Senior Hurling/Shinty International: Ireland v Scotland (Saturday, Cusack Park, Ennis, TG4 Sport YouTube)
Joint Ireland manager Terence McNaughton reckons Scotland will bring ‘blood and thunder’ to Ennis.
Cusack Park will host the annual hurling/shinty international with the hosts chasing back-to-back wins after their 2023 success in Newry.
Prior to that, the series had been parked since 2019 when Ireland slumped to their fourth consecutive loss with a 0-4 to 5-11 defeat to the Scots.
Scotland manager Garry Reid said he noticed a clear ‘enthusiasm’ from Ireland last year which had been missing up to then.
McNaughton promised that it will be there again this weekend but the Antrim great is also expecting Scotland’s shinty stars to turn up the heat themselves.
“At the end of the day you’re marking shinty lads who have a four-foot stick and they know how to pull,” said McNaughton.
“They didn’t come over here for the holiday last year and it’ll be the same this time, the Scottish lads don’t like to get beaten. I would imagine there’ll be a wee bit of blood and thunder coming to Ennis.”
But McNaughton said Ireland are ‘here to win’ and he’s hoping their MacCarthy Cup contingent can inspire a win at the home of the All-Ireland champions.
Clare’s Aidan McCarthy and Shane Meehan, Limerick duo Tom and Dan Morrissey, Galway’s Cianan Fahy and Kilkenny duo Martin Keoghan and Eoin Cody are the seven MacCarthy Cup players.
The other 13 that make the 20-man panel were picked from the lower tiers.
“It’s great to see the Lory Meagher players and the players who would never get a chance otherwise to be on the field with Tom Morrissey and Eoin Cody and these players,” said McNaughton.
“It’s really something for them.”
The principal compromise for hurlers in the hybrid game is that they can’t catch the ball.
So training has centred around drills for pulling hard on the ground and in the air, as well as traditional hurling skills like ground blocking.
“Any hurling people who hark for the day of ground hurling, stepping in and letting her go, come to Ennis,” said McNaughton.
“I think this game has a place, it’s exciting, it’s fast. It’s very aggressive. There is a place for this game, no question about it.”
But whether or not there is a place for the skills of the hybrid game in modern hurling, that’s debatable.
“Look, I think that horse has bolted,” said McNaughton.
“I don’t think we’ll ever go back to the days of overhead pulling and ground hurling. The game has evolved and to be fair you couldn’t find fault with this year’s All-Ireland.
“The hurling/shinty game is different. You’re not allowed to take the ball in your hands so it doesn’t give you any time.
“Like, if you’re coaching in hurling now, you’re looking for it to go directly to hand, then it’s look up and see who to pass to, give a 15-yard pop pass. This game is nothing like that.
“You can’t take it in the hand so you just don’t have any time to delay on the ball.
“Because the Scottish lads come with some enthusiasm and desire. They’re on you right away and you need to move the ball fast or else you’re going to get caught. It’s a whole different game.
“It’s more or less back to what hurling was in the 60s and 70s, moving it on quick.”