Ronald Ross reflects on another excellent display from Scotland
AFTER a hectic schedule in the lead-up to the Marine Harvest shinty/hurling international on Saturday October 21 and a frantic 80 minutes which culminated in Scotland’s 18-15 win over Ireland, Scotland head coach Ronald Ross took time to look back on a fourth successive win on home soil.
Whilst the main focus is always on the game, it is worth reflecting on the detailed preparation which takes place before-hand.
‘The players are required to make a huge commitment for this fixture,’ said Ronald Ross. ‘It’s a huge ask for them and that shouldn’t be forgotten.
‘As well as playing and training for their clubs every week, and doing training work on their own, we’ve asked them to attend five hard training sessions. The bottom line is for Scotland to be competitive and to be in with a chance of winning these international matches, this is the level of preparation required.
‘The process started with a trial match – shinty/hurling rules and goals - with 35 players invited to attend.
‘Following the trial match, we had four preparation sessions at An-Aird. The last session took place at the all-weather pitch. We also had a three-hour session the day before the international with all players in attendance and a fine tuning session on the morning of the game, refining tactics and practicing 65s and side-line cuts.
Fitness sessions
‘Additional midweek fitness sessions - four in total - were set up at the grass field at Inverness Sports Centre for the Inverness based players and the all-weather at Aviemore for the Badenoch players.
‘I came up with the idea when I first started working with the U21 team as we had been previously been on the wrong end of some big scores and we needed to close the gap and quickly.
‘Included in the preparation was a useful 45 minute game against Eoghan Stewart’s Cholmcille shinty/hurling side. We were to play it at An Aird but when the pitch was ruled unplayable, we switched to the astro pitch at Lochaber High School. The game allowed us to correct a few things we weren’t doing properly so it was a good exercise.
‘It’s all time away from their families for the players. The guys put so much effort into it, and you have to do that to succeed, so it was great to see them have their efforts rewarded.’
Ronald also gave an insight into what goes on at these sessions. ‘The preparation sessions are focused on leaving ourselves best prepared for facing the very best Ireland team.
‘Each session started with a warm-up followed by an hour of fitness, including the trial match. The fitness element is crucial in this particular fixture. Players may think they are fit, but they are not shinty/hurling fit and that is the point we emphasis to all the players.
‘We also carry out fitness testing with the players about two weeks ahead of the international, and the tests go a long way to deciding the final 19 players. We simply can’t afford to carry anyone.
‘When we plan the preparation sessions it is very difficult to get the right blend and mix that suits everyone. For example, players may have played the day before for their clubs and in most cases travelled many miles. Players can arrive carrying knocks and in other cases players may not have played because all their club fixtures are complete and that brings another problem in terms of match sharpness.
‘The preparation sessions also include many drills with the hurling sticks and we do our best to simulate the movement and style of a hurling player. We also talk to the players about hydration and nutrition and the importance of recovery from matches and training sessions.
The preparation is clearly a key element. Ronald continued: ‘We work separately with the defenders, the midfielders and the forwards and finish the sessions by playing the U21 team. We emphasise to the players that they need to get to the ball first as it’s frenetic out there and there’s no time and no space.
‘Communication is key and it’s also very much ‘your man – your responsibility’. It’s then all about keeping the ball down and playing the ball wide, at the same time backing each other up. You have to focus all the time as simple things like playing the ball out for a corner unnecessarily leads to a point scoring opportunity for your opponent. You have to stick to the game plan and it is so important to remain disciplined, play smart and not be fouling and I must say the players did all of that during the game.’
Respect
At the end of it all, decisions have to be made and Ronald acknowledged this part of the job isn’t easy. ‘The hardest part of the process for me is telling players that they haven’t made the final squad. These are not nice phone calls as I have the upmost respect for all the players. In most cases it comes down minute detail, versatility, physique, experience or fitness.
‘The more experienced guys will usually make the difference though. The new caps merited their places but you know what you are going to get from Finlay MacRae, Roddy MacDonald, John Barr, Glen MacKintosh, Rory Kennedy and Steven MacDonald.’
Attention now turns to the game itself and as almost 2,000 supporters gathered at The Bught Park, Inverness, one of shinty’s iconic grounds, in anticipation of this unique encounter, the final preparations were being made behind the scenes.
Ronald revealed: ‘I don’t announce the starting team until an hour before the game. It keeps everyone on their toes but even the guys who didn’t start were terrific and all played their part. Daniel Cameron is a great example of what having a good attitude is all about.
‘He must have been disappointed not to start but he stayed focused and played his part when he came onto the pitch. That’s all part of having and encouraging a good collective spirit within the squad and it makes a difference.’
When the team was announced, there was an interesting Newtonmore/Kinlochshiel axis in defence with the two clubs contributing all five starting defenders.
It was no accident as the Scotland boss explained. ‘We tried to set the team out with guys who know each other and who play together at their clubs every week. We especially did that in defence with Rory Kennedy and Steven MacDonald along with the Kinlochshiel boys Finlay MacRae, Mark MacDonaldand Conor Cormack who are all on the same wavelength. The understanding these boys have developed over the seasons helps during the game and that’s important in a fixture where any indecision is punished.
‘Rory Kennedy was a concern as he hadn’t trained properly since the Camanachd Cup Final and he went over his ankle at training on the Friday before the game.
‘I got him treatment at Ross County on Saturday morning and the physio there worked on him right up until the last minute to get him ready to play. We wanted to give Rory every chance to play because, even if he’s not fully fit, he still has so much to offer.’
