THINGS MEY CHANGE
John: There’s no guarantee that a fella playing well in February will play well in Munster Championship
TIPPERARY travel to Leeside tomorrow but when they return in 11 weeks they’ll effectively be playing a different sport, says Cork boss John Meyler.
It won’t be the same venue for starters as Pairc Ui Rinn deputises for its shiny new neighbour up the road tomorrow, with the Pairc Ui Chaoimh pitch expected to be restored to some sort of respectability by the time the counties open their Munster Championship campaign against each other on May 12.
Despite the unseasonably warm weather this week, by then playing conditions should be more sympathetic to flowing hurling, the type this Cork side tends to thrive in.
Meyler (below) said: “You saw last year, the Munster Championship, how competitive it is and there’s no guarantee that a fella that’s playing well in the middle of February is going to play well in the middle of May. It’s a different game.
“Hoggy (Patrick Horgan) said to me after the Wexford game, ‘It’s two different games, it’s not the same game, like.’
“Cork and Tipp here in the Pairc, 45,000, and then Cork and Limerick 45,000 in Limerick, that’s a whole different game of temperament and all of that so you’re hoping that a fella can transfer it from now into the middle of May but the signs are positive.”
They are now, after a victory over Clare as well as ending Allireland champions Limerick’s seven-game winning streak but Cork made a particularly grim start to the League with a limp opening defeat to Kilkenny particu-
larly disappointing Meyler. That was followed by a home loss to Wexford on a day when both sides tilled the field.
“We kind of noticed then that we started to pick up against Clare and the result against Clare went for us and you could see it then just picking up in the last few weeks in training.
“Then playing Limerick in Limerick was a very good tonic. The pitch was in a very good condition for this time of the year so it allowed for better hurling and that was a massive improvement as well and there was a bit of atmosphere too last Sunday.
“There’s a bit of rivalry there between Cork and Limerick and Cork and Clare the previous [week] and then having the three Munster teams one after the other with the two Leinster teams up first is kind of a little Munster Championship within the National League so again, that was another positive focus for us.”
The Clare game was interesting for the fact that New Zealand record try scorer and former Munster rugby star Doug Howlett (right) appeared on the Cork bench. It has since been confirmed he has come on board as the team’s high performance lead.
Meyler explained: “We had Gary Keegan for two years. Kieran Kingston brought Gary Keegan and his business plan then took him to other ideas, other businesses and that was fine. Then we felt that was a critical area that we needed to look at.
“We thought about it and thought about it and thought about it and Fraggy (Kieran) Murphy suggested Doug. That was way back and we just looked at the process to get him involved and he’s here in Cork so, again, it’s much easier if he’s local.
“He brings that performance that we want from somebody that has performed at that level, at the highest level.
“That’s what we’re looking for from him and please God he’ll facilitate that.
“He’s there to develop high performance, that’s really his role.
“He’s spoken to us, we’ve spoken to him and the lads are happy with him so that’s really it in a nutshell.”