Patrick Horgan isn’t looking forward to hurling in the wind and rain of the February, but the chance to grace the new Páirc Uí Chaoimh makes it that bit easier.
All GAA years are long and this one will be no exception. The Cork hurlers will begin their Allianz League campaign when they take on Kilkenny in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on January 27 which is less than two weeks away.
Horgan himself will miss that occasion, Cork’s first in the new Páirc Uí Chaoimh, because of his red card in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final against Waterford.
He had appealed that decision, but it was soon upheld by GAA chiefs.
It’ll be a competitive game between two fierce rivals, but Horgan himself feels it’s coming a little bit too early in the GAA calendar, coming just after Christmas.
The Glen Rovers man thinks it’s a little bit unfair to ask players to hurl so soon after they started back training.
“I just think the 27th of January…is it a bit early for the game? It probably is, isn’t it? For a competitive game anyway. It’s going to be on telly and people are going to be looking at it…it’s tough playing games week on week so early in the year,” he told us at the eir launch of their National League coverage yesterday.
“It’s a long year, it’s nine months, like. And before you know it then you’re back training the next year early for January again.
“So you probably have two or three weeks off, like. You won’t know until we do it and play the games, but it’s tough playing games week on week so early in the year,” said the 29-year-old.
January GAA isn’t ideal for anyone. Teams aren’t fighting fit yet. The weather is in-conducive to fast hurling. And at the end of the day, it’s tough to get motivated for it because even if you do win, it won’t really mean a huge amount in the large scheme of things which is the summer championship.
🛋📺☕️🏐🏑
Great to have Cillian O'Connor, Patrick Horgan, Tiernan McCann & Lee Chin on hand to launch our #MatchNightLive Schedule for the 2018 #AllianzLeagues. pic.twitter.com/A7e92j70uw— eir Sport (@eirSport) January 17, 2018
And then if you’re struggling, supporters will be on your back. It’s a catch-22, but with Cork’s League opener taking place in the newly renovated Páirc Uí Chaoimh, there’s ample motivation.
“That’s probably the only positive about playing in January, playing in the Pairc, it’s a serious place.
“In fairness to the Cork support, for games like that it’s going to be close to full. It’ll be something to look forward to. Even there now on the 27th, there’s a buzz around the place for it. I think you’ll see a good crowd down there as well,” he said.
And why wouldn’t he be buzzing to take to the fields? The stadium is a work of art.
Pitch perfect.
It was a blow to the Rebels when manager Kieran Kingston opted against re-committing for another year, but according to Horgan, new boss John Meyler, who was a selector last year, has slotted in seamlessly.
“It’s more or less the same. John was there last year as a selector and he saw how fellas trained in the lead up to games. (He knows) What days we’d be training and how hard we trained.”
The Rebel rising was a huge theme of last year’s summer championship, when Cork’s youngsters spurred them onto a Munster championship victory. Mark Coleman, Darragh Fitzgibbon, Luke Meade and Shane Kingston all tore it up in their debut campaigns, and Horgan predicts even bigger things for them this year.
“They can do whatever they want. They came in last year and were just out of minor and to look at them they weren’t really that strong,” he said.
“And then they just have bags of ability. The progress they can make from what they did last year can be whatever they want it to be. They can be as good as they want.
“They’re level-headed fellas and they’ll try to get the most out of themselves. It’s up to themselves where they want to be.
“The speed of them, their hurling is just unreal. They can be whatever they want.”
Last year was a particularly good year for Horgan himself. He cut loose from open play on regular occasions on the big championship occasions, and his free-taking was deadly. He’s planning for more of the same this year.
“It’s (his confidence) basically growing from one game to another. It just takes one game to get a slight bit of confidence in yourself. The next game like, I don’t know, it’s a hard one to describe but if you’re playing well in one or two games there’s less pressure on you the next day and getting ready for the game.”
They’ll be ready.
Patrick Horgan was in Dublin as eir sport announced details of its live coverage of the forthcoming Allianz Leagues which will see 17 games broadcast across seven weekends. eir sport, the home of Saturday night Allianz Leagues action, will feature 17 different counties over the course of its coverage
