Seán Moran talks to former Wexford manager John Conran about the state of hurling in the county and the lack of success at underage level.

John Conran has one vivid memory of the roller-coaster two years he spent managing Wexford. It concerns the 2003 All-Ireland semi-final against Cork, a summery, high-scoring delight brought to dramatic climax when Rory McCarthy flashed in a last-second goal to force the draw.

"We played Cork and drew what was a great match. When we went home we were clapping ourselves on the back about how we'd put it up to Cork. Delighted. Cork were going home wondering: 'What in God's name happened us? Whatever it was it's not happening the next day'.

"So we had a carnival week in Wexford. Not the players. We were trying to keep everyone's feet on the ground. But the county felt like it had won an All-Ireland. Cork didn't give us a chance in the replay."

For Conran that was emblematic of a county that hasn't won enough to be stricter with itself, more ambitious and less easily impressed. Apart from the glorious interlude in 1996 when Wexford got high on a rare All-Ireland success, the seasons typically get by on one or two good displays, which only make the subsequent crash harder.

"We haven't won a Leinster minor title for 20 years and the last minor All-Ireland was in 1968. It amazes me sometimes that hurling has survived at all. The future is in the youth and there's not enough being done to secure it.

"Something real has to happen if Wexford are to become a major consistent force. Not enough thought goes into it. We need to concentrate on three areas: the schools, the clubs and the county board. We need a blueprint and consistent application of that system."

Conran enjoyed his management tenure but couldn't spare the time for more than the two years he served.

A stoic Wexford hurling man, he had a distinguished playing career - including an All Star - that coincided with a long, bleak period of failure for the county, and as a coach he has patiently played his part.

As well as the All-Ireland semi-final draw his two years saw a Leinster final victory that sends Wexford into tomorrow's Guinness provincial hurling semi-final against Laois as champions. But still the shadow of Kilkenny hangs over the county and the province.

Arguably more significant than that Leinster was the meticulously planned strategy that derailed Kilkenny in pursuit of their seventh successive provincial win.

Yet it all ended in another trimming by Cork and the sense of unease that Kilkenny will really relish meeting them in this year's championship.

"The senior team really puts a glossy picture over the reality of hurling in Wexford," he says. "You'll always get 15 players to put out in the championship but to be strong hurling needs more than that.

"It's very localised in Wexford and too many clubs aren't putting anything into either the underage game or the adult. Hurling is very popular in the county but a lot of clubs are barely fulfilling fixtures.

"I'll give you an example. We have these development squads at under-14 and under-12 and what are called conditioned games for the clubs. My club, Rathnure, is quite strong and we travelled 25 miles to play another club but they'd no team to put out and didn't even bother to tell us before we arrived there."

Conran worries about hurling in Wexford and elsewhere. The lack of underage preparation is one aspect of his concern and the rise of his county's football team is another.

"Kilkenny have brought their development to a new level. I thought the National Hurling League final was some of the best hurling I've seen - the way they controlled the ball. We're all playing catch-up at best and now you've the likes of Limerick and Wexford making strong bids in football. Hurling will suffer.

"I'm delighted to see the footballers doing well but I fear for hurling. We need to work harder on hurling but football will become an option - an easier option.

"Hurling is our national sport and the best sport in the world. Football isn't.

"Unfortunately at the moment the (hurling) forwards we have are small even if they're quite skilful, but it's an old saying: 'A good big fella is going to beat a good little fella'.

"In the past Kilkenny had small teams but that's all changed. Brian Cody prioritised getting bigger players but his pot is so much bigger and he doesn't have so much football being played. As it happens, the size of our football team is quite big."

Conran knows what is wrong but he also knows what can address the problems and also what to do to nurture it in what 50 years ago was the game's most glamorous county.

"We don't push hurling enough. I bring fellas who are over here from other countries to see a game of hurling and they're transported by it.

"But that requires good coaches to give advice on drills. How many selectors have never taken a coaching course? There has to be properly structured training sessions with lots of ball work - players hitting 100 or 150 balls a night.

"Some clubs literally have no idea about bringing forward young hurlers - they just stick out the same 15 that played for the footballers last week. The dual issue has a huge impact on fixtures. We've one round of the county championship played and the next won't be until August, which is very hard on club players.

"I believe we need coaches - hurling coaches - going into the clubs and not just the schools. That's the way forward. Money can be raised from businesses. This happens in Tyrone, where companies sponsor a coach."

Hurling's epic beauty doesn't materialise easily. It needs hard work and it needs a friendly environment.

Conran acknowledges that the success of the mid-1990s made a difference but knows that the county sees too little underage success to be naturally confident on a consistent basis at senior level.

He has personal experience of the disjunction once counties stop picking up the winning habit at a young age. It's all of 40 years since Wexford's only under-21 All-Ireland and the last minor was only three years later.

"The biggest missed opportunity was after the 1960s. We won All-Irelands but never built on it. There were no structures put in and I was unfortunate enough to come in on the end of that. I was a minor back in 1973 or '74 and we lost to Dublin. The first time we met was to go to the game. I don't know how they got wind of all of us but that's the first we saw of each other. No training. Nothing."

Things mightn't be that dreadful now but there are more barriers than incompetence and indifference. The noise of competing leisure pursuits drowns out traditional sporting recreation and children have options and concentration spans that can make a painstakingly acquired skill like hurling a hard sell.

Conran however is more optimistic about this.

"Hurling is one of the most fulfilling sports you can play. It gets you fit, involves skill, co-ordination and teamwork. It takes dedication but that's not a problem because once a kid gets the bug they don't see it as dedication - they just want to do it."