James Dwyer: As Cork minor hurlers we judge ourselves on our work-rate

IT'S been absent for too long but the Irish Press Cup is finally back on Leeside, for the first time since 2001.

And Cork were fully deserving winners against Galway on Saturday night, once they hit the front they were never behind.

It was the second big win of the week for Rebel hurlers as they added a second All-Ireland underage title to the trophy collected by the U20 side on Wednesday night.

This group of young players have enjoyed success at underage level and they were determined that wasn't going to stop this year.

Covid put a stop to them for a while when games were called to a halt, but they showed no ill effects of that as they drove on through the Munster and All-Ireland championships.

By the first water break, they were four points to the good with Diarmuid Healy and William Buckley leading the charge up front. The work-rate of Buckley is astonishing and there's a touch of Luke Meade's tireless running to this young Barrs star.

Buckley lines out at corner-forward in terms of the number he wears but, as with his club where he won a minor county last year and a U16 the season before, he drifts out around the middle of the park and his influence is significant. He carries ball but is also a dangerous scoring threat.

Of course, there are plenty of other stars with Diarmuid Healy impressing in the forward line again, picking off scores at vital times. Full-forward Jack Leahy is a handful to try and mark too and finished the summer as the championship's top-scorer.

Around the middle of the park, Mikey Finn and Cillian Tobin were on top and defensively Cork were simply on top.

The half-back line of James Dwyer, Ben O'Connor and Timmy Wilk look assured and calm all through and the odd time when the sliotar got beyond them then Darragh O'Sullivan, Kevin Lyons, and James Byrne weren't found wanting.

Many have felt that one of the problem areas in Cork hurling has been full-back over the last few years.

Well with Lyons excelling in the minor campaign there, Daire O'Leary assured at U20 level the future is bright. O'Leary missed the All-Ireland final through injury but he was a major influence in this and last year's successful campaigns.

The future is definitely bright for Cork hurling and from the combination of the minor and U20s supporters can look forward with confidence.

What's particularly impressive about them is their tackling and enegery from start to finish.

A small example of how that is done from corner-forward back is that number 13, Eoin O'Leary, has the highest stats for hooks and blocks in the Munster final, something that joint captain, James Dwyer eluded to afterward.

“We put in a massive effort over the last number of months and all credit goes to the management, they built us up to be a different animal that we thought we could ever be,” said James Dwyer.

“We are a team that's like a club team we are so close. We have sacrificed everything for this and it's mad to be here, it's unreal.

Our work-rate is massive and it's one of the things we pride ourselves on and that was shown by Eoin O'Leary, our corner-forward who had the most hooks, blocks, and tackles in the Munster final. 

"That goes down as a marker for the rest of the team and that was brought into training and built into us.

“We judge ourselves on work-rate and that's a big mark of our play.”

Having enjoyed success up through the ranks, the Ballincollig club man said: “It was brilliant to win at minor level. You see teams come up and sometimes it might not work out for them on the day.

“We knew it wasn't going to be easy and we took it game by game and left everything on the field in all of them and thankfully it worked out in the end for us.

“The U20s was a massive boost to us and they set the example and we were just delighted to be able to carry that on and make it a second All-Ireland title in a few days.

“We knew it wasn't going to be easy against a good Galway side and we had to work hard from start to finish to come out on top."

It was simply a special night for this special bunch of players and have no doubt they will be lifting more trophies in the years ahead. The Rebels are rising and the future is starting to look very bright.