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9th September 2021
09:52am BST

"Afterwards, Ashling Thompson came up to me and she said, 'Linda, how are you dealing with this so well, not playing?'"https://twitter.com/TheSundayGame/status/1432016490086141952 A chat with Collins just a few days after her super-sub heroics tells you all you need to know about a player who first and foremost, wants the best for her team. "Two weeks before the game they [management] were thinking about it. I thought, 'I've played every other game so why am I not playing in the All-Ireland semi-final?' For me that week was tough. I never showed it at training. I trained hard and I worked hard. I think the girls seeing my attitude to that, they all drove on as well. "At the same time, I thought to myself it's great that they were able to do it. "Some people would think they were the captain and so they were entitled to a position. Nobody should really be entitled to a position. It should be the person who is working the hardest, or who is going to slot into the team and the game plan that we're going to have. It was tough initially but then I was able to enjoy the build-up and the training. I wasn't nervous because there was nothing I could do anyway. So I dealt with the negative thoughts and just enjoyed training." Collins is still enjoying training and now she's just one win away from fulfilling a lifelong dream. Still just 24, the chance to lift the O'Duffy Cup from the steps of the Hogan Stand will arrive earlier than she may have expected but whatever happens, whether they win or they lose, whether she's starting or not starting, this captain will take it all in her stride. "There's three Courcey Rovers girls in our team but I guess me having been around the longest and being the oldest, even though I'm only 24, they nominated me then. "Initially I was worrying that I would have to be like Gemma O'Connor or Aoife Murray. But I decided I'd create my own style here. There are times when I speak, there are times when I don't. There are times when I perform - I'm just like anybody else. My main thing this year was getting the younger ones in and getting them comfortable, and being able to talk to me and ask me questions, and create a bit of a bond between the girls."
"You want to play every game you can but I'll take whatever role. If they want me to do a similar role, or if they want me to start. All I can know is that I can perform on the pitch. I'll train hard and I'll work hard and I'll do whatever it takes to get into the starting 15. If I don't, that's just the way it is and I can't change it."
It's often said that allowing county champions to dictate captaincy matters is a risky business but Paudie Murray could hardly have asked for a better captain. Cork have their goal and they have their leader. Just one job left now.
"You don't go to Corke Park to lose, and you don't go to Croke Park just to participate. You want to go and you want to win."Explore more on these topics:

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