New occasion `but the game is the same'

GEORGE O'CONNOR'S long hurling career with Wexford has been frequently linked with irony. The trend is likely to continue for the stylish veteran before the All Ireland semi final against Galway in Croke Park on Sunday. His prospects of securing a place in the side will depend on the fitness of his younger brother John.

Playing in an All Ireland senior semi final would be a completely new experience for George despite a lengthy career that began with the county seniors as a 19 year old in 1979.

Commenting on this impending new chapter in a career that many would see as one marred by the ultimate in frustration, George said "The occasion for us on Sunday is new, but the game is the same.

When he first came into the Wexford team the big Wexford hurling names were Tony and Colm Doran, Mick Jacob, Ned Buggy, Willie Murphy, "Heffo" Walsh, Christy Keogh, the Quigleys and Mick Butler of Buffers Ally.

This year's Leinster final was his seventh and he has to admit that while having played for only the last five minutes, Wexford's win over Offaly was the highlight of his career so far.

Losing in six Leinster championship finals not to mention league deciders would have been enough to give any player an acute sense of frustration but not Connor's know, looking back I was playing for medals I was playing to win, not for medals".

Is there a contradiction in terms here? "No, not really," he insists. "Every player has his own interpretation on it. I always played for the challenge, ever since I started. With me it was always the challenge of playing on another player."

What he describes as a chronic hand injury kept him out of the starting lineup against Offaly. Yet another piece of irony to haunt the great Wexford hero

"I got a bad blow against Kilkenny and a worse one against Dublin. I didn't realise how bad it was. The one against Dublin nearly finished me off but, thankfully, I was still fit enough to go out against Offaly. I felt ok. I wear these new hurling gloves now. It's a pity they were not around 10 or 15 years ago I would have saved many broken bones".

And, never one to let the opportunity of a little humour slip by George quickly adds. "Maybe had I put the gloves on top of my head years ago it might have been better.

It is typical of the good natured O'Connor to hear him discussing his brother's hand injury and forgetting about his own misfortunes. "John broke his hand against Galway in the league semi final. He was only back for the Leinster final. These injuries take time to heal then you have to strive to get your form back like John has done.

"With a hand injury in hurling all you can do is run and it is difficult losing out on match practice.

His assessment of his own experience of this year's Leinster final is "It was good to get in, the lads were home and dried at that stage.

"I was so caught up in the game watching players and watching the game developing that I forgot all about the idea of getting in myself. What I didn't relish was going from a cold start into a game that was travelling at 100 miles an hour and they starting to stop. I fully appreciate how subs feel now.

"It's very difficult to pick up on a game when it's travelling at that speed. I had a lewd runs and got a couple of pucks. The feeling was so good to hear the roar of the crowd, coming in to be part of a winning Wexford team at last."

O'Connor indicates how focused this Wexford team is by recalling "The excitement of winning that final lasted only two days, Sunday and Monday. We put it behind us. It's written in the history books now. People come up to you and say, Oh, it was a great win. My answer to that is, yes, it was a great win and time for Wexford in the sense that it put Wexford hurling back on the map again. So, hopefully we can remain on the map. Hurling badly needs Wexford I think.

"They forgot to sow the seeds in hurling," was the very appropriate answer, for a farmer, to the question how come, a county so interested in hurling disappeared from the winning enclosure for so long?

"The under aged players had been neglected too long," says O'Connor. "It's very different now, we have an under age structure down here now and full time coaching schemes are in place. The schools are benefiting more now. Mick Kinsella, the county secretary, has achieved great work in this area and Martin Quigley's supporters club brought things along. This is what has hurling thriving again in the county."

Sunday's match will be fast and close in the opinion of O'Connor who stresses. It will be anyone's game. You just can't say. What I do know is that Wexford will perform as good as they can. The wins over Kilkenny and Offaly have gone well back into the back of our minds at this stage. We are just focusing on Galway. My great hope is that we will play as a team on the day. I would rather see IS players achieve man of the match awards than one player coming out with it.

A close match, down to the wire and remember there will be no medals for winning it.