Five unlucky Farrell needs to start thinking of the future
Noel Horgan selects five Cork footballers who could have and really should have been honoured with an All Star selection Damian Stack looks at some of the stories making backpage news over the past seven days
SINCE the inception of the GAA All-Stars in 1971, a total of 61 football awards have been brought to Leeside, shared by 41 players, including Castlehaven’s Larry Tompkins, Nemo Rangers’ Stephen O’Brien and Bantry Blues’ Graham Canty who have each been honoured three times.
The last Cork men to be selected, however, were Kanturk’s Aidan Walsh and Ballyclough’s Colm O’Neill in 2012, and, with due respect to current nominee Ian Maguire of St Finbarr’s, the famine is likely to continue when the 2020 side is announced on Friday. That’s indicative of how Cork’s fortunes have declined in the interim.
Even in the good times for the Rebels, of course, there were instances of players with impressive credentials who were overlooked for All-Star recognition, and the following five can certainly be filed away in that category.
(1) Donncha O’Connor (Ballydesmond)
THE first time
I saw Donncha
O’Connor - who never played minor or u-21 football at inter-county level - in action was in the 2005 All-Ireland junior final against Meath.
Sprung from the bench late on, he posted a brace of points to tilt a tight contest in Cork’s favour, but, at 24, he wouldn’t have been regarded as a player with the potential to make his mark at the highest level.
Handed a championship debut by senior manager Billy Morgan the following year, O’Connor more than made up for lost time, evidenced by the fact that his career in the top flight didn’t come to an end until 2018. He earned a reputation as one of the most accomplished attackers in the game during his 13-year stint in the Red jersey, highlighted by Cork’s All-Ireland triumph in 2010.
Despite playing a starring role in the victory over Down in the showpiece, O’Connor wasn’t chosen as an All-Star, nor was any other forward from the All-Ireland champions, something which never happened before and hasn’t happened since.
(2) Denis Coughlan (St Nicholas)
HE picked up four All-Stars as a hurler, but it was as a footballer that Denis Coughlan initially performed at senior level with Cork.
At 21, Coughlan captained the team from centre-back when the All-Ireland final was lost narrowly to Meath in 1967, and he formed a formidable midfield partnership with Millstreet’s Dinny Long on the side that reached the summit six years later.
Perhaps his finest display in the top flight came in the 1971 Munster final against All-Ireland holders Kerry, which Cork won against the odds. There had been practically a public outcry prior to that game over the selectors’ inexplicable decision not to include the St Nicholas clubman in the starting fifteen, and he clearly had a point to prove following his introduction at centre-forward early in the first half.
He did so in no uncertain manner, contributing 10 points to an 0-25 to 0-14 victory. Cork’s subsequent loss to Offaly in an All-Ireland semi-final no doubt militated against the talented dual-player’s hopes of selection on the inaugural All-Star football team, and his strong claims were ignored again in 1973 after he had featured prominently throughout a championship campaign culminating in victory over Galway at the last hurdle.
IT wasn’t quite the France we were expecting and, in an odd sort of way, were hoping to see. There’s just something so thrilling about the way they play the game when they get it right that you can’t help but revel in when you see it. Even when it comes against the team you’re rooting for. Really it was impossible not to enjoy the manner of Les Bleus’ first try. The ease on the offload, the flair, the va va voom, the sheer brilliance of it so unlike the rather stolid efforts from their hosts. Even though the French didn’t quite wow us in the way we’d been expecting, there was enough in how Fabien Galthié’s men went about their business to show that they’ve building towards something. Can the same be said of Andy Farrell’s side? Okay the set-plays seem to have improved quite significantly now that Paul O’Connell is on board, but in the offensive sphere we’re no further along than we were in Japan. Maybe we’ve regressed even a little.
It’s as bit demoralising honestly seeing Ireland huff and puff, and for all their endeavour and bravery and all the rest of it, there was no sense at any stage in the match that Ireland could actually break down the French. Indeed it took a mistake by the French try-scorer Ollivon to let Ronan Kelliher in for Ireland’s try. Despite dominating a lot of the statistical measures for possession and metres made, Ireland needed France to gift them something. That’s not really good enough.
Clearly Farrell is in a tricky position. It’s not going well. People are talking about the security of his tenure as Ireland boss. It’s understandable in a way that might lead to a certain amount of caution, a reticence to change it up too much for fear of losing big to an up and coming French side, but at the same time without tangible signs of progress those questions are going to be asked either way. Especially now that Ireland are out of championship contention, it’s time to switch focus more firmly to the future.
It’s time to blood guys who are more likely to feature in the World Cup in two years time. It’s time frankly to move on from Jonny Sexton, as brilliant a servant as he’s been. Ross Byrne was decidedly impressive on the weekend, but even still there have been calls for Farrell to go for broke and call up Byrne’s younger brother Harry for the game in Rome the weekend after next. Galthié isn’t relying on an ageing half-back partnership, why then should Andy Farrell?
France had 22-year-old Matthieu Jalibert at 10 for Sunday’s game. Ireland had Billy Burns. Does anybody think Burns is a long term solution? And if he’s not why play him? It’s time to stay laying a foundation. Fire-fighting will only carry Ireland so far.