THERE’S BEEN NO shortage of criticism heaped upon them – not least after the dreadful first-half display in Páirc Uí Rinn yesterday when they only scored a single point – but Cork manager Peadar Healy was keen to pay tribute to his players at still coming out on the winning side.
They turned the tables on Tipperary 12 months after their reversal in Thurles and Healy felt the leadership the players showed in response in the second half needed to be acknowledged.
“The players have taken an awful battering. This is their win. They’re battering us that we don’t have leaders and I thought they did show good leadership there. They need those types of games if they’re going to improve.
“It will give them confidence but we can’t play like that if we are playing a Munster final How many scores did we miss in the first half? Nine wides and one score, not a good return. Two goal chances missed put us under savage pressure.
“The players took control of the dressing-room. They knew the performance wasn’t good enough.
“They are very critical of themselves and very hard on themselves. I thought the response when Tipp scored the goal was fantastic and then to ride it out.
“After the Waterford game, they took a lot of slack. In the first half they were snatching at it too early. The pressure they were putting on themselves.
“If Colm O’Neill scored that goal, first chance he got, it could have settled us into that game a lot faster.”
Cork’s attention now switches to a Munster final on 2 July and Healy has called for a postponement of club games next weekend with 18 members of his squad involved across four games.
“We have flagged this to the county board, I have emailed them ten days ago to have those games put back.
“If they proceed we would probably have only about three training sessions together before the Munster final. It’s not good enough.
“Hopefully I will be talking to (Board chair) Ger Lane over the next few days and we will be able to put those games back. We need to do that.”
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…someone please put up a clip of Ryan Bairds tackle on Michael Lowry…..a thing of beauty…. and you have to have played the game to appreciate how truly exceptional it was.
@Michael Murray: Couldn’t agree more!
I saw Josh’s face in the ruck where he got hurt. Didn’t think it looked good from his reaction. A big loss to any team, except maybe Leinster.. Penny comes in and Connors comes onto the bench. Ridiculous strength in depth.
@John Thomas: Connors won’t be on the bench with Doris back.
@John Thomas: Yeh… thought the same, also why did he play on?! We were well ahead and had Penny on the bench, VDF absolutely crucial for CC and URC knockout games
As long as Joy Neville isn’t TMO again it should be a good spectacle.
Poor performance, RB exposed again soon as forward dominance is gone and he has no space he is nullified. Furlong also has never been the same player since the back injury few seasons ago, just toddles into contact no gain line anymore. Baird might be a difference and if Jenkins can have a few big games but still fear Toulouse and La Rochelle.
@Liam Kelly: …
Not being pedantic but 2 RBs in squad…specifics will help those for whom the squad players are not household names.
@Liam Kelly: RB = Rob Balacoune?!?
@Liam Kelly: Yeap, that game did no favours at all for Balacoune’s World Cup selection.
@Dave Murray: I think that Balacoune had already blown his chance on the international stage- he just doesn’t seem to have the natural game awareness necessary for Ireland’s system. I am guessing that ‘game awareness’ is a major qualification for this a Ireland team – skill set and strength etc being a given – it is clearly a common attribute of the rising stars Keenan, Doris, Hansen, Sheehan and Gibson-Park.