LEINSTER SHC WEXFORD V DUBLIN: Tom Humphriesfinds the Wexford manager in determined mood despite the current pessimism surrounding his county's prospects
JOHN MEYLER drives the car and talks the talk. He should have his own lane really, kept free for him to drive in as he unspools the thoughts that crowd his head about the place he is going to and the place he is coming from. Cork to Wexford. Two different hurling civilisations to shuttle between.
In Cork he danders out and he inhales a culture of winning every time he breathes. He saw last Sunday's defeat on the Lee and how hard it went on the native psyche, but recognised early in the week the steely determination to bounce back to relevance. Any defeat is a crisis and any crisis needs solving. His home place has a different biorhythm.
Wexford has less of a sense of itself and its standing in the world. In many ways, when he goes home, Meyler can't win, just as no Wexford manager will be able to win till they deliver what Liam Griffin delivered unto the faithful. Until then, Wexford will dither between overly celebrating imminent feasts and excessively mourning savage famine. Some years, like last year, they do both.
Going home to coach in Wexford was a culture shock for Meyler after 34 years living in Cork. As a young fella he went from Lady's Island, a junior hurling club at home, to the St Finbarr's senior side in Cork, an ivy-clad university of learning about hurling. When he lists the influences who shaped the Finbarr's dressingrooms in the 1980s you understand the source spring of his endless enthusiasm and the reason why he gets frustrated.
He walked into a world where he was a student and Gerald McCarthy and Charlie McCarthy and Con Roche and Donal O'Grady and Tony Maher were the deans. And coming along within the faculty were John Allen and Jimmy Barry Murphy and Ger Cunningham and Denis Burns.
"We had superb teachers. Pure gentlemen and scholars of the game. And a lineage there. A lot of fellas there who had been coached by Mick Kennefick, the youngest ever All-Ireland captain back in '43. It got handed down." He remembers one night feeling full of vim and trying for a point from some 60 yards out on the wing. He missed and shrugged to himself. Jimmy O'Grady, father of Donal, called him aside and asked him who did he think he was.
"John Meyler?" came the reply.
"That's who you are but who do you think you are? Christy Ring wouldn't have tried that and neither would Our Lord. You're big boots, are ya?"
And a day or two later Jimmy called into the dairy where John Meyler was working at the time. He was looking for a gallon of ice cream and a chat about hurling. "I'm not being too hard on you now, am I?" he said to Meyler. "But listen, would you not think that if you gave it in to, say, Jimmy Barry (Murphy) he might score from farther in? He's a good player, ya know."
And it struck Meyler, all this attention to one missed point, excellence has to permeate in every way possible. "You'd have a couple of county medals and start to feel confident and then realise you were talking to lads who had as many or twice as many All-Ireland medals as you had county medals. You gave them respect and they taught with love and affection and pure hurling. "
And that is what informs him. There are people who mistake Meyler's vociferous passion as something suspect in a game where the disdain of the hurling snob is far easier to attract than the respect of the masses - but it is love and the eagerness to pass it on which have kept him coaching through a stint on the roads to Kerry, through decades with colleges teams in CIT, with Cork underage teams and with club teams. Love of the game and respect.
So back to the culture shock. He references Cork again, the demand for hurling success every year, the success of the footballers, their part in Munster's success. The association of a red jersey with winning, winning, winning.
"They have a whole culture of winning in Cork. In Wexford if we are winning one in 10 against Kilkenny then it's enough. We are hanging in. That culture is not in Wexford. There is no middle ground with us; we are brilliant or we are useless. In Cork, when they lose, next year or the next game is on the way. Even after the strike, people said sure it's no harm to get a break; a negative turned into a positive. Any adversity makes them stronger. They develop on that. They thrive. That's the challenge for us. "
If he could change anything it would be that culture in Wexford. He believes Griffin's revolution gave Wexford the right to expectation. He wants people to demand more and expect more. He'd love everyone to spend a month or two in Cork to see the pace, the real intensity of the local championships. He'd love to superimpose the passion that is created when Newtownshandrum play Erin's Own: hammer-and-tongs intensity. Next Saturday, in the Park, the Barrs play the Rockies and the Glen are out against Na Piarsaigh. Four city clubs . Quality hurling.
"There is that culture of intensity and winning and doing everything right. The anthem, to the programme, to the flags, to the linesman. They are success oriented. They demand success, they demand winning. They won't accept second. There is that culture of belief that is translated into everyday life. They associate the red jersey with success. If we could instill into Wexford that Cork idea that no matter how bad it is they are still better than everyone else it would be a headstart."
He instances last year's All-Ireland quarter-final against Tipperary. Wexford got a late penalty and cometh the hour cometh Damien Fitzhenry. The goalie dispatched the ball to the Tipp net and Wexford closed out the game looking suddenly unbeatable.
"And we won every ball for the last five minutes. I remember (Eoin) Quigley putting a ball over the bar over his shoulder. That gave us huge confidence. Fitzie stepped up to the plate and put it in the bottom of the net and we realised we could do it; it is in there inside us, we just have to find it. It was there in 2004 as well. We have to find it and get it all out of ourselves, each of us at one time. Strong counties get it out of themselves nine times out of 10. Less with us. I don't know why. Tradition and culture."
In the All-Ireland semi-final Wexford needed any opposition except Kilkenny. Of course they had Kilkenny. Tipp have bounced back and tapped into that belief that is their birthright. Wexford wonder if they will prevail tonight against Dublin.
That's what makes John Meyler more complicated then people take him for. You ask him how deep a crisis it would be for Wexford hurling if in this, the year of their relegation, they were to lose to Dublin this evening.
When he says bluntly, "We won't lose," he is not being bumptious and mouthy and offering hostages to fate and quotes that can be stuck in rival dressingrooms. He is refusing to admit the possibility of defeat into a Wexford dressingroom where that possibility generally has its own seat.
