All-Ireland League final: Cork Constitution captain David O'Brien tells Gerry Thornley his side are one step away from their season's goal
Ten months ago, yes 10 months ago, the Cork Constitution congregated for their pre-season training in Clonakilty in west Cork.
As much as anything it was a chance to address what went wrong the previous season, and to set their goals for this season. Today they are one step away from achieving their goal. In Constitution, tradition and history decrees that they set their targets high.
One of the four ever-presents in the top flight of the AIB All-Ireland League, two titles in the inaugural season of 1990/91 and '98/99 hardly reflects their enduring consistency.
The first club to achieve 100 AIL wins (only Shannon have since emulated them), this will be their fourth Lansdowne Road decider in the last six seasons, and as in their defeats three and two years ago to Shannon and Dungannon, Constitution have topped the table.
The key to another tilt at the title was an almost semi-professional commitment from a largely amateur squad, and to that end the coming together of their one-time Rolls-Royce of a centre/full back Brian Walsh and ex-flanker David Corkery was a vital ingredient.
"Player commitment," had been the problem last season, according to their captain David O'Brien, "and when the level of coaching came in, people's goals were set higher."
As a rookie coach, Walsh has made quite an impression, and the modus operandi of these two contrasting individuals will come as no surprise. "Squeaks (Walsh) is so astute as a coach. He knows so much," enthuses O'Brien. "He's the best I've had, backs-wise anyway, and I've had (Declan) Kidney and others. He's a super speaker, so calm.
"Then Corks is in your face and squeezing your arm, the two have contradictory styles but they work brilliantly together."
No less than Shannon, Constitution are rarely beaten until the fat lady sings, and they have been the escapologists of the campaign, retrieving six games in injury time.
"That tells us much about their durability, mental strength and fitness, as much as their good fortune.
"You can't be lucky six times," reasons O'Brien. "Even if you are within a score coming into the last couple of minutes you must be doing something right.
"You don't play well in every game and it's also due to Corks and Squeaks, and what they've pounded into us. One of our mottos was 'no regrets' at the start of the season, and I don't think we have any of those. If you see a gap, go for the gap, if you think you can do something, don't pull back."
The pick of them was a recovery at the death from a 15-point deficit at home to Blackrock.
"For the winning try we must have gone through 20 phases to score in the corner. That's a team playing for each other and not being afraid to look for the ball."
The way Constitution stayed true to their expansive, ball-in-hand principles during a relatively critical spell against Buccaneers last week was as impressive as anything else about their semi-final win.
"Come Saturday, we don't want to freeze. We want no regrets, we want to express ourselves. We've good backs and we throw the ball around more than ever before."
The emergence up front of the unrelated O'Connors, the athletic and skilful Irish under-21 lock Shane O'Connor and number eight Brendan O'Connor, the gifted 21-year-old back-rower Frank Hogan (who has been sidelined with cruciate ligament damage), the ultra-hard young lock Kevin Coughlan, and scrumhalves Pat McCarthy and Thomas O'Leary, is typical of a young, remodelled side, many of whom look destined for bigger things.
"I played on the 1999 side when we beat Garryowen and you look at Ronan O'Gara, Anthony Horgan, John Kelly, Frankie Sheahan, Mick O'Driscoll and Donncha O'Callaghan; none of these guys were on the starting team for Munster then," says O'Brien.
"I think this will be a great stepping stone for a lot of these guys. It doesn't get the coverage it used to get then but hopefully, with nice weather and a good pitch, these guys can show what they've got and go on to further things."
Constitution have a bit more baggage going into today's decider. The 2001 defeat to a rampant, almost fully-contracted Dungannon side by 46-12 could be attributed to the quality of the opposition.
"I think the Con team of '99 might have matched them but on that day I don't think some of the English Premiership teams would have lived with them."
Nevertheless, there remains a nagging feeling that Constitution froze a little against Shannon when also being a tad outsmarted two years ago.
That 21-17 defeat highlighted, as if it needed highlighting, that when it comes to finals, there's no tougher nut to crack than Shannon.
"Absolutely," O'Brien readily agrees. "You've Andrew Thompson going for his sixth AIL medal. That just speaks for itself. They know how to win, and they know how to get there."
"If it's a development league match against UL Bohs they'll win it, whereas a lot of the prima donnas don't go out and win them, they like playing the big games.
"These boys, because they are hard men, just like playing games, they like physical encounters. And they've as good a back line as I've seen in Shannon."
The flip side of that, of course, is that if you beat Shannon in a final you know you're worthy champions.
"There would be nothing more satisfying, but also for the AIL itself I hope it's a good game.
"They attack at 13 and we attack at 13, so hopefully it'll get the press to stop writing about the bad AIL and get people focused on coming to games."
