Cork v Tipperary: Robert Downey delighted to put injury problems behind him

It’s easy to forget now that, after losing to Limerick in May, Cork were not short of jeopardy for their last Munster SHC round-robin game against Waterford.

Defeat at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on May 25 would have seen the Rebels exit the championship; thankfully, they got the victory needed to get to the Munster final and a re-match with Limerick.

Having been unable to complete any of Cork’s opening three matches, captain Robert Downey was sidelined against the Déise. Powerless on such a big day, he was an uncomfortable spectator.

“I was probably more nervous that week than I would ever be for a game that I would be playing in,” he says.

“That’s normal enough when you can’t really control things. 

But I had full confidence in the fellas that were playing, they had trained very well, and prepared very well going into that game.

“It was still a 50-50 game, knockout, but was just delighted that we got over the line that day.”

By the time of the final, the Glen Rovers man was able to play a key role off the bench and then had the honour of accepting the Mick Mackey Cup after Cork’s penalty-shootout victory.

Had Limerick prevailed for the seventh year in a row, Cork would have been out a fortnight later but instead there was a four-week lead-in to the All-Ireland semi-final, allowing Downey extra recuperation time.

“Yeah, it was great,” he says, “and not just for me.

“There was plenty of other fellas dealing with niggles and knocks as well, so it was great just to get those few weeks to get everything right and to get going again and get a really hard block of training done, which is what we did.

“The preparations going into the last game went very, very well and we trained very, very hard.”

"Injuries are part and parcel of it. 

All you want to do is be out on the pitch playing so it was kind of frustrating, especially because they were niggly injuries and putting you back a week or so. 

"But looking back on it now, that I’m in good health, I’m very thankful that none of the injuries were more serious and it didn’t end the season for me.

DEPTH

“We’ve had fellas who have had that, and I can only imagine how frustrating that is for them. But it just shows the depth in the squad. The attitude was just next man up, and we saw how fellas slotted in seamlessly and were able to perform on the big days.”

On Sunday, 25-year-old Downey could become the first Corkman since Seán Óg Ó hAilpín in 2005 to lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup.

He actually lifted a trophy as a captain against Cork last year - the Canon O'Brien Cup for UCC - but was the skipper as the Rebels regained it in January and the league and Munster trophies have followed.

He admits to being slightly surprised that manager Pat Ryan entrusted him with the honour, but he certainly hasn’t wilted in the role.

“I was taken aback a small bit, yeah,” he says. “I was delighted and hugely honoured. 

To be asked to be captain any team is an honour, but to be asked to be captain of the Cork team is a massive honour.

“Especially with the guys that we have. We’re so close and so tight, so it’s something I’m quite proud of.

“I have a lot of help; there are plenty of fellas with experience around the place and I don’t have to go too far for a bit of advice if I might need it.

“I suppose the biggest thing is that everybody in here is very driven, they want to push on and they want to drive standards every time we go training and every time we’re meeting up.

“So no, I haven’t found it a burden.”