Veteran Jon Walters embodies Ireland’s never-say-die spirit
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IN a drab, window-less, room in the armpit of the Aviva Stadium, Republic of Ireland players are required to pause for brief post-match encounters with journalists from TV, radio, on-line and newspapers. It’s called the mixed zone but to Irish players it’s increasingly become a no-go zone.
Match by match, their numbers dwindle to a trickle, as they flaunt the UEFA recommendations .
Last Sunday, of the 14 players on duty against Austria in a huge World Cup qualifier, only four bothered to make their way through the mixed zone. Four.
The absence of the others, including captain Glenn Whelan, showed a blatant disregard of their responsibilities and was also insulting to media grafters trying to do their job.
How different it used to be. Under Eoin Hand and Jack Charlton players and press used to mingle contentedly over a pint, or two, in the Lansdowne rugby pavilion after games.
Of the four who stopped by last Sunday, Jon Walters stayed the longest and said the most. No journalist in the mixed zone was surprised for on good days, and bad, Walters has always been a constant.
At the end of a busy international season, Walters has fair reason to look forward to a deserved breather. For starters, he signed off with the vital World Cup equaliser, while this summer marks the 10th anniversary of his marriage and he is planning ‘a bit of a family celebration’.
‘It’ll be a better summer after that goal [against Austria] as a defeat would linger, you’d chew on it and hate it,’ said the warrior from the Wirral.
As he put his feet up for a few weeks, Walters may reflect on how far he’s come in the past 10 years as a footballer.
In the summer of 2007, he was hardly known outside the Ipswich Town dressing room but since then he’s chalked up over 400 club games, spent seven seasons in the Premier League, played in the FA Cup final and got to two European Championship finals with Ireland.
His international call to arms came deep into his 20s but Walters seized it readily and his unflagging spirit and immense heart, which have bolstered Ireland teams through the ages, have been evident through his 49 appearances. ‘The next cap will be the 50th which will be a proud day, I’ll always try to turn up and play,’ he said. Walters helped drive Ireland to the Euro 2016 finals with vital goals in qualifying and then played less than 100 minutes in France. Did he feel sorry for himself? No way. ‘I did my Achilles at the training camp in Cork. I tried to get through it, but couldn’t,’ he shrugged. ‘Being injured is part and parcel of being a footballer but there are far worse things happening in the world than me being injured for a big tournament.’ Under O’Neill, he has chipped in with 10 goals in his last 24 games, an impressive return considering he has often been stationed on the right flank. He is up to 14 now, level with Kevin Doyle and the late Noel Cantwell.
‘I wouldn’t have dreamed of scoring 14 goals for Ireland when I was called up at the age of 26, 27,’ he said. ‘Playing up front is actually easier than playing wide, the lads out on the wing like James [McClean] do an awful lot of running and then they have to get up and help me.’
He stood firm last Sunday in a running physical battle with the Austrian defence marshalled by Watford’s Sebastian Prodl.
‘You get battered about a bit but I do a bit of battering back, I enjoy that side of it,’ he said.
Even so, he was isolated until Daryl Murphy arrived early in the second half after which Ireland gained a foothold on the duel.
Before the 85th-minute leveller, Walters had already gone close ‘two or three times before’ only ‘somebody always got back to make a block or tackle.’
‘But this one hit the defender’s knee and fell right for me and I had to take the shot early and it went in at the far post,’ he said of his welltaken goal.
The Austrians expected nothing less than a late Irish onslaught..
‘It was the hardest time we faced and then a simple ball over the defence, a little body check and they scored. We are not happy [about the goal] but we are not complaining,’ said Prodl.
‘We knew that this kind of game suits them well. Long balls, second ball over the defence. Simple football to be honest,’ he added.
The ‘simple’ approach worked as Ireland chiselled out a draw to keep Austria four points back in Group D with four games to go.
‘We’ve some huge games coming up now in September and October, four massive games, and we’ve got to attack them because every point in this group is going to be hardearned,’ said Walters.
‘It’s a quick turn-around but it is still in our own hands to qualify, that’s the thing. You move on. I want to get to the World Cup, we all do, we’re all trying.’
On September 2, when he completes a half-century of appearances in Tbilisi, Walters will walk the walk on the pitch and also stop to talk the talk afterwards.
Others could learn from him.