Homework is key for Ursula
Transition from the field to TV studio has been smooth
THERE’S MORE than a decent chance you’ll see a familiar face back on the screens when this current pandemic subsides.
Until everything was shut down, Ursula Jacob was making quite the name for herself on national broadcaster RTE.
The brilliance of Jacob on the field might be something that fades from the memory as the years go by, but her sharpness in the studio matches her playing style; much like a possession was never wasted on the pitch, a moment of camera time for Ursula is generally used to make a sterling observation on air.
That’s the most impressive thing about Jacob; it’s not the comfort level she operates with on screen - those who know her would have expected no less - it’s her level of preparedness and insightful knowledge that put her co-stars in the shade.
‘In the week or two leading up to going on air you would be very, very busy,’ explained Ursula of her routine. ‘You are doing stuff like analysis, you are working with the editor behind the scenes, pulling out pieces that you want to clip in the pre-match analysis.
‘There’s an awful lot of preparation work seven to ten days out from going live on air. People probably don’t realise that and I probably wouldn’t have realised that myself, going into it.
‘I just always feel that puts me at ease on the day itself because I know that [if] I’d done my research on the teams, on injuries, form of certain players, I would go in feeling a lot more confident about it.’
From little acorns do big oaks grow, and it all started for Ursula when she made an impression covering the latter stages of the 2018 camogie ahampionship for the Association. RTE saw the potential and soon invited her back.
‘In the winter of 2018, Declan McBennett, who is the head of RTE Sport, would have contacted three or four females, to invite us to a meeting in the January of 2019, where basically, all hurling, football and the few camogie pundits were asked to come together,’ Jacob said.
‘Basically, he was explaining to us on that day that he was looking to get more females involved, that he was going to give us each a couple of assignments and see how we get on, and was going to give us some experience.
‘We did a kind of media training weekend where we got tips and advice on working on television, dealing with the public, speaking, and how to present yourself and whatever, [and] from there it took off really.’
Jacob was initially given a league encounter between Cork and Clare and a couple of radio assignments, but the Oulart-The Ballagh clubwoman’s rising stock was clear for all to see when she got the first big job of the summer.
‘I was asked to go on the first show of the championship, which was the Munster championship opener, that was two Munster games, Waterford and Clare first, then it was Cork and Tipp, basically that was the big programme celebrating the 40 years of ‘The Sunday Game’.
‘It was nice to be involved with that. I suppose as the summer went on they kept asking me back.
‘The feedback was quite good, I was getting on quite well with the lads and Joanne who was presenting, or Des Cahill in the night time, it kept going from there.
Jacob’s toughest was the All-Ireland semi-final between Wexford and Tipperary, as this time her county was involved in a huge game and it made the whole thing a lot more challenging.
‘I had to remove my Wexford hat that day,’ explained Jacob. ‘I had to remember that I was there working as well as wanting the guys to be winning. Everything was plain sailing there for a good long time in the game and then the last ten minutes or that Tipp started to get on top.
‘Next minute I know, God, I’m nearly saying to myself I’m going back on air here and Wexford are only after losing and I’m gutted for the lads and I’m gutted that we’re not in an All-Ireland final.
‘That was probably the toughest because I had to be very rational in what I was saying afterwards. I was extremely disappointed but I couldn’t sit there moping either, I had to kind of analyse the game for what it was and credit Tipp for how they finished, even though it was really heartbreaking for any Wexford supporter.’
And after that, like every other game, it was the journey home for Jacob. It’s only the end of a TV broadcast but even on the day itself, a lot goes on away from the camera that people don’t see. Ursula outlines a typical day as: ‘I suppose it’s a pretty long day. If the game is roughly at 3.30 [p.m.] if I was going to Cork or one of the longer distance journeys I would probably have stayed down in a hotel the night before to avoid the long journey and getting stuck in traffic.
‘Whereas if I was going to Croke Park I’d go up that morning. Usually if the game is on around 3 or 3.30 we’ll have to be up in Croke Park for about quarter to eleven that morning.
‘You’ll have a meeting as soon as you arrive and it’s kind of going through the schedule, the run through of the day, what’s going to be involved in the programme, to know when we are going to be coming in with our analysis, when we are going to have certain discussions, when there’s going to be breaks, when they are going to be speaking to the managers.
‘That meeting goes on for maybe 40 or 45 minutes. After that meeting, individually we like to look at our piece of analysis that we have prepared that we will talk about throughout the programme. This will only be a minute-long clip, but there could be three to four hours’ editing involved to get that down to the one minute.