Great start
Once the formalities had taken place, the game got under way. Ireland made a great start, a point acknowledged by Ronald. ‘They won the toss and whilst there was little wind, there was an awkward sun to deal with so they had that at their backs. However, I was surprised how quickly they adapted to the rules. They had a number of new players in their squad and it normally takes them time to get up to speed.
‘That usually gives us a chance to rack up a few points but that didn’t happen and instead we found ourselves 4-1 down.’
Ireland’s good start was all the more impressive given some pre-match difficulties. Ronald said: ‘Ireland only managed a 30 minute hit-about on the Friday as their luggage was delayed and they didn’t train on Saturday morning either. However, their manager Willie Maher told me afterwards they had three full training sessions before they flew to Glasgow on Thursday and they came up the road on Friday. It is more than they normally do and it showed. They didn’t give away any cheap frees during the game and they were never out of it.’
Chances
Ronald continued: ‘The game itself was back and forward throughout most of the 80 minutes. The goals both came at a good time for us.
‘Our game is about scoring goals, more than it is for them, and although we won last season, we didn’t score any goals. We stressed that to the forwards in the team meeting the night before.
‘We’ll always create chances but what makes the difference is taking these chances. You need to be on top of the keeper at all opportunities and the guys did that which was all very pleasing. We also hit the post twice.’
The Scotland substitutions were a talking point after the match and they worked well. ‘John MacRae and Ryan Borthwick came off the bench and both made a real impact. You make changes to freshen things up and you could say we got lucky,’ said Ronald modestly.
Luck had little to do with it though when John MacRae shot goalwards with his first touch and Kevin Bartlett netted from the rebound. Similarly, John MacRae found Ryan Borthwick who showed good skills on the left ahead of Roddy MacDonald’s goal and Ronald agreed these were key moments. ‘John MacRae and Ryan Borthwick made a big impact when they came on. Moving Finlay MacRae into the centre also paid off.
‘We put Andy King and Daniel Grieve on at the back and their fresh legs helped us when Ireland pressured us for the last few minutes. Daniel Cameron and Greg Matheson made their mark too. Everyone played their part and you have to remember that some of our players were playing against top class hurlers.’
Ireland pressed at the end and
Fixtures
Saturday November 4 Marine Harvest Premiership
Kilmallie v Oban Camanachd Calum Girvan - 11.30am
Marine Harvest National Division
Fort William v Inveraray Lachie Wood - Noon
Marine Harvest North Division One
Fort William v Aberdeen Uni Des McNulty - 2.30pm
Marine Harvest South Division 1
Bute v Aberdour Robert Baxter - 2pm Kyles Athletic v Tayforth Graham Fisher - 2pm Taynuilt v Colglen Iain Kennedy - 2pm
Marine Harvest North Division Two
Kilmallie v Inverness John Wood - 2.30pm Strathspey v Caberfeidh John Matheson - 1.30pm
Marine Harvest National Under-17 League London Shield final
Kingussie v Oban Camanachd at Craigard, Invergarry Deek Cameron - 2pm Scotland goalie Stuart MacDonald further enhanced his reputation with a brilliant save which has become a hit online.
‘There are small margins in the game and Stuart MacDonald made a great save at the end. How he saved it, I don’t know. There is no keeper who could make a save like that but that’s what you get with Stuart MacDonald.
‘We were gritty, determined and we dug in and all the hard work at the practice sessions paid off. It was an exciting finish to the game and the folk I spoke to after the match really enjoyed it.’
Ireland showed frustration at being penalised for ‘hand on the back’ infringements which aren’t allowed under the cross-codes rules.
However Ross had praise for the referee. ‘Calum Girvan implemented the rules and that’s all you can ask. We certainly got one or two cheap two pointers for hands on the back. We could have had a penalty when their keeper caught the ball following Steven MacDonald’s free-hit midway through the first half as he’s not allowed to do that. However, Calum got most of the decisions right.’
Suggest
Whilst there were early indications that the 2018 international would take place in Ireland, reports now suggest it may again be hosted in Scotland. ‘Wherever it’s played, it will be interesting to see what happens,’ said Ronald.
The practice in recent years has been for the Irish to include four elite players and Ross concedes that could change. ‘I think a few of the rules maybe need to be looked at and I said after the game on Saturday that we had raised the bar.
‘Anything is possible and the Camanachd Association and GAA will have their annual meeting early in the New Year and we’ll watch with interest to see what happens but Ireland will want to break our winning run in Inverness, that’s for sure.’
As far as the immediate future is concerned, Ronald Ross probably spoke for the whole squad and backroom team when he said, I’m now looking forward to a break.’
Results
Saturday October 28 Marine Harvest Premiership
Oban Camanachd 1 v 2 Lovat
Marine Harvest National Division
Fort William P v P Inveraray Unplayable field
Marine Harvest South Division 1
Ballachulish 2 v 2 Kilmory Bute 0 v 0 Lochside Rovers Kyles Athletic 1 v 4 Aberdour Tayforth P v P Glenorchy Glenorchy withdrawn from league, points to Tayforth
Marine Harvest North Division 2
Caberfeidh P v P Boleskine Boleskine unable to field a team, points to Caberfeidh Inverness P v P Kilmallie Unplayable field Lochcarron P v P Strathspey Lochcarron unable to field a team, poins to Strathspey
Marine Harvest South Division 2
Bute 4 v 0 Dunoon Sportsdesk 01631 568000