Collins keen to make up for lost time
IN Thurles last Sunday, there were glimpses of what Clare once were and what they might become again. And that was typified by Podge Collins.
The Cratloe native’s electric second-half performance, more than anything else, reminded Banner supporters of that wonderful summer of 2013.
Collins isn’t the only Clare player that has struggled to recapture the magnificent form of five summers ago, but the talented forward can, at least, point to extenuating circumstances. After being pulled in a tug-of-war between two codes (a situation made difficult with his father Colm in charge of the county footballers), he committed solely to the bigger ball game for a season.
He also had to deal with a ruptured cruciate ligament and the long, arduous rehabilitation from that. Focusing solely on the county hurlers for the past few years, he has found it hard to rediscover the spark — until Semple Stadium last weekend.
Indeed, when Collins sparks, it can jolt life into the rest of the Clare team. He started on the bench against Tipperary, coming on just before half-time for the ineffectual Conor McGrath, but insists he hasn’t struggled with playing a bit-part role.
‘I don’t know if it was frustration. Conor McGrath, Shane O’Donnell and John Conlon are three of the best inside-forwards in the country. It is hard to get a place as those three are 100 per cent there on merit,’ Collins pointed out. ‘When you are not starting, and there are lads doing better than you in training, it does drive you on to work even harder to break onto the team.
‘When you do get in, you just have to be completely focused on doing the best you can for the team. It will be the same against Limerick, whether I’m coming off the bench or not. It was just one performance on one day and over the last couple of years, it has been very inconsistent. So, I am just going to keep focused and work hard.’
Amid the emotional scenes following Clare’s historic win in Thurles, there was a suggestion that Collins (right) had taken the dressing-room floor at halftime and reminded his teammates not to let the game get away from them.
‘Ah, it was just something along the lines of saying what we had put into this game and it would be such a shame to let it slip because it was do-or-die for both teams,’ Collins said, playing down his rallying words.
‘Tipp led for most of the game and they might have been the better team for most of it, but once you are ahead at the final whistle, it doesn’t matter how well or badly you played.’ All roads now lead to Cusack Park on Sunday, at least for those lucky enough to get a ticket for the sold-out clash with high-flying Limerick. Collins relishes the prospect of playing their neighbours at home in what is, effectively, a Munster semi-final. ‘That’s the beauty of this new Championship, playing home games. It brings a bigger crowd and a better atmosphere. Cusack Park is a fortress for us. When we played underage in that ground, we loved it. We would beat the inside of the shed and we just loved it. ‘And it is a lot easier for supporters from west Clare to get there, rather than travelling two hours to Thurles. So playing in Ennis will allow a lot of people, who wouldn’t get to the games, to go.’ And home advantage appears to count in the province. Clare were the first team to claim two points away from home in the new-look Munster SHC. ‘Semple Stadium is a tough place to go when Tipp are the home team. We are the first team to win away from home in this competition so far, so it shows what a tough task it was and for a few of those lads, it was the first time playing Tipp in Thurles. ‘We have a lot of room for improvement even though we ended up getting the result. ‘We are just taking this game by game. Cork are still ahead of us, as they beat us down there and Limerick are the form team of the Championship so far, along with Galway. We definitely won’t be getting carried away, The focus is on Limerick and getting to a Munster final after playing so poorly in last year’s final.’