Gavin Cummiskeytalks to Jackie Tyrrell who gives him an insight into the different styles of Davy Fitzgerald and Brian Cody
COMING OUT of the Kilkenny media night, two reporters stall at the gate of Langton's to contemplate the quickest route out of the Marble City.
Walking past is a track-suited man who is in possession of three All-Ireland medals. Even though he was captain in 2006 and is a current All Star, there was a hesitation to call him Jackie Tyrrell.
The man gestures towards the Carlow road with a smirk before disappearing into the night. The reporters are just passing through hurling's epicentre. You see, a degree of anonymity follows the Kilkenny hurler outside his own border. For such a ridiculously successful team they manage to consistently shun the limelight.
To gauge the bare facts of an Irish sportsman's career simply type his name into Wikipedia. This is the lazy man's dream. The only note of caution is seemingly anyone can add to this "fact file" website. Read the end of Tyrrell's page and this becomes apparent. Mostly it is good-natured humour.
The Kilkenny hurlers' information is like reading through a list of clones. The secondary school education more often than not is St Kieran's College - "a famed hurling nursery in Kilkenny city".
Tyrrell is no different and two Leinster colleges medals along with an All-Ireland title duly followed. Then it is on to third level where, in this case, he came under the guidance of Waterford manager Davy Fitzgerald at LIT for Fitzgibbon duty.
"I was in Limerick Institute of Technology; he trained us there and we won two Fitzgibbons. He is a brilliant trainer; very organised, very professional. I had a good time down there and I would have great time for Davy. He is a very good manger and seems to be doing very well for Waterford."
There is an obvious issue that will be discussed behind closed doors by both camps. Fitzgerald has coached several Kilkenny players and would know their ways. But they know Davy. They know his methodology. Granted, he has probably evolved as a trainer but both sides will surely seek to use prior knowledge to their advantage.
Tyrrell is asked to contrast the styles of Brian Cody and Davy Fitz. "Davy is what he is. He wears his heart on his sleeve on the sideline. He is pure raw passion. Brian is a bit more conservative. Sometimes you'd see Brian being animated on the sideline so there are a lot of similarities between the two of them alright. Their success speaks for itself."
Translation: Davy Fitz has the capacity to completely blow a gasket on Sunday while it is highly unlikely Cool Hand Cody will blink when the intensity is raised.
The only image we have of Cody losing it is after that late Wexford goal in the 2004 Leinster semi-final when his legs understandably buckled as he stood at Hill 16. Fitzgerald has given us hundreds of outbursts down the years.
The club in Tyrrell's case is James Stephens. Cody's club or The Village as it is known locally. A famous day out on March 17th 2005 brought them national honours. This led to the county captaincy being bestowed on Tyrrell the next season. It was a natural appointment considering he led the under-21s to the 2003 All-Ireland when they overcame Galway in the final.
Tyrrell admits the advantage of having experienced All-Ireland final day, particularly these past two seasons but only if "Waterford get sucked into the hype".
"I suppose we have been there and know what to expect but I'm sure Waterford are mature enough. They have been hurling long enough to know what to do."
Jackie Tyrrell
Age: 26
Club: James Stephens
Honours: 3 All-Irelands, 5 Leinster titles, 1 All-Ireland club, 2 NHL, 1 All-Ireland U-21, 2 Fitzgibbon Cup (LIT).
