Sarsfields have been walking on water in recent years when it comes to the All-Ireland senior club camogie championship, but in recent weeks team captain Laura Ward has gone for a more submerged approach in her bid to be fit for Sunday’s final.
Ward suffered a calf injury during the warm-up of their semi-final and, while she managed to play through the pain barrier, the Galway star came off the pitch in the closing stages of that win over Sarsfields of Cork.
In an effort to aid recovery and lead her club’s three-in-a-row bid, Ward was a regular visitor to Loughrea Lake over the last fortnight.
“I was in there every evening after school,” said the trainee teacher. “It was absolutely baltic. Our physios were brilliant and I suppose the lake was the magic spray, as they say. The lake was always minus degrees when I was going in.
GAA previews: Goal-hungry Na Fianna bidding to book All-Ireland final place
Sarsfields still savouring the sweet taste of provincial success
The top 25 women’s sporting moments of the year: 25-6 revealed with Mona McSharry, Rachael Blackmore and relay team featuring
Sarsfields captain Niamh McGrath on returning to the pitch after childbirth: ‘I’m not an inspiration to anyone’
“I was putting the calf in and that was it, there was nothing else going in. I literally had a 10-minute timer set on my watch and I was not going over a minute longer. I’m 100 per cent now for the weekend.”
[ McGrath sisters to the fore again as Sarsfields retain senior club camogie titleOpens in new window ]
Sunday’s AIB All-Ireland club decider against Dicksboro at Croke Park will be the seventh final Sarsfields have played in eight seasons – but before this golden period the Galway outfit had to endure their share of heartbreak.
Sarsfields lost deciders in 2017 and 2018, before getting over the line for their maiden All-Ireland triumph in 2020. They came up short the following season, losing to Oulart-the Ballagh, but are now seeking a third successive title.
“Those losses are the ones that you actually think about,” says Ward. “When you’re thinking about matches and trying to prepare for a game, you’re thinking about that feeling. You never feel as alone as when the ref blows the whistle and you’ve lost an All-Ireland final in Croke Park. It’s a horrible feeling.”
Their most recent final loss, to Oulart, occurred just one week before Christmas, and left a mark.
“It was the longest bus journey ever coming home that day. It was absolutely devastating, but we’re such a close-knit bunch of girls. I suppose we all had each other’s back.
“When we came back after Christmas, we sat down and we analysed and we sat in a room and we absolutely said what we did wrong. Everyone stood up and said this wasn’t good enough. And that probably stood to us the following year. Everybody was able to learn from it.”
Learnings. Both Sarsfields and Dicksboro will hope to have taken their fair share of those from a challenge match the sides played in New Inn during the summer – a match Dicksboro won.
“I don’t like to think about it too much,” smiles Ward. “They beat us well in that challenge, which definitely stands to them ahead of this one.
“We also had Niamh McGrath, our captain last year, playing that day and we’re down her now [pregnant]. Looking back on that, we had to take a lot from it, they were unreal on the day and we weren’t expecting it. I think they beat us by seven points in the end.”
As Dicksboro carved a path through Kilkenny and ultimately towards a first ever All-Ireland senior club camogie final appearance this weekend, that challenge match has been mentioned around the Ward kitchen table.
But mostly they try to avoid talking shop at home, if at all possible. Tony Ward is Laura’s dad while her brother Kevin is the team trainer and a selector, plus her sister Ciara is on the panel too and fills the role as club secretary as well.
“When we come in from the matches, mam makes him [dad] leave the room so we don’t have to discuss how I played and how we played,” adds Laura.
And Kevin’s involvement makes for an interesting sibling relationship.
“There are times where we walk away from training and we can’t even look at each other because we are so mad at each other,” smiles Laura.
“I suppose he does treat myself and Ciara a little bit harsher at times, he can turn around and say what he wants to us whereas he has to filter himself a little bit to other girls – not saying he does filter himself all the time!
“There are times where we walk in the door for Sunday dinner after training on a Sunday morning and we can’t even look at each other. Then there are times when we can actually sit down and chat about it, but to be honest we try avoid talking about it all the time too.”
Because in recent years Sarsfields have tended to do most of their talking on the field.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Find The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Our In The News podcast is now published daily - Find the latest episode here
