Those Rebels are on the rise.
Cork have won Munster for a second successive year but if captain Seamus Harnedy’s reaction to his county’s 54th ever Munster triumph is anything to go by, this is only the start of it for this Cork side.
They’re into an All-Ireland semi-final now but they’ve been here before and it’s far from resting on their laurels they’ll be after this triumph.
“We’ll relax for the evening and then it’s all focus on that semi-final. It has been a stumbling block for us in the past so we’re due a big performance in it,” he said definitively to SportsJOE’s Colm Parkinson in Semple Stadium.
Indeed, the relatively low-key celebrations of this Munster triumph gives a telling insight into the psyche of this team. They’re gunning for an All-Ireland this time around and they have been since the beginning of the year.
“I’m delighted to get over the line. I really enjoyed the Munster series, I mean it’s every inter-county players’ dream to be playing games as opposed to training. It is tough, don’t get me wrong, but that wraps up the Munster series now so we’re into the All-Ireland now in four weeks.”
At times out there in the Thurles sun it looked as if Cork were firmly under the cosh and at the mercy of a John Conlon inspired Banner outfit, but Harnedy is adamant that the belief was always there.
“We could easily have caved in, but instead we dug in when the times were tough there.”
The heat didn’t deter them. The vibrancy and exuberance of their youthful stars helped them kick for home when it mattered most, according to the St Ita’s club man.
“It was devastating heat out there today. A lot of lads had cramp coming towards the closing stages but thankfully lads kept going to the bitter end.”
Indeed, Harnedy paid particular tribute to those youthful stars, Coleman, Meade and Fitzgibbon – all of whom are growing into the Cork jersey by the game in their second year on the panel.
The moment that Cork were presented with Munster Senior Hurling title. pic.twitter.com/kJ84HnEFqh
— Cork GAA (@OfficialCorkGAA) July 1, 2018
“Coleman got a monster sideline, that was a momentum swinger. In fairness to Luke, the amount of runs he makes is frightening. His cool and calm finish really brought us back into that game.
“Fitzy is a great kid. He’s some threat when he’s on the ball and he’s a potent runner too. He has a great attitude about him. Most of our lads are fairly versatile.”
And of course, that man Patrick Horgan who notched 0-11 on his 50th championship appearance in red.
“Patrick Horgan really stood up there with a few absolute wonder scores. That’s Hoggy for you, he’s a gifted craftsman. There’s no man that deserves it more. He’s a great man to play alongside, he’s really patient and he’s really cool.”
Typically modest, Harnedy wasn’t entertaining any compliments about his own performance even though he was the clear man-of-the-match. He lets his actions do the talking as captain and if those youngsters follow his lead, they won’t stray too far.
“We’ve a young team, I just try to help them as much as I can.”
They’ve come a long way since that three point loss to Wexford in the championship just two years ago.
“Lads had to have a good hard look at themselves, we had to work a bit harder. In fairness, we’ve done that, we’ve a good attitude, a good bunch of lads and a good team spirit. When you’ve that, you can go a long way.”
They’re bidding to go all the way.
You can listen to the rest of this interview on Monday’s GAA Hour Hurling Show…
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