Patrick Horgan enjoying watching Cork through a different lens
Michael Bolton
While Patrick Horgan may not be lining out for the Cork hurlers anymore, he has still been on our screens on Sundays, continuing to be a key part of the action.
After his retirement from inter-county hurling, Horgan did not stay away from the game for long, becoming a pundit on The Sunday Game.
The Glen Rovers man has taken to the roll instantly, both in live games and on the Sunday game highlights show.
Having played in an All-Ireland final last year, Horgan is familiar with the modern game, having played with and against the best players in the country.
With some of his closest former teamamtes till in action, he has not let it cloud his judgment.
"You just have to watch it. You can watch it like 'that was a great score' or 'I hope we win the next one'. It's looking for patterns of play, how a team is gaining momentum or how they're winning games.
"There's a lot more to it than watching it as you see it. There are things going on that teams are tying to do. Trying to find that is an interesting way of looking at hurling.
"When I was playing with Cork, you know what you're trying to work on yourself as a team. Outside of that I wouldn't exactly be looking at other teams too much, outside of our own analysis within the team that we would be doing...
"I wouldn't have watched games before, I wouldn't have watched hurling. Now I'm looking forward to watching it.
"Saturday I'm looking forward to the Leinster final and Sunday obviously I'll be glued to Cork and Limerick."
This Sunday will see Cork take on Limerick in the Munster final, in what will be their fourth match up of the season.
Cork were the winners in the round robin stage of the Munster championship, while Limerick have a final victory over Cork already this season in Division 1A.
12 months on from their classic enounter which Cork won by penalties, Horgan cannot see anything to split the sides once again.
"It was unbelievable for us. The difference was we came home saying we won the game, and they went home saying they lost the game.
"It had a major affect on Limerick;s next outing against Dublin. There was nothing seperating the teams.
"They were very closely matched. They have been for so long now, Sunday is going to be the exact same. There will be one or two things that will sway it.
"It is just too hard to call."
Days like Sunday is moments where Horgan showed why he was one of the greatest hurlers to put on the Cork jersey.
In a first provincial final since his retirement, he was honest about how he feels when asked if he misses inter-county hurling.
"Not much, to be honest. The weather hasn't helped with that either, the weather has been desperate.
"When I'm out, I'm out. I'm training with the Glen now, that's all I'm focused on hurling wise when I'm up there training. Outside of that, I've everything else with the punditry so I'm fierce busy, and don't even have time to think about. It's not something I missed."
