one of the guys in Fort William knew I was there and asked me to play for London-Scottish.
“So I played the proper shinty game, played four games for London-Scottish. It can be a tough old game at times!”
It can be especially tough old game if you dally on the ball so McNaughton’s advice to the Irish players will be to move it as quickly as possible.
That might be easier said than done though for the modern hurler who is now coached to, first and foremost, get the ball into their hands as quickly as possible.
The obvious problem there is that in the compromise rules game we play with Scotland the only person who can catch the ball is the goalkeeper.
It’s also a fact that there’s very little ground-hurling in hurling anymore so it’ll be interesting to see how Ireland match up against shinty players who strike the ball almost exclusively on the ground.
At the Irish team training sessions to date McNaughton has taken an ‘old-school’ approach in order to rewire his players to embrace a brand of hurling they’re no longer used to.
“Last Saturday I was doing the drills, going back to doubling the ball in the middle, blocking a ground ball, things I haven’t coached in years,” says McNaughton.
“Padraig Walsh walked by me and said, “F*ck, Cody would love this! Pulling the ball on, ground blocking – old school!
“You have to kind of go back to how we hurled in the 80s, moving the ball on, the ground block, them sort of things. The modern game doesn’t really lend itself to this game.
"Our modern game, the coaching, some of our guys wouldn’t have been coached that. you know the old drill, three across the field, man in the middle, move the ball on – they would never do that in training now. And that’s what this game is about."
Ireland players Peter Duggan, left, and David Fitzgerald with Scotland player Ruairidh Anderson in attendance at the Hurling Shinty International 2023 launch at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile.
Because inter-county hurlers rarely if ever strike the ball on the ground they also very rarely have to make a ground-block in a way that protects their own body as well as blocks the ball. McNaughton is impressing upon them that this is a skill they'll need to execute against a Scottish side that will be pulling hard and often.
“The Scottish boys will move it on fast. You have to learn to protect yourself.
"Nobody pulls in a ruck anymore. Everybody is trying to pick the ball whereas the Scottish are not so you have to change your whole mindset.
“You’re nearly going back to the way I was coached as a kid. Because you’re not coaching the skills that we’re coaching now with kids.
“This is more Cody style: play hurling in their half and win your own ball sort of thing.
“We’re trying to get these lads to change their mindset about what they do on the ball. Move it on, don’t dwell on it.”
