Huge day for Galway hurling as seniors and minors chase All-Ireland glory

TRADITION and history would imply Kilkenny will be crowned 2015 All-Ireland senior hurling champions. However, underdogs Galway will most certainly have something to say about that as they bid for a first Liam McCarthy Cup in 27 years at Croke Park on Sunday.

Indeed, it is a huge day for Galway hurling on the whole with the county’s minors and seniors both in action – the minors facing Munster champions and strong favourites Tipperary in their national decider at 1:15pm before the seniors fulfil their date with destiny at 3:30pm.

Going to press, there were no major injury concerns which means boss Anthony Cunningham will have a full squad to pick from. In addition, it has also been rumoured St. Thomas’ sharpshooter Conor Cooney might make the match day squad and could even be an option to bring on in the closing stages.

Cunningham is counting down the time to Sunday’s clash. “I suppose, the minute the semi-final was over you were trying to get preparations ready for the next day. We had three weeks but really you wanted to find out quickly what the injury concerns were and what rehab had to be done.”

There is no talk of a date with destiny with Cunningham, himself a double All-Ireland senior winner. For him, it is all about the cut and trust of those 70 minutes on Sunday – the long months of planning, training, highs and lows have all led to this.

“For us, it has all been about having your standard there over the Winter and over the National League and getting as many games as you could logically into 30 players. We succeeded in doing that quite well in the League but there was always going to be some new players introduced in the championship.”

Of course, Cunningham and the majority of players have gone through this whole process before in 2012, only to lose out to Sunday’s opponents after a replay. When asked to put his finger on one reason why Galway didn’t get over the line on that occasion, Cunningham is forthright in his view.

“We didn’t improve enough from the semi-final to the final to win it. We don’t want to make the same mistake this year. There were aspects of our play the last day, and in the Leinster final, that we want to improve on. So, for us, it is about honing in on our own game, irrespective of what else goes on.”

Captain David Collins, who despite returning from injury failed to reclaim his starting berth for both the quarter final and semi-final, agrees, but also notes that as well as improving on their level of performance, they must also be strong mentally in their approach.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.