WHEN 2022 ALL-IRELAND and Division 1 champions Kerry take to the field for their league opener in Donegal on Sunday, they’ll be without a host of big names.
Jack O’Connor is down several bodies, with a lengthy injury list and others, including the Clifford brothers, granted leaves of absence after arduous club campaigns.
David Moran’s is permanent, the long-serving midfielder announcing his inter-county retirement on Monday.
Gavin White is among the injured contingent, having been out of action since last July’s All-Ireland final success against Galway with a knee setback.
After limping out of the semi-final victory over Dublin, White won his fitness race and went on to play the full game against the Tribe.
Speaking at the launch of Comórtas Peile Páidi Ó Sé 2023 yesterday, he offered an update on his progress: “I haven’t kicked a ball since the Galway game.
“From last week, I started doing a small bit of running. It’s difficult to say a timeline because I’ve been out for so long and I don’t know how the body is going to react. Just taking it week by week, building up my load. Please God I’ll see some league action. If not, that’s the way it is. The most important thing is to get the knee right, maybe be ready for the latter stages, or start of the championship.”
“I did a substantial amount of damage to my cartilage,” the Dr Crokes clubman, who turns 26 this week, added. “It was an unusual injury, it didn’t just happen in one go in the Dublin game. It probably came over a period of time.
“It just was the last tear in the cartilage, there was a substantial amount of cartilage ripped off really. I had to get a micro-fracture operation done on that to get some sort of cartilage back in it. It’s a funny enough injury, it’s one I want to get right now.”
He went under the knife three weeks after the final, and was on crutches for six weeks.
Over five months later, it’s the longest break White has experienced in his colourful career thus far, though is hoping it will be behind him sooner rather than later.
White also paid tribute to team-mate Moran after the three-time All-Ireland winner brought the curtain down on a glittering 14-year journey with the Kingdom.
“Look, I can’t say anything but good things about the man. A real leader on and off the pitch. From a team point of view, he was absolutely extraordinary in everything he did. From the public, he’s obviously known for lording kickouts and so on and so forth, but inside in the dressing room, he was just so much more.
“A real leader, really wanted to get Kerry over the line. I’m really, really glad I got an opportunity to play with him and obviously win the All-Ireland with him last year. From my own personal point of view, he was kind of like a father figure to me. When I first came in with Kerry, he was one of the first players that would have come up to me and welcomed me into the squad. He really took me under his wing, which I’m forever grateful for. I’m sad to see him go, but at the same time, I’m delighted I got to play minutes with him. I could sit here all day talking him up, a real gent.
“He’ll be sorely missed. That’s life, I suppose. He has a young child now at the moment, and he has another one on the way very, very shortly, and obviously work commitments and that… look, I suppose he’s happy with his lot. He won the All-Ireland last year with Sam Maguire in his right hand and his son in his left hand, a fitting ending for his career.”
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Very easy to blame a few mistakes when in truth the individuals and the system were terrible. Ireland don’t have an offload/continuity game yet that’s what we tried from the first ball against the best team in the world. We didn’t help ourselves with poor kicking and cheap turnovers but to not mention the coaches and tactics in this analysis is very short-sighted
@Mark Dooley: players largely to blame for basic errors. Coaching staff have to take blame for selection of non form & rusty players and for lack of variety to our game since our the win v all blacks. It was a chance for them to throw caution to the wind and start the with at the least Beirne, ruddock & larmour.
Good analysis Murray
@Mark Dooley: this excellent analysis clear shows that the team was well set up tactically as we were creating space but basic errors by players meant we failed to take advantage of those opportunities. In fact we turned the ball over and handed advantage to NZ. Once again an Irish team has not turned up for a World Cup. That for me is a mental issue that we need to face up to and overcome. Blaming coaches, injuries etc only avoiding the truth and the real issue. Interesting to hear Schmidt say they started focusing on this QTR final end last year, just before their form went to shit.
@Mark Dooley: Excellent analysis by Murray. I disagree with you blaming the coaches & tactics. Uncharacteristic errors, missed kicks & missed tackles by players cost us dearly plus NZ were ruthlessly clinical imho.
@David Supple: coaches responsible for selecting out of form players based on what they have done in the past. Kearney in particular was a pick to try and not lose a game rather than win one as he offers nothing in attack. All you gave to do is look at the abs selection policy for 15 and it is almost always a try scoring machine and the rawness of the two wings to see what proactive selection looks like.
It will be interesting to see what a defensive coach in Farrell. thinks or does with Stockdale. His instinct is to go for the interception and he bites quite a bite. When it works it’s fantastic but when it doesn’t it’s at least 3 points.
I’m not singling our Stockdale but more how our new coach sees it.
Why in this article and others are teams lauded for being able to catch and pass the ball, these players are playing rugby 5 days a week why do we think catch pass is so special, is it because Ireland are so bad at it? Its been killing Munster for 10 years when will we wake up to the basic skills required????
The muppets in the crowd should have shut up and respected the haka. Those clowns over there are just bandwagon jumpers.
@munsterman: Totally disagree, it should be shown as much respect that it deserves and that is f£¥k all!
@munsterman: stupid comment. Had nothing to do with anything