Shane Long and hurling. They go together like Shane Long and match-winning goals against the world champions.
The Irish striker’s GAA background – and his decision to turn to football at a relatively late age – were often been cited as the reason for the rawness he often displayed at Reading in the early part of his career.
His manager at the time, Steve Coppell, who took Long from Cork City to the Madejski, spoke publicly about the work they would do on the training ground explaining to Long the difference in the kind of runs he needed to make as a footballer, as opposed to a hurler.
Now Long is in the form of his career, a transfer target for some of the biggest clubs in Europe, and Ireland’s key man heading into Euro 2016.
Shane Long could've been going to Darlington, now Juventus are looking at him https://t.co/JoVMbZD9z6
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) May 29, 2016
But GAA, and hurling in particular, is never far from the conversation where the 29-year-old is concerned.
In down time after training sessions over the past few weeks there have been lots of pictures emerging of the likes of Robbie Keane, Daryl Murphy and Roy Keane playing around with a hurl and sliotar.
But who is the most natural hurler in the camp? Long has the answer.
“I think David Meyler’s got a bit (about him), after me of course,” he says.
“Roy’s got a bit as well.”
But Long is quick to credit hurling with giving him to strength that’s needed to make it in the Premier League.
Well that and his older brothers.
“The hurling and the cut and thrust of it helped me, but I was the youngest of four kids and that helped too as I was getting battered around the place when we’d play sports.
“The hurling is a real contact sport and it helps build you up.
“I think it was natural ability that got me over to England in the first place. But then they started to coach me – the kids over there have been training since they were six and seven and I was playing hurling until I was 16.
“So it took a bit of time to catch up and learn the game.”
You can take the boy out of Tipperary…
