Munich

Hunger, work rate, commitment, passion, preparation, courage, composure, focus. Just a few words we all like to use in a sporting context but in a very black and white way. ‘He’s lost the hunger’ or ‘jesus, their hunger was greater’. Did he? Was it? How do you measure it? Can you really judge it? What affects it? I’ll resist the temptation to cast judgements along these lines on the performance of the ‘A’ team in Munich this weekend for these reasons.

You win and lose as a group but should reflect individually on your role in the show. Did I do absolutely everything to be prepared? Was my focus totally on the job in hand? Did I walk the talk? Did I hide or did I put my hand up and say give me the ball? Were there runs I should have made or I should have tracked? Did I attack the ball? How did I cope with difficult situations? Did I make the right decisions; to pass, to shoot, to tackle, to get into arguments with other players and the ref? Could I have done something extra to influence the result? There are a host of things to reflect on. Some will do it to themselves in a brutal way. Others will seek excuses, justifications for their actions or maybe just not grasp it. This is the way in every walk of life.

I could replay virtually every decision I made on Saturday. Everything from team selection straight through to the last Lux point in the 3rd/4th play-off when I pushed up and got caught for one of their final points. I could tell you the balls I gave away, the tackles I let lads break, the good runs and the bad runs. It’s the way I look at things, over the top or not. I’d expect lads to do the same of themselves. Be brutal with yourself, be honest.

It’s hard to put the finger on our poor showing on Saturday. We talk about ‘no excuses’ so there will be none. Paris beat us by two points after we had rattled them for a long period. We had the Guernsey game wrapped up after leading 2-2 to no score. In the end we relied on a missed free to salvage a draw. We blitzed Lux with early goals to get back on track but fell to The Hague 2-5 to 0-6 in the final group game. In the 3rd/4th placed play-off, Lux turned the tables to win by a point. Massively disappointing but now all we can do is regroup and point the ship towards Budapest.

The ‘B’ team headed for the Shield in tentative fashion with a host of late withdrawals. Because of schedule clashes I didn’t see much of them but did see enough to suggest they head to the next round with a good chance. They owned the ball for much of the games I saw but couldn’t register the necessary scores. A few returning bodies which will significantly strengthen their hand. Maybe the most important thing they have though, is an incredible spirit and determination to succeed. They never relent.

Our Ladies claimed their third European Championship in a row with a 7-11 to 0-3 win over Paris in the final. It was achieved without a host of top names too, showing the depth in the panel. They have an unhealthy domination of these tournaments and really need someone to arrive on the scene. Holland seem best placed but I don’t have the numbers to be able to travel to all the tournaments. For now though, they are the king pins and deservedly so as I can’t imagine any of their opponents train harder or more consistently.

On a final note, congratulations to the U-21 hurlers of Kinsale who claimed the South-East U-21 Championship over the weekend and now face Passage in the County next week. They succeeded under the watchful eye of Conor Lane. Hurling is the poor relation in the club at the moment so fair play to him for sticking to the cause and trying to drive things on.