He’s not the only one using it.
When Donnacha Ryan walked into the Stade Marcel Michelin dressing rooms prior to Racing 92’s Champions Cup quarter final clash against Clermont Auvergne with a sliotar in hand a couple of weeks ago, there’s no doubting that a couple of mystified gazes were sent in the Nenagh man’s direction, in the direction of his right hand.
This is the heart of France, for God’s sake, and without generalising our French fréres, it’s not exactly a famed hurling stronghold.
So it is with reluctance, on the basis that there may be a couple of undercover Gaels in the Paris region or indeed further afield, that we surmise that nobody present had a clue what was going on at this very moment.
Ryan was kitted out in the same gear as his teammates. Sporting a casual hoodie and tracksuit combination, his suitcase trailed his path as he listened to music through his headphones.
Standard enough, says the Frenchies. But in his hand was a size 5 O’Neill’s sliotar with Nenagh Éire Óg crest on it. That’s where the confusion may have began.
Q : How does Donnacha Ryan keep the focus ?
A : He carries a Nenagh Eire Óg sliotar everywhere !Great photo by James Crombie INPHO pic.twitter.com/5u4gPFqjT9
— North Tipperary GAA (@NorthTippGAA) April 2, 2018
We doubt the onlookers knew much about the North Tipperary senior hurling championship.
Indeed, Ryan was a hurler before he was a rugby player. Just like the majority of Irish kids, the local GAA club was his the first port of call and he spent many summers following a smaller ball around the hallowed turf of McDonagh Park, Nenagh than he does now.
Upon his parting for France, his club presented him with a few sliotars in case he ever got the notion to start swinging that hurl of his again.
As he told us on The Hard Yards on Monday, he’s content enough where he is at the moment. That’s hardly surprising given that his team are now preparing for a Champions Cup final after a convincing victory, that he played a huge part in, over his home province on Sunday afternoon.
A true gent of the game! Donnacha Ryan embraces the Munster fans as he leaves the pitch in Bordeaux. #ChampionsCup #R92vMUN pic.twitter.com/1zwEwvigif
— sportsfile (@sportsfile) April 22, 2018
The reason he carries the sliotar around with him is simple, and many hurlers around the country do the same themselves.
With so much emphasis being placed on injury prevention in modern day sport, self myofascial release is taking place in gyms and homes all over the country.
Where many use foam rollers and even acupuncture to target and release tension that has built up in them, often hurlers will use the tool that they always have knocking around the house, the sliotar.
Ryan used to use a hockey ball but with them being misplaced all too regularly, he’s placing his faith in his old reliable.
“Basically, I normally use a hockey ball as a trigger point thing for recovery, but my hockey balls have all gone missing inside in the club, so I’ve been using a sliotar, I know nobody has a sliotar.”
Ryan received a rapturous reception from the Munster faithful in Bordeaux on Sunday, with one fan firing a sliotar into his path.
“They fired a Nenagh Éire Og one onto the pitch, thankfully, I’ve two of them now so I can go for a few pucks without the risk of losing it.”
“Yeah, I don’t know was he throwing it too me or trying to hop it off my head,” he laughed.
Ryan found it strange to play against his old province, but like everybody else, he was blown away by their brilliant support.
“Playing against Munster is such a strange situation. I know all the players so well. It was a massive high pressure game…even coming in on the bus on the way in, hearing the Fields of Athenry on the way in, it was just fantastic.”
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