REBEL ROUSER
There’s ‘no better’ opposition as Cork and Mcloughlin vow it’s . . .
Fired-up McLoughlin has his eye on Cats
HE may stand accused of taking positivity to a surreal level, but Cork midfielder Lorcán McLoughlin insists that there is ‘no better’ team that the Rebels could meet after losing a Munster final than Kilkenny.
Hurling reason would suggest otherwise — Cork have lost their last three Championship games to Kilkenny by an aggregate of 24 points while, since their advent in 1997, Kilkenny are unbeaten (five wins and a draw) in their six quarter-final appearances to date.
Those are not the kind of statistics that generate enthusiasm, never mind confidence in opponents when confronted with the stripy men, but the other side of that coin is that if you can’t raise your game to face the very best, then you are hardly going to be able to rise it at all.
That is the straw of comfort that McLoughlin and Cork are clutching to ahead of this Sunday’s last-six showdown in Thurles.
‘There is no better team than Kilkenny to focus the mind again,’ insisted the Cork midfielder.
‘I think Cork people love going out playing Kilkenny, because of their tradition and the hurlers they have. If you look at them from No 1 to No 15 they are exceptional hurlers, they are the best team in the country and you want to measure yourself against the best team.
‘As a young team that’s what you want to do. As a midfielder you are looking at the best midfield pairing with Michael Fennelly and Michael Rice, and they have possibly Lester Ryan coming i nto i t, ’ added McLoughlin.
‘Whatever pairing they have they
You want to test yourself against the best team
are excellent hurlers and it is going to take a huge effort.
‘I believe we are really looking forward to playing them, especially the younger fellas, because that is the kind of team you want to play week in week out.’
While that declaration of intent should almost come with a ‘ be careful for what you wish for’ health-warning, the evidence in recent seasons is that Kilkenny have looked vulnerable when faced with fearless young opponents who just went at them.
Last season, Galway, i n the Leinster final and in the drawn AllIreland final, caused them no shortage of discomfort, as did a young and fresh Limerick team in last year’s quarter-final, before Henry Shefflin banged in a couple of goals to keep the champions afloat.
Twelve months on and that sense of Kilkenny vulnerability is, if anything, enhanced — as gratifying as the qualifiers wins were over Tipperary and Waterford were, their struggles, particularly i n their attack hints at a team teetering on the edge.
The truth is that lesser champions would have fallen off long before, and while teams once fearful of being blown away by their power and skill, these days it is their ability to survive and grind out results that has become their signature card.
‘People say Kilkenny are slipping but they are still grinding out games,’ added McLoughlin.
‘They seem to be getting a bit of momentum now.
‘This year people are saying that more teams have a chance of winning than in other years and it is great to see Dublin winning Lein- ster and Limerick winning Munster because it does bring a freshness to the Championship.
‘But whoever beats Kilkenny, it is going to take a super-human effort. They are so clinical; they know how to win games.
‘It’s a great sign of a team to be not playing at their best and still coming through those games,’ continued the Kanturk man.
From Cork’s point of view, they could be forgiven for thinking that if they didn’t have bad luck this summer, they wouldn’t have had any at all.
Relegation, retirements, defections, injuries — McLoughlin himself missed out on Cork’s win over Clare with a groin problem — and, in the Munster final, the controversial sending off of Patrick Horgan would suggest that someone in Páirc Uí Chaoimh has picked a fight with the sporting gods.
The over-turning of Horgan’s red card, leaving him free to play on Sunday, might just be a sign of their fortune changing for the better, but McLoughlin insisted that the team had never been of the opinion that a higher force is out there conspiring against them throughout this year’s campaign.
‘It is part and parcel of hurling. You are going to get injuries.
‘That’s common, that’s going to
For a lot of us it was our first Munster final
happen. To lose players of the quality of Brian Murphy and Paudie O’Sullivan, and other fellas losing out, that stuff happens but they are gone now.
‘There is nothing you can do about the fellas playing football, it is just the injuries that are disappointing, but you move on.’
The same applies to the pain, still raw just two weeks after losing to Limerick in the Munster final, as McLoughlin and his team-mates saw thousands stamp across their grave when the final whistle was blown in the sun-drenched Gaelic Grounds.
While Limerick’s victory was acclaimed as a breakthrough after 17 years without a provincial title, it was easy to forget that the bulk of a young Cork team, including McLoughlin, were also seeking their first.
‘It is hugely disappointing. I know we had experienced players like Tom Kenny in the side, but for a lot of us it was our first Munster final.
‘There was a huge build up to the game, a huge buzz around Cork, and then to be beaten was very disappointing.
‘You can take a step back looking at the scenes afterwards and you’d love to experience that feeling as a Cork person.’ LIMERICK attacking ace Kevin Downes is a major injury doubt ahead of next month’s All-Ireland SHC semi-final clash.
The Na Piarsaigh clubman is believed to have sustained a broken toe in training this week and has already been ruled out of next weekend’s county SHC clash with Patrickswell.
While Downes has not started in Limerick’s two wins over Tipp and Cork, he is seen as a key member of their high-powered bench, coming on in the final quarter of the Munster final to score two points.
With just over three weeks to go to their August 18 semi-final date against either Kilkenny, Clare or Galway, it leaves Downes facing a tight race given that the injury will restrict his ability to train.
Meanwhile, there is better news concerning the team’s vice captain, Paudie O’Brien, whose is reported to be responding well to treatment.
Another Limerick sub, Conor Allis, who also picked up a knock to his leg after coming on in the Munster final has also fully recovered.