Clare v Cork U20: Cillian Tobin back and Jack Leahy out for key Munster clash in Ennis

It’s a case of one player returning from injury as another misses out for the Cork U20s tonight.

Ben O’Connor’s team are seeking a third straight win in the round-robin section of the oneills.com Munster U20HC and next up for them is a journey to Cusack Park in Ennis to face Clare at 6.15pm.

Unfortunately for Cork, Dungourney’s Jack Leahy, who started at corner-forward in the victories at home to Waterford and Tipperary, will be absent but Cillian Tobin of Bride Rovers – who, like Leahy, won an All-Ireland minor medal in 2021 – will be back in contention after he was unavailable for the opening two fixtures.

With Cork having had a break last week, O’Connor feels that the time since the win over Tipperary a fortnight ago has been used productively.

“Jack has a hamstring problem, unfortunately,” he says, “so we won’t have him for Wednesday night but we will have Cillian Tobin back, added into the panel.

“In fairness, we got a couple of good nights of training into fellas when other teams were playing. For the last four or five days, it’s just been about quietening down again and getting the boys refreshed and ready for Wednesday night.

We were happy enough with the way things went since the last game and we’re hoping the lads will fresh for this match.”

The scheduling of the minor and U20 championships follows the same pattern as that of the Munster senior championship. It means that, with Cork opening with two home games, they finish with a pair of away trips – after Clare this week, they go to Limerick next week. After the round-robins section, the side top of the table go straight to the Munster final with second playing third in the only semi-final.

After the familiarity what comes with two games at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, two road trips make for a different kind of challenge but O’Connor is confident in the team’s ability to adapt.

“Of course, with two home games, you’re used to everything that goes on and it’s on your home patch,” he says.

PRESSURE

“We put ourselves under a certain amount of pressure for those matches – we said that we were at home and that they were two must-win games.

“With them out of the way, the next two games will be different. We’ll have to travel on a bus and get the timings right, arrange food times and be aware of traffic problems.

“You need to get sorted but Derek [Connolly] and Paul [O’Sullivan] in the backroom will have all that sorted for us.

“Then, you’re going into fields that you’re not used to playing at. In Páirc Uí Chaoimh, fellas are used to the surroundings and they’ll have a favoured seat in the dressing room and things like that.

“It’s a small bit different but we’re looking forward to it. We’re where we wanted to be after two games, that was two wins, so it’s all in our own hands now.”