Seemed like a good idea at the time.
The experience of coaching a new team against your home county, and one who you led to two All-Irelands, can’t be easy. Sure, Ger Loughnane wanted to turn Clare over, but it was tougher to get fired up for than, say, playing Tipperary or Kilkenny.
Loughnane joined The GAA Hour: Live down in Ennis and shared some fantastic recollections about his time managing Clare and Galway. The 2007 championship clash between the two sides, of course, came up for discussion.
“I always remember that before that game,” said former Galway star Damien Hayes. “We were in the hotel and getting ready to go. Next thing, Frank Lohan starts walking up towards the hotel. I remember watching this and thinking, ‘What’s Frank doing?’ as I was potentially going to be marking this lad.
“It turned out Frank was heading up to our hotel to get a rub, or some treatment, from Colm Flynn, who was part of out set-up! I was going, ‘What’s the story here?!’“
Hayes and Loughnane then turned to the game itself [from 44:00 below] and a team announcement that will not be long forgotten.
“I do remember,” Hayes continued, “that when we got to the dressing room, we were all togging out and, at this stage, we had had the team meeting. Ger didn’t pick the team and we were all still wondering what it would be.
“Next thing, we were all out on the pitch and Ger comes out to us. ‘Right lads, in!’
“He names the team on the pitch as we’re in a huddle. And he goes, ‘The inside forward line, Hayesy is 13, Eugene is 14 and, I’ll always remember this one, Number 15 is the assassin himself… ‘
“I automatically assumed it was Kevin Broderick but Ger goes, ‘Kerril Wade’. So it was not what we expected but, basically, I think the whole reason behind it was that Ger thought there was too much of an emphasis on the first 15, and if you weren’t in that 15 when it was named on a Thursday night that you’d be sulking or you’d be tuned out.”
Loughnane backed up those Hayes comments. “Every since I started,” he said, “it was not about that starting 15. It’s the whole panel.
“Everybody has to be prepared to sacrifice everything, for the good of the team.
“That came in with the dummy teams with Clare. People on the outside would say, ‘But Jesus, what about his parents, his girlfriend and his cousins?’, or whatever. I’d say, ‘That doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what 15 represent you. If you are a panel that really believes in working for your county, it shouldn’t matter who those 15 are. The good of the county is all that matters.
“That was a game that wasn’t a knock-out and it was my first year there so I was trying to impress on them the importance of playing as a group, and that group ethic. The group being more important than your own ego or individualism.
“It didn’t work, by the way!”
The late, late team announcement was certainly well intentioned but Clare winning out 2-10 to 0-14 on the day ensured Loughnane did not repeat the dose for the next game.
“Luckily, we had Laois next,” Loughnane noted, much to the chagrin of host Colm Parkinson.
“Oh sorry,” Loughnane cut in, “a Freudian slip there!”
