Nathan Kelly
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Winning the holy trinity of the senior Dublin, Leinster and All-Ireland football Championships is an achievement that needs little lyrical waxing. But to win it two years in a row would truly be something remarkable.
For St Vincent’s senior footballers, however, it could become a much more realistic ambition if they are able to claim Leinster glory for the second year running this Sunday in Navan vs Rhode GAA from Offaly.
Speaking to GazetteSport in the lead-up to the final, Vincent’s selector Niall Curran previewed the tie. “We are really looking forward to it”, he said. “It’s a Leinster final and it should be a great occasion against really good opposition who we really have a lot of regard for. Rhode have been knocking on the door to get into a Leinster final for the last seven or so years, so they are really good opposition.”
In regards to the midlands club, Curran was respectful but firm in his views that there is only team Vincent’s should focus on: He said: “We’ve seen bits and pieces [of Rhode] but to be honest, our philosophy has always been to concentrate on ourselves rather than looking at opposition. We always accept and believe that whatever we do is within our control rather than worry too much about our opponents and how they will lay out and set themselves up.”
On how the Marino-based club are looking with the game so close, the selector had good news for local fans by telling us: “Thankfully everyone is 100% fit. We’ve been very fortunate with injuries in the sense that we haven’t had any real issues at all this season. Everyone is just raring to go at this stage.”
With the big game being such a massive occasion, some clubs would often adjust their training schedules to ensure as much preparation is squashed into this week as possible, but Curran insisted that this side are quite relaxed in terms of their training this week.
He said: “We kind of have a pattern that we stick to for every match. We’ll do a little bit of training tonight [Tuesday], another bit on Friday night and that’s it. The work is either done or it’s not done at this stage, there isn’t much more you can do other than making sure the lads are relaxed and in the right place come Sunday. You obviously cannot do too much physical work in the week leading up to such a game as its too close and too much of a risk, so freshness will be the key come Sunday.”
If Vincent’s can show enough freshness, as well as their well-known ability this Sunday afternoon in Navan, a repeat of last season’s incredible success will be a serious possibility.
