Cork U20s have the edge and swagger for senior but making the step up has never been harder

IN Thurles in the U20 All-Ireland, just after Dan Ravenhill had rifled his penalty to the net, and as the roofs were nearly lifting off the Ryan and Kinnane Stands from a crescendo of Offaly noise, Brion Saunderson stood momentarily and looked at the replay of the score on the big screen before taking the puck-out.

Saunderson got his hurley to the shot and he wanted to check just how close he had been to making the save before resetting and getting on with the game.

Saunderson is an excellent goalkeeper who looks to have the ideal temperament for the big day. And his mindset, and reaction in that moment after the penalty, was a neat metaphor for the composure, cool-headedness and conviction Cork showed throughout the season.

When Offaly emerged from the tunnel beforehand to an almighty racket, Cork looked like they didn’t even notice the noise as they went about their warm-up. Cork knew what Offaly were going to bring but they were ready for it in every conceivable way – mentally and physically.

“We started off the second half with the intensity that we needed to bring and we knew Offaly wouldn’t be able to match us,” said Ben Cunningham. “We were savage, we were hungry for turnovers. We enjoyed the second half.”

It was almost as if Cork were following a pre-written script, where everything they expected to happen, and intended to make happen, happened.

Cork took huge confidence from what they had, and how they were going to use it against their opponents. It was a young Offaly side, who have 27 of their extended panel underage again next year. Cork have a raft of players underage again too in 2024 but they had a huge physical edge over Offaly this season. And Cork were hell-bent on using it.

LIMITS

At times, Cork pushed that physicality to the limit. Shane Kingston should have been red-carded for making dangerous contact with the head of Cormac Egan, which resulted in the penalty Ravenhill nailed.

Egan, who was Offaly’s most experienced player, having played in their All-Ireland U20 football success in 2021, was replaced at half-time. Offaly’s most explosive and dangerous forward Adam Screeney was repeatedly fouled by a raft of Cork players when in threatening positions.

Leo O’Connor the Offaly manager was livid with some of Cork’s tackling. When O’Connor’s comments were put to Cork manager Ben O’Connor, he just shrugged his shoulders.

“If they got the chance, they’d probably do the same thing,” he said. “It happens in games. You do what you have to do to win.”

Every successful team understands the trade-off between cynicism and doing what’s required to win. If teams can get away with pushing those limits to the absolute extremes, and the rules don’t punish them for it, the reward far outweighs the risk.

The risks were worth taking for Cork, especially when, as Leo O’Connor pointed out, there is no black card at U20 level, only at senior. That seems nonsensical but if Cork knew that rule wasn’t in place, it made sense for different players to haul down an Offaly player on three occasions when a goal chance was reduced to a tap-over free.

Cork certainly didn’t have any regrets, just as winning teams never do. It always leaves a sour taste for the losers but, in the eyes of the winners, the criticism goes as quickly as it initially arrives.

TOO SOFT

The easy thing to say is that Cork have been too nice for too long, something which has been labelled against Cork for a long time.

“What’s Cork’s criticism the last few years, that they’re too soft,” said Shane Dowling on ‘ The Sunday Game’ that night. “They need a couple of dogs. And it’s no harm to see them there today. Overall, Cork need to bring that into the senior team going forward.”

Sitting beside Dowling in the RTÉ studio, Brendan Cummins also weighed in on that topic. 

“They’re finding big, they’re finding strong and they’re finding angry, which is a good thing” said Cummins. 

Pat Ryan started it and Ben has carried it on. You can see the physicality... but they’re playing with an unbelievable freedom as well.”

For Cork, that last line is just as important as anything else. Freedom has many guises but one of the most latent forms is the abandon that comes from confidence and belief, both in the individual and the collective.

Just as importantly, this group look – and have looked throughout this championship – to be convinced that they’re part of something bigger and greater than just a successful Cork underage team. They can, and want to see a brighter bigger picture for Cork at senior.

A handful of players which won their second All-Ireland U20 title in three years played with the confidence that defined Cork for decades. It was easy to see how Cork went out to physically and mentally dominate Offaly, to make them feel that Cork were operating at a different level to Offaly.

There was a swagger and a strut in everything about the group. Much of that probably stemmed from O’Connor and the management and how they believe Cork should be sticking their chests out, and fulfilling what Cork hurlers feel is their destiny – winning senior All-Irelands.

Cork still have some distance to travel along that route but they are certainly going the right way about building towards a return to those days.