Doyle will stick to usual big game routine

When Tommy Buggy was approached and asked to volunteer someone from the team to do a preview interview in the lead up to the final the St Mullins manager didn’t even think about it. He nominated the captain, Paul Doyle, straightaway.

It was an obvious choice and with six senior winners medals, two Joe McDonagh Cups, a Christy Ring Cup winners medal and a National Hurling League Division 2A title the spokesman for the team is drawing from a wealth of experience.

He has been there. Done that and still has a lot more in him. Doyle has always been soft-spoken but there is steel in every aspect of his game. That includes his preparation on the morning of the game which is one of calmness and a knowledge of what the day holds before a ball is thrown in.

“I wouldn’t treat it any different to any other morning of a match. I have a very routine base. We have it instilled into us with the county team particularly with the sports nutritionist about when we should be eating before games,” he explains.

The time span from the time a player wakes up until the ball is thrown in is long. It can get to individuals. Being nervous is fine but there is a balance. As soon as the whistle blows, a county final can appear to be over in the blink of an eye and players can sometimes wonder where did the time go. The St Mullins captain doesn’t have that problem.

“I would be very chilled out. I would go for a walk. Potter around. I might have a few jobs. I wouldn’t be stuck to the couch which could see you being stiff as a board. I might go into town. Get the car washed. I wouldn’t meet up with friends or lads I would be hurling with that evening. I might stick around with family more than anything else,” Doyle explains.

The St Mullins man has travelled the north, south, east and west of Ireland with the county team. Overnight stays have become the norm for the Carlow senior hurlers. Even preparing for trips to venues in Dublin, Westmeath and Waterford can occupy a whole morning. Doyle says that is not the way for the Carlow senior championship.

“That is the best thing about it. Having the games in Carlow doesn’t throw your routine off too much,” he agrees.

And was he always as cool as this?

“Maybe the first few I wasn’t. You put a lot of pressure on yourself to perform on the day. You wouldn’t treat it as another game but really that is what it is apart from the band and a few things like that. With the experience I suppose I am getting better with things like that.” He freely admits that players sometimes need outside help either before or after games. Bringing that back to the club is generally hugely beneficial not just for the player himself but he can impart what has been learned on to the younger players in particular.

“Any time we had psychologists in with the county, they would say you focus on the next ball. Control what you can control and handle your reaction to the last ball. If the ball doesn’t go well for you are you going to drop the head as the next ten are not going to go well for you then. You have to show a bit of character and do your best for the next one that is going to come into you then.” Mount Leinster Rangers and St Mullins test each other out every time they meet. Two years ago, Mullins were favourites but Rangers turned them over. Last season, Rangers were tipped and, while it took a replay, St Mullins emerged victorious. Doyle admits he does feel it whether St Mullins are favourites or fancied to come second on the day. He says the players do their best to avoid thinking about it. Again, it is all about getting the right balance.

“It is not as much as it used to me. I do feel that it is always easier when you are going into a final as underdogs.

“You have to raise your game but we don’t look into that. For the two weeks before the final, we are just looking at ourselves as to what we can do. “Obviously, we will look at Rangers and try to counteract their strengths. I think we should focus on ourselves and our preparation rather than concentrating on what the other team are going to do. If you do that you take the focus off yourself and that is not what you want.” In the semi-final win against Naomh Eoin, the St Mullins duo of Conor Kehoe and James Doyle had a quiet day on the scoring front. Tommy Buggy, the winning manager said the two players had big games even if they didn’t feature strongly on the scoring front.

“Everyone has a role. These lads might not be on the end of moves but the next day they could be the ones popping over the scores. I know Colm Kavanagh and John Doyle got a few scores that day but they could be setting up the play the next day. It doesn’t bother us who is on the scoresheet really. You never think that way. You think about the team.

It is a phenomenon in St Mullins that while they struggle to win underage titles, they are the king-pins of club hurling in the county with 29 titles to their name. That is 11 ahead of Naomh Eoin.

“All you need is to keep adding one or two young lads every year,” points out Paul.

“You have them working in the panel from seventeen years of age. Some of them have been training away for a year before they see any action. Being up around the training drives their standards too. As long as they are in the panel, they can see what is needed and do the work themselves.

“Tommy (Buggy) gives them a chance and sticks with them too. He is good with them too putting his arm around their shoulder. You know yourself sometimes you don’t have the best of days and it is important a manager does that.”