‘We go through that individually, then we kind of relax for a while, maybe get a cup of tea, have a chat amongst ourselves as pundits about what you think. Then we have the really important thing of getting the hair and make-up sorted, to make sure we are okay for television!
‘Then we will go into the studio, we will probably be on air an hour or hour and a half beforehand so we will be in studio just before two [o’clock]. We will be getting miked up, in our seats and making sure everything is okay with the cameras, and then it will kick off, we are on air.’
For Ursula, the watching of the game took the most getting used to. As someone who would pop up at games everywhere, it was a huge transition to go from being able to enjoy it to being intensely focused on the action.
‘It’s crazy during the match because you are trying to pull out bits of analysis that you’re wanting to talk about at half-time. You are speaking to the guys and they are clipping together pieces for you, and you are watching the game.
‘You are really watching the game from a completely different perspective. To me you are watching the game but you are looking out for a lot of different things. You have to remove yourself from being the Wexford supporter or even a neutral supporter in that case.’
After the game it’s all about finishing up the broadcast professionally for Ursula. By now the intensity of the day starts to take its toll, and Jacob is cognisant of what she needs to do to keep herself in a good headspace for the journey home.
‘You go back into the studio to do the post-match analysis and that, maybe 15, 20 minutes. Then you are completely unwinding afterwards, your head is nearly quite full, there’s a lot of concentration so I often find I’m very, very tired afterwards.
‘So before I drive home I definitely get a cup of tea and relax for maybe ten or 15 minutes and take a deep breath because right from that 11 a.m. start to maybe six, seven that evening you are on the go constantly and your concentration levels are just up to 90.’
With her television role on hold, Jacob has had the chance to look back at some of her own achievements in recent weeks, including the memorable three-in-a-row All-Ireland titles.
‘I’ve actually looked at bits and pieces of those games and looking back now I can’t believe that they are eight, nine, ten years ago, those finals. To me they seem only maybe a couple of years ago, I can’t believe how much time has flown by.
‘I suppose when I look at them on those memories and some of those games, I really do appreciate what we achieved and the group of girls that were there. I never took it for granted, it’s not that I never reflected on it, as the years go on I’m more appreciating what we did back then.
‘When you are in the height of it you are just focusing on the next game or the next match, whereas now you’re getting to look back and you can smile about certain memories and about players you played with.
‘You will always have that connection with those players which is always a nice thing. Definitely in the last couple of weeks I’ve reflected a bit more on my playing career and remember some brilliant days.’
With Wexford now in the doldrums, Jacob doesn’t believe there is any quick fix. She also points out that the forced stoppage in sport is even more difficult for a new manager, just getting to know his players.
‘I think in fairness to Kevin Tattan,
it hasn’t been an ideal start for his involvement with Wexford,’ Ursula said.
‘When you are coming into a new set-up you want to make an impression, you want to build relationships with girls, you want to get to know them better as players, you want to build that camaraderie that we had.
‘You have to build it back up, get the professionalism back there, get a core group of girls. You need to get the best players in Wexford that are willing to play for Wexford because you know you’ve got the Galways, Kilkennys and Corks who are up at this level now.
‘Wexford are playing catch-up, we are playing in Intermediate league. To get up to the Senior standard you are going to have to train at a higher level, you are going to have to prepare yourself to a higher level.
‘I think it’s no harm that we are Intermediate league because it will build that bit of confidence and get some wins under their belt. I don’t think its going to be an automatic thing where you are just going to win the All-Ireland this year, I think it is a building process.
‘That was always going to happen when you lose a lot of girls in a short space of a couple of years, but I definitely think there’s good talent there. The local championship within Wexford is hugely competitive, it’s just about picking the best players from that and get the group together and get them playing together as a team.
‘To me, in the last couple of years you could see there wasn’t that much team play, it was very much individualised, there wasn’t any real tactics or approach to the set-up. I think Kevin coming in adds a freshness.
‘I think there was no harm that it was an outside person. I would be hopeful, not sure that the league will go ahead this year but, if it did, that they could get to the latter stages of the league. If it doesn’t go ahead and championship does go ahead, it is going to be a tough one for Wexford because things didn’t go well last year.
‘You definitely don’t want the scenario of them being anywhere near relegation because I don’t think that’s going to do anything for Wexford.
‘I think if he can keep the core group of girls together and build a strong core to that team and get some new leaders into the set-up, Wexford in the next couple of years can see serious progression.’
NEXT WEEK: Claire O’Connor