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Jimmy Barry-Murphy at the Cork press night at Páirc Uí Rinn. INPHO/Lorraine O'Sullivan
Rebels

JBM: Young Rebel stars won't let occasion pass them by again

Cork aim to bridge a seven-year wait for provincial glory in Limerick on Sunday.

JIMMY BARRY-MURPHY has been here before.

The Cork icon won the Munster final 10 times as a player and twice more — so far — as a coach.

But on Sunday he’ll see a new-look Rebels side take the field in Limerick in what will be, for many, their first taste of the action. And after winning as underdogs against Clare in the semi-final, the hurling public on Leeside have bought into what JBM is selling at last.

“There’s phenomenal interest around Cork, even when you win one game,” Barry-Murphy told reporters this week.

“It just shows…with one bound you’re free nearly. I think it’s the fact that it’s the Munster final and the public seemed to also respond to the way we played, whether we can reproduce that now, that’s the question.

“But there is a great sense of euphoria around the team and excitement going training and obviously the weather is helping. People love training in these conditions and there’s been a lot of people in watching training and that gives the players a buzz. It’s new to a lot of them which really adds to it. We’d have an odd game behind closed doors but most of the sessions are open to the public. You’d close the odd one if you want to do something different.

“You’ve got to be very mindful that the occasion doesn’t pass them by, that’s the big thing with young players. We played a league final last year, for example and I felt it passed us by early on, we were caught cold even on the sideline by Kilkenny. We weren’t mentally ready for the challenge on the day. The reality was that Kilkenny play for silverware, it was a very different occasion than a league game in Pairc Uí Chaoimh or Nowlan Park so we were probably caught cold from that point of view.

“It’s brilliant to be part of the occasion again, that’s what we’re thrilled about. Before we played Clare we told the players that the Munster final is still a great occasion, same as the Leinster final, these are still big occasions. The build-up is phenomenal and it’s exciting for lots of us to be back part of it. There’s also massive incentive for both counties on Sunday to qualify for an All-Ireland semi-final on 18 August. It plans out your whole year really and is a great incentive to get a break until then. You might have players injured and that’ll get them back into the frame and it’ll give you a chance too to look at the opposition so there is huge incentive there for both of us.”

Cork manager Jimmy Barry Murphy is congratulated by supporters after the Clare game. INPHO/Cathal Noonan

The St Finbarr’s clubman admits through that lessons will be learned from the National League final humiliation in Thurles last season.

“It’s a big task to get them right mentally,” says Barry-Murphy. “You’re going to play Limerick in Limerick and they’re going to have a huge following though I think we’ll have a fabulous following as well. But it’s going to be a massive occasion and the key to that is preparing them to be mentally ready for that. You want them to look forward to the occasion but you want to make sure too it doesn’t pass you by without being overawed by it really.

“It’s a beautiful stadium in Limerick, the pitch the last day was unbelievable, best pitch we played on in the last couple of years.”

The Rebels’ season has been scarred by injuries and Barry-Murphy admits it took it’s toll.

“Yeah, there was a stage where I thought there was a bit of a curse on us, with Paudie and Pa getting sick and then Lorcan and now Brian out now but in fairness every team gets injuries at some stage, look at Kilkenny this year,” he says.

“You just have to believe in the players that you have on your panel. We”re training since last December and you’ve got to trust the guys that are there that they can come in and do a job as well.

“It’s a fair question (to wonder about their depth) but it  probably  applies to all counties because when you go below the top 18, 19, 20 players you always wonder can they step up to the mark but so far, so good. We think we’ve a very good panel. There’ s a lot of young players there that we think can play a role and are putting pressure on those who are starting.”

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