Division One Final preview: Cork Constitution v Shannon. It has a certain resonance to it. All season the All-Ireland League Division One table seemed to be pointing to this conclusion, the league's most successful clubs in its 15-year history meeting in the final for the second time in three years, writes Gerry Thornley
Munster players come and go, the Celtic League gets bigger, interest in the domestic game wanes, but somehow these two standard-bearers keep on going. This will be Shannon's third final and Con's fourth since they were introduced six years ago.
Both teams are desperately striving for the tag of underdogs, the Con captain David O'Brien reasoning: "When you play Shannon you always are."
Shannon counter by repeatedly stressing Con played them off the pitch in winning by an unflattering 30-22 on April 3rd, when Shannon scored two late tries. And Con have since added the strength and ball carrying of Dave Pusey and Anthony Horgan to the equation. "Ah, but they only had a B team out that day," maintains O'Brien.
Con's hand has, however, been weakened by the cruelly timed bouts of concussion which have forced goalkicking scrumhalf and regular match-winner Pat McCarthy, as well as Ultan O'Callaghan, out of the game, and centre Cian Mahony, who has to attend his sister's wedding in England. It seems particularly cruel the latter two will be missing their third final. In O'Callaghan's case what would probably have been an ideal farewell before retirement.
It also seems cruel but somehow fitting that both finalists were awaiting to see how some of their provincial players performed last night before finalising their line-ups.
To compound Con's preparation and selection posers, the ripple effect of Paul O'Connell's withdrawal from Munster's Celtic League match against Connacht last night may well confine Dave Pusey (a big contributor to their semi-final win over Buccaneers) to a replacement's role at best, and likewise last week's primary attacking weapon Anthony Horgan in light of his Munster recall.
Thomas O'Leary will revert to scrumhalf from wing (there's a possibility Brian O'Meara will be on the bench) while Kiwi Steve McColl returns at outhalf with Conrad O'Sullivan returning to midfield.
Shannon coach Geoff Moylan is also waiting to see how Jerry Flannery, Frank Roche, Trevor Hogan, Stephen Keogh and Mossy Lawlor come through their involvement with Munster. Flannery is likely to be on the bench with the rest starting, while Moylan may well recall Eddie Halvey to the starting line-up.
Not alone do Con lead Shannon in their head-to-heads by eight to seven, they've also recorded one more AIL win, 111 to 110, since the AIL's inception. The symmetry of these things points to a Shannon win, but more pertinently, so does their unequalled "winning mentality". They've won both previous deciders at Lansdowne Road and have won three finals this year.
"Experience is the key, you can't buy that," admits Moylan. "We've a pretty good record in finals and I know we have players who are not going to panic."
That said, he stresses, "Con gave us a right pasting a month ago. They beat us in every facet of the game."
His counterpart Brian Walsh was typically sanguine about his disruptions this week and the challenge facing his young team. "Shannon play good Cup rugby, they don't make many mistakes and they put you under constant pressure. Withstanding that pressure and sticking to your rugby, not to bottle it, is I think the key to beating them."
Shannon have the more settled, more potent-looking back line, whereas Con's preparations seem to be the more unsettled.
Finals have a tendency to make teams clam up, but while it will undoubtedly be tense and intense, if both sides are true to their attacking, ball-in-hand principles, ironically it could be a better final than some of the more high-profile and star-studded clashes of yore.
CORK CONSTITUTION (possible): D O'Brien (capt); D Dillon, J-V Igarza, C O'Sullivan, C Healy; S McColl, T O'Leary; G Murray, D Murray, M Ross, C O'Keefe/K Coughlan, S O'Connor, J Sheahan, B O'Connor, J Murray. Replacements (from): D Fogarty, R McGrath, C O'Keefe, K Coughlan, D Pusey, B O'Meara, F O'Gara, A Horgan.
SHANNON (possible): J Lacey; T Cregan, B Tuohy, E Cahill, M Lawlor; A Thompson, F O'Loughlin; F Roche, N Conroy, G McNamara, T Hogan, T Hayes (capt), C McMahon, E Halvey, J O'Connor. Replacements (from): J Flannery, T Buckley, B Buckley, T Downes, J Hadnett, S Keogh, D O'Donovan, I Dowling, G Murray.
Referee: Alan Lewis