What will happen if we lose is not a question that occupies much time in Cork or Kilkenny or Tipp because if you think about losing the dread of it diminishes and once you can digest defeat it becomes part of your diet.
So when John Meyler says, "We won't lose," he is exorcising a demon from the Wexford dresssingroom, not acting the big boots. And it is a demon he knows needs banishing. This year in the league Wexford failed to kick on from the grandstanding of that fine finish against Tipperary. They started off well against Waterford and Meyler was pleased. And then Antrim. To this day he doesn't know what happened.
"I thought everything was right and it went arseways. Put extra pressure on us."
In that situation the last thing they needed was what they got. Kilkenny came to Wexford Park and clinically removed the stuffing from Meyler's team. By then there were just two games left, Dublin and Cork, and Wexford knew they needed to use those games to concentrate on finding a couple of players that might really stand up to championship. So they played fellas in different positions and tried new things and got a point from the two games and a ticket to Division Two.
"Trying to stay up and trying to find players and to win matches - it's a difficult balance and you can get into trouble. We will find out Saturday evening by six o'clock if we found anybody. That will determine how successful the league was."
He drew some scorn upon himself for looking for the GAA to intervene to rescue Wexford from the drop, as has been done before in times of structural uncertainty. He stands by his call: "I do feel it was wrong to have Wexford relegated. There are only 10 or 12 hurling teams in the country and they need to be at the top table all the time. You can relegate teams and say that is grand, down you go, and while that team is down the gap will increase. Wexford drop back and it makes it easier for Kilkenny in Leinster even if Dublin are coming up.
"We need to create an atmosphere in Leinster hurling like they had in the Park last Sunday. I think it would probably be better if you played the Leinster final in Nowlan Park and packed in 28,000 people and had a great atmosphere. Forget about Croke Park. Bring that full-house intensity rather than have people rattling around Croke Park. Last week in Páirc Uí Chaoimh there was just red and blue. Waterford and Clare the previous weekend. That generates intensity. We need Wexford and Dublin and Offaly and whoever else to be strong. Guaranteeing relegation to some team and setting them back won't do it. Impose the right structures, make sure they are doing the right thing, monitor the game in each county. But for the future of hurling keep teams up there. Pressure them in more positive ways."
He admires the structures in Kilkenny and the wisdom of getting great players out to pass on the knowledge to kids. He is hopeful the work being done by George O'Connor, Billy Byrne, Tom Dempsey, Liam Dunne, Rory McCarthy and others will start to produce dividends soon in Wexford. He looks around him and sees what is possible. Sees it facing him this evening.
"Dublin. In 2001 or 2000 we beat them in the minor semi-final and they have made constant progress since then. They have developed that pedigree at underage level which has to come through at senior level. They have created an expectation about themselves and that is great. I was impressed with them last year and this year. It's only a matter of time that they make the breakthrough and it will be great. We have to be at that level too. We will all push each other on."
And so Wexford and Dublin return to Nowlan Park this evening, where Nicky Lambert's last-second pointed free let Wexford live last summer. This week as he drives, Meyler has imagined every possible scenario. When he gets home from training most evenings it is around midnight and typically he will have imagined every permutation and possibility and analysed yet again the strengths or weaknesses of every player he has and every player he faces.
This afternoon is a desperately important game for the future of Leinster hurling. The winners go forth with their slingshots to face the striped goliaths, the losers get tossed into an abyss. Meyler will be there on the line, passion spilling from every pore, railing against the culture of defeat, pouring all that energy into a new day for the home place.
Wexford v Dublin
Seán Moran
THIS HAS to be Dublin's year. All of the under-age optimism needs a win at senior level to maintain momentum and this couldn't be more favourably aligned: a Wexford team in depression after league relegation and not firing particularly well in challenges.
Rory Jacob could technically cut loose, but he isn't surrounded with proven scorers. At centrefield, John Meyler goes for MJ Furlong and newcomer Colin Farrell and they will have their work cut out.Simon Lambert brings a deft appreciation of the right type of ball for David O'Callaghan.
In defence, David O'Connor is vulnerable to pace and Keith Rossiter is getting over a hamstring injury. There is good ball-winning capacity in the forwards and Ronan Fallon showed last year that even as solid a full back line as Wexford's can crack.
DUBLIN:G Maguire; N Corcoran, S Hiney, T Brady; M Carton, R Fallon, J Boland; J McCaffrey, S Lambert; J Burke, D O'Dwyer, K Flynn; D O'Callaghan, J Kelly, R O'Carroll.
WEXFORD:D Fitzhenry; M Travers, K Rossiter, P Roche; M Jacob, D O'Connor, D Stamp; MJ Furlong, C Farrell; PJ Nolan, E Quigley, D Lyng; D Redmond, S Banville, R Jacob.
Referee:S Roche (Tipperary).
GUIDELINES
In the last episode:Last year it took a last-minute free from 75 metres to edge Wexford home. You bet: Wexford are strong favourites at 4/7 with Dublin available at 13/8 and the draw at 9/1.
On your marks:Can Dublin take enough scores off a Wexford defence that is the team's most accomplished sector? David O'Callaghan has brought consistent firepower since switching from the footballers, but isn't as high-yield a free-taker as Kevin O'Reilly.
Gaining ground:Wexford have a good record in Nowlan Park.
Just the ticket:Old Stand is €20 (no concessions). New Stand is €20 for adults and children at €5 (concessionary rebates of €10 for students and senior citizens). Terrace is €15 (children €3).
Crystal gazing:Dublin had a better league and a first-round tie under their belt. Wexford have lost players to retirement. It should add up to Dublin's first Leinster final since 1991.
