Guile versus strength.
Security versus chaos.
The rock versus the the rock breaker.
Ladies and gentlemen, buckle up because it’s time for Daithi Burke versus John Conlon.
This is what hurling is all about. This is why over 50,000 people will stream down Jones’ Road on Saturday and why the guts of a million Irish residents will tune into the All-Ireland semi-final to watch Clare take on Galway.
They’ll get a classic 3 v 14. A text book full back against a carnival full forward. Put it in, put it up, and sit back and watch the fireworks.
John Conlon has been one of the key ingredients in the concoction that’s whipped up Clare’s revival. Strong, awkward, fiercely dangerous, he has become the focal point of the Banner set-up and given them a direct supply line to success. Daithi Burke? Well, he’s the only man for the job.
And the job is wrestling with the beast. It’s holding back the tide. But that man, the only man, might not be available.
On Friday night, the Independent reported that the Galway full back has emerged as a doubt for the Clare clash after sustaining an ankle injury in training during the week. The message from Micheál Donoghue though to the Connacht Tribune was simple:
“He will be fine.”
And, despite the fears, Galway went ahead and named Burke in their official starting team for the semi at Croker.
Galway team
J. Skehill, A. Tuohy, Daithi Burke, J. Hanbury, P. Mannion, G. McInerney, A. Harte, J. Coen, David Burke, J. Cooney, J. Canning, J. Glynn, C. Whelan, C. Cooney, C. Mannion.
It seems that the rumour mill misdiagnosed Burke’s injury, with talk emerging from the shadows that he had broken his ankle. Those fears have been allayed but a question mark still hangs over the matter of whether he is 100 per cent fit or not. Burke is still expected to start the game anyway and, in the process, hurling lovers will get the battle everyone wants.
— Clare Gaa (@GaaClare) July 26, 2018
Burke has already made a blockbuster of his battles with Walter Walsh of Kilkenny and, with Conlon and Clare motoring through the Munster championship, with Galway growing stronger and the Banner standing taller than they have done for half a decade, there was an air of mystique as well as excitement surrounding this one.
It’s because of duels like this that hurling folk have every right to be snobby about their sport and, given everything that’s gone on, given every obstacle that he’s overcome, it really would take a broken bone to keep Burke out of this fight.
