Curtain Comes Down In Zurich

Zurich is my least favourite tournament by a distance. It’s hard to get to, opposition teams often opt out, it’s expensive and the pitch is a pain in the arse to get to and involves a walk, a tram, a train and another long walk. We will board the train in Schuman shortly after 13h on Friday and between then and Sunday at 20h we will spend 16hrs on a train, 14 hours in bed, 3 hours getting to and from the pitch, 9 hours at the pitch and about 6 hours in the pub. There will be a few spare hours to eat and that kind of stuff.

Still, you must travel to these far flung places, especially considering Zurich are on the outskirts of the European hurling world, which is a pretty grim place to be. They are putting huge work in and it is the duty of other teams to travel regardless of whether the Championship has been decided. Their club badly needs days like this to drive things on there.

We will certainly live up to our part of the bargain and 27 people will board a train and be followed by 4 more on the road down. Our men have already secured the European Championship and seek their tenth tournament win in a row. It was here the run started two years ago and we’ll be hell bent on ensuring it doesn’t finish in the same place. We got a big scare in Belgium so there should be no complacency in the camp.

We travel with a balanced and strong panel, even if one or two of the big guns are missing. Crusher returns to take the captaincy and he will be a massive addition to our defence. His pedigree is unquestioned.

Our ladies have a big day in front of them. Their first European Championship is within their grasp. Win and it comes back to Brussels. They will have to overcome the loss of Ciara Farrell, player of the tournament the last day out but should have enough to get over the line.

Two years ago the train journey was shared by only a few of us. The stories emanating from the epic voyage back up the mainland to Brussels have ensured a bumper Belgium G.A.A. carriage this weekend. It promises to be an almighty session and hopefully a successful end to this year’s Championships.