Fierce fire never doused

The legend lives on. And on. In tomorrow's Bank of Ireland Munster football semi-final in Killarney, Larry Tompkins renews an already fabled inter-county career. Even the bulletins make extensive reading: the Kildare man who returned from New York to declare for Cork and so galvanised them with his dedication and focus - to say nothing of the digital precision of his place-kicking - that they won two All-Irelands and subdued Kerry for four years, an unparalleled hegemony for Cork.

There were other grimmer subtexts: the almost frightening commitment to physical fitness, a disregard of the pain barrier that bordered on the reckless for such an injury-prone player.

When the body communicated its distress through the usual medium of pain, Larry wasn't listening.

He captained Cork to the 1990 All-Ireland with a wrecked knee although even his hardy bio-chemicals needed supplementary pain-killers. He took the field in 1992, despite being severely sunburned, in an unavailing attempt to turn a match.

Gradually the damage wore him down. Appearances became less frequent and although he never retired, the 1995 All-Ireland semi-final looked to have been his final appearance for Cork.

A year later, Billy Morgan stepped down as Cork's manager and strongly lobbied for Tompkins to be appointed his successor. As a player of ascetic dedication, Tompkins was an obvious choice and duly took over.

Initially positive signs came to nothing when last year's National League final ended in frustrating defeat against Kerry. Worse was to follow in the championship. A last-second goal doomed Cork after a semi-final with Clare which they had dominated.

There were also misgivings about the Tompkins style which seemed to be more muscle than subtle. At its best - such as in the opening 10 minutes of last year's league semi-final against Kildare - it was a devastating amalgam of physique and speed. At its worst, it was muscle-bound incompetence.

The recruitment of Tompkins as a player had always been floating around but the idea took flight on his performances for Castlehaven in last year's county championship in which they reached the final and went on to win the Munster title, beating Fethard of Tipperary in the final.

Tompkins was the outstanding influence on the Munster final. But this was Fermoy in mid-December and Fethard, although game, were limited. "Then again," says Cork selector Paddy Sheahan about Tompkins's performance against Erin's Isle in the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final, "above in Thurles he had a great outing against far better players."

Sheahan says that the recall of Tompkins is entirely based on current form. "To be honest, we've been looking at all the club matches and he's been one of the best players in the county championship this year. There's not four better forwards in the county, never mind six.

"He scored 1-4 out of 2-10 against Clonakilty and for the last six or eight weeks, he has taken a full part in training and stepped back from the coaching."

Point out that Tompkins hasn't had a good championship performance since 1993 (when a knee injury cost him the later championship matches and Cork perhaps the All-Ireland) and Sheahan replies that the rest has enabled the player to rehabilitate fully and for the first time in a while, Tompkins is completely fit.

"He's had fierce injury problems, both cruciates and his back. Down in Castlehaven, they've always a tendency - Niall Cahalane is the same - to come back too soon and come through the pain barrier.

"He (Tompkins) has marvellous leadership skills and will be able to do it on the pitch and that will help in a big way. He does that with his club, calling the shots on the field. What he lacks in pace he makes up for in experience and he's a marvellous reader of the game.

"We won't expect Larry to be dropping back in front of goal but around the middle, I think there'll be very little clean fielding but there'll be a pile of breaking ball and he'll be under all those breaks."

Meath selector Frank Foley watched Tompkins in action during a recent challenge and was reasonably impressed.

"They beat us eight or nine points although we had a few out injured. They looked strong. Tompkins did well, worked hard, but I thought he wasn't as accurate as he used to be. He won a lot of ball deep and even if he didn't score much, he was moving between midfield and half forward making space. But I don't know if there would be a full 70 minutes in him."

Tompkins himself is non-commital about the whole project. It has placed enormous pressure on him to have forsaken management and to have returned to the pitch. Publicity is only adding to a process which could be seen as setting him up.

"Well, I've just played a few games," he says. "The selectors asked would I consider it so I decided to go back training and see how it would go. I felt okay but the decision was totally left up to them. I've had no involvement in management since. We've been in contact but I can't influence them, they pick the team."

Does he feel that the rest from inter-county play has freshened him and healed his injuries?

"I'll tell you on Sunday evening. But it was never a matter of losing appetite. I'd a lot of injuries but I never lost my appetite for the game. I felt okay after the challenge matches but challenge and championship are different things."

And when he takes the field in Fitzgerald Stadium with a body so patched-up and repaired that it could have been released from the dungeons of a castle during an electrical storm, will there be any foreboding that this match could be a step too far for even his iron will and unflinching determination?

"I've never looked on things like that. I've always looked after myself and would never think anything negative coming up to a game."

Of course not.