PETER ‘CHAP’ CLEERE SAYS he is looking forward to building on the successful foundations that Brian Dowling has put place for Kilkenny camogie, as he takes over as the new manager.
Cleere comes in to replace the two-time All-Ireland-winning boss, who stepped down from the position during the summer after four years in charge.
A former Kilkenny hurler, Cleere steps into the role after a successful season in charge of the Carlow camogie team, overseeing promotion to Division 2 as well as retaining their intermediate status for 2024.
The Blacks and Whites clubman has already been in contact with Dowling to pick his brains about the challenges that await him. The pair were teammates in the past, hurling together at U21 level for Kilkenny.
“I spoke with Brian and I’ll absolutely be speaking to him again,” he tells The42.
“He couldn’t have been more helpful in terms of advice and his view on things. It’s fantastic to have that support there and Brian is a proud Kilkenny man.
“He will continue to do anything he can to drive Kilkenny on to the next level. The phone is always there to talk to Brian and that’s a huge support to have.
“We would have played U21 and won two All-Irelands with Kilkenny together. Brian was a much better player than me and he was on the senior team in 2003 and 2004. I went on then in 2005, 2006 and 2007. We would have hurled together at underage all the way along on the inter-county scene. Brian’s a super manager and he’s given unbelievable service to Kilkenny. He’s a huge loss.
“I think there was an U21 All-Ireland final where Brian came on for me. It’s amazing that Brian came on for me 20 years ago and now I suppose you could say that I’m coming in for Brian 20 years later.”
As the baton passes between them once more, Cleere is putting plans in motion to prepare Kilkenny for the upcoming campaign.
The camogie championship is approaching the quarter-final stage this weekend, and Cleere has been casting an eye over the games so far. He is also the Clara camogie manager, which gives him a strong insight into the quality that exists in the county.
And already, he has identified some players who have “put their hands up” for consideration. Cleere’s backroom team is close to being finalised and will be confirmed in the coming weeks, with the National League following shortly after.
“Once club championship is over, we’ll sit down and try to construct the panel.
“Every year, you’re learning and there’s huge experience to learn from being with any team. The backroom teams in any inter-county set-up is so extreme. Really, as a manager, what I would be trying to do is put the infrastructures in place to allow the girls go on and achieve.
“Within the context of all that, you’ve got nutritionists, dieticians, strength and conditioning, and psychologists. All that comes into it, but ultimately, it’s about girls going out winning their own ball and being really competitive. Players win games, not managements.”
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Excellent article Murray. It’s the passing that’s concerning. A basic skill, you would assume at this level it certainly ought to be dealt with in training as regards timing. It can’t be perfect in training & poor in matches. So where are the standards vs Joe time when was non negotiable. Jamie O is young but a poor passer when moving and evident since his Leinster debut. We rarely pass in front of each other, almost always static in receiving, and when there is a 1st phase move, it gets stuck in midfield on contact. Bar Hugo try v Italy, very little innovation, attempts to do so. Extremely low risk rugby SA aside, since RWC. And while we love Hugo, nothing in attack from returned kicks. Little evidence Andrew Goodman was the right choice. You can swap the above comments for Leinster too.
@Mark Kearney: agree and add the waning of our ‘power game’ – that’s another point of difference for France and England and why they both ‘destroyed’ Wales and we didn’t.
@Mark Kearney: good point. Lancaster was really hot on passing accuracy and that meant the majority of players coming into Ireland camp under him were on top of their skills. Connacht also playing attacking style since Lam. New Munster/Ulster coaches also emphasize ball handling. I think the change in style at Leinster is really having a big impact on IRL attack. Leinster players concentrate on chasing kicks and being aggressive in défense. Leinster’s attack has been really poor these last 2 seasons but their brilliant defense means they still win. Cc LRO game was case in point. Irelands last 2 6n’s were also built on solid defense btw. People like to praise the IRL attack but it’s our defence was the foundation of our attack. We conceded more tries this 6n’s than in the last 2 combined.
The key statistic is professional playing numbers. In Ireland, we have 180, France, and England have very many more. It’s probably 8 to 10 times more, especially in France. Long-term strategy is surely to have a fifth team probably off the island.
@D Farrell: agree, but we have what we have. We have to revert to having a point of difference, back to most of Joe’s time in Lein & Ireland, was passing. That you can do with existing structure, if you first accept there is an issue. I don’t think we do, and poor standards are accepted across the provinces. That’s on the coaches, and players wanting to improve.
@D Farrell: Wishful thinking, I fear. The revenue to support a 5th team does not exist. Frankly I doubt whether we have the revenue to support four. Especially if the growth of Women’s pro rugby is already acting like an additional province in terms of its financial impact
I haven’t gone back to check but I imagine what has been said (by both fans and media) about this Ireland team/players/coaches is nothing compared to what the French will have had to put up with when we did them last season. They didn’t go through a massive clean out, and I don’t think we need to either. The other provinces other than Leinster do need to pull their socks up though.
It’s no coincidence our attack faltered when Andy Farrell was away. I think it’s forgotten that he is heavily involved in Irelands innovative attack plays and his absence definitely affected this. Also it’s worth mentioning Catt started very poorly with Ireland and became instrumental in our brilliant attack over the last few years. Maybe Goodman needs time to bed in also
Being third in what many considered a two horse race can’t be considered a success .
However it reflects the approach of the Irish management based on defence . Both Irish wings selection and reputations based on their performance on a catch and kick game .
But teams have stopped kicking deep as blocking in front of the catcher is penalized and the objective is to ensure the ball is behind the defending pack . Thus the reason to pick paceless wings no longer exists .
As previously noted 9 of the 23 are over 30 whose best games are behind them .
I considered that this was last 6 nations for more than PoM Murray and Healy and the preference for Leinster Blue was undeserved by several players .
@SAMUEL T McGLADERY: Who do you think should have been picked on the wings instead of Hansen and Lowe?