Hurling & Camogie

Terence McNaughton has mixed emotions about hurling in January

21/5/2016 Antrims management team terence mc naughton and gary o kane pic seamus loughran.
21/5/2016 Antrims management team terence mc naughton and gary o kane pic seamus loughran. 21/5/2016 Antrims management team terence mc naughton and gary o kane pic seamus loughran.

Conor McGurk Cup Group B: Antrim v Tyrone (today, the Dub, 12pm); Walsh Cup Group Three: Dublin v Antrim (tomorrow, Parnell Park, 2pm)

TERENCE McNAUGHTON is thankful for inter-county hurling fixtures in January.

For the Antrim coach, it is invaluable National League preparation and a chance to see untested players in action. As he says himself, “it’s hard to keep training at this time of the year with no games”.

But then, there is the small matter of, ah, hurling in January, with all the attendant problems of terrible weather and rampant illness.

Take Tuesday night, for example. Antrim against Ulster University at the Dub in the opening game of the Conor McGurk Cup; a perfect opportunity to give young blood a run-out and blow away the Christmas cobwebs in the process. Then along comes Storm Eleanor.

“We put out a very young team, basically an U21 team against Jordanstown and you wouldn’t have had ducks out in that, never mind hurlers,” says McNaughton, who is still astounded the game was allowed to go ahead.

“The night that was in it, it was bordering on ridiculous, like. We thought the posts were going to break at one stage. It was horrendous to be out hurling in it. At one point, I nearly got blown down the field.”

So it may be a case of being careful what you wish for when it comes to hurling in January, although the young Saffrons did come out on the right side of the 1-18 to 2-7 scoreline.

Strangely, McNaughton seemed more enamoured with the previous weekend’s narrow defeat to Meath in the Walsh Cup and what he gleaned from his charges in Navan.

“The result didn’t matter,” adds the Cushendall man of the Leinster warm-up tie.

“The team that was out, that’s what we were looking for. Games like that, you try to take the positives and work on the negatives.

“This time of year, you’re always going to have a couple of negatives and things you can work on, but it is what it is, it’s not going to define the season anyway, but we’re giving guys a game.

“We’re training, but it’s indoors, it’s not really natural. It’s not ideally what you want to be doing this time of the year.

“You want to try and get out and get on the grass and that there, but sure what pitch is available with the rain we’ve had?

“But it’s the same all over Ireland I would imagine, we’re not the only one with that problem.”

The Saffrons have two more chances to limber up for the season’s real curtain raiser – the league game with All-Ireland champions Galway – when they take on Tyrone (McGurk Cup) and Dublin (Walsh Cup) this weekend.

The Dubs, who beat Meath by 16 points earlier in the week, represent a real step up in class though: “Dublin’s a Division One team and we’re a Division Two team and that’s the reality of where we’re at,” McNaughton admits.

“There’s no airs or graces here. Dublin’s one of the best teams in the country, with the talent they’ve to pick from. They’re not worried about numbers or things like that.

“We knew at the start, getting out of the group [Walsh Cup] was never a worry to us.

“We’ve a couple of friendlies pinged in between now and the National League and we’re just looking games, getting the team sorted out in our head, see who’s up for it and who’s not.”

With Matthew Donnelly and Eoin Campbell still long-term casualties and the likes of Simon McCrory and Neil McManus struck down with the flu, numbers and strength in depth are a problem for Antrim at present.

“There’s a flu going about and there’s five or six boys down with that, which doesn’t help…

“I have it coming on myself, you can’t stand about all year with ones sneezing and snattering around you without getting it.”

Hurling in January. Sure, you couldn’t beat it.