Talking the Talk

IN ALL FAIRNESS

There was a lot to dissect from Saturday nights National Hurling League game at Pairc Ui Chaoimh. I have already covered a lot of what I had to say over the melee which led to the sending’s off for Jason Forde and Cork’s Shane Barrett, the fall-guys when any of the other 28 players could have gone as well.

Red cards to restore order is too penal on the “chosen” players when it was more pushing and shoving than anything else. Ten minutes in the sinbin, where you could also send more than just one player from each side might be more appropriate and could be on the way as it is one of the rules on indiscipline, coming from those adopted from football last year, are passed at Congress at the end of the month.

Having over thirty thousand people at a National League game on a Saturday night shows just how healthy hurling is, and the demand from the public for it, created, I feel, by the split season, with supporters now craving the return of the inter-county game with the now lengthier off-season.

Tipperary were certainly outnumbered again, probably 4:1 and certainly the Cork supporters have really turned Pairc Ui Chaoimh into a true home advantage. However, they took things too far on Saturday night with the booing for Darragh McCarthy as soon as he came onto the field in the 55th minute. It reached a crescendo ten minutes later when he came out to step over a free from around sixty yards, not just playful boos from kids, they were loud, and in their thousands, both young and old.

It's why I tweeted straight away, why were they booing him? Was it for being sent off the last time they played Cork in Pairc Ui Chaoimh? Well, he was punished and served a suspension, so what’s the big deal. I don’t see Eoin Downey being booed by Tipp supporters come the Munster Championship clash in Thurles in April.

Was it for scoring 1-13 against the Rebels in the All-Ireland Final when many Cork fans felt they were merely showing up at Croke Park to collect the Liam MacCarthy Cup last July? That would be pathetic to be annoyed for someone’s brilliance on the day when your own team collapsed.

Much of it was probably due to his free-taking technique. Yes, he has an unorthodox approach but it works for him. He doesn’t take any longer that most over free takers, that has been proven. Those Cork fans are quick to forget the legendary Pat Horgan was slow as a funeral procession coming out to take placed balls, but that was part of his technique, slowing his heartrate to ensure a better chance of conversion.

McCarthy’s free-taking technique largely works, and the manner in which he split the posts from the free, to the barrage of noise, shows the mettle he has, but we didn’t need this incident to know he is made of the right stuff.

Some people might feel myself and others have made too much of in the days since, and that Tipp supporters are a little flaky, but my initial annoyance over it on the night was backed up by former manager Liam Sheedy, commenting on the Irish Examiner Hurling podcast on Monday.

"It’s unacceptable. It has no part in our games,” he said in a strong tone, adding: "A young fella plying his trade; had a really tough thing to deal with down in Cork and then had it again in the All-Ireland semi-final and dealt with it, and came out and scored 1-13 in the final. He’s an iconic player. He’s doing it in Fitzgibbon, he’s doing it for Toomevara, he’s doing it for Tipp.

"And if it was Alan Connolly for Cork, I’d say the very same thing. This is not a Tipperary thing. It’s completely unacceptable. Right now, I don’t see us taking any action, and it’s awful for the young fella.”

I couldn’t agree more. We do not need this coming into Gaelic games. The majority of supporters go to support their own team rather to jeer their opponents; we don’t want that balance to shift the other way as it is in soccer and NFL.

When Cork manager Ben O’Connor, in the aftermath of the game, mentioned the time it is taking for frees to be taken in general, you can’t escape the pointed nature of it considering the opponent on the night. He’d want to remember he had his own unique free-taking style himself in his playing days.

At the moment, everything the three-time All-Ireland winner is saying it being lapped up by the Cork supporters whose demand to end a now 21 year wait for an All-Ireland title is bordering on desperation, and seem to be resorting to everything and anything to get over the line. If O’Connor continues to use his post-match interviews as a ‘state of hurling’ address, it will be interesting to see how beneficial it will be for his team in the long run, and whether it will count against them, notablyfrom referees and getting, or not getting, key decisions as the case may be in bigger games. One thing is for sure; he and Cork won’t be dull!