Cusack: We deserve underdog tag; HURLING MUNSTER SHC CORK v TIPP, TOMORROW.

Byline: PAT NOLAN 

WHATEVER your opinion is on Donal Og Cusack, he is certainly a fascinating character.

It's not often that the media have the opportunity to speak to the spiritual leader of the Cork team, so when he filed into a room at the hurlers' press night on Tuesday last alongside team management and half a dozen team-mates, he was undoubtedly the person that journalists wanted to talk to.

Press nights like this, while most welcome, can often be turgid affairs as players and management offer little in terms of insight for fear of riling their opponents.

But you can still give a revealing insight without providing material to be posted on the opposition's dressingroom door, which is the case with Cusack in this instance.

With tomorrow's game against Tipperary, he admits that Cork are underdogs. Not because it suits him to say it, they just are.

"It's understandable why Tipperary are such hot favourites," he said.

"Like yourselves coming down today, you're probably thinking, 'It's a press conference and fellas are going to be giving their stereotypical answers', but it's not anyone trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes or blow up the opposition or anything like that - it's just the fact of the matter."

In a team renowned for its spirit and oneness, Cusack has always stood out as the main driving force. He managed his own club team while still in his 20s and has brought those skills to bear in his working life. But to motivate others you must first motivate yourself.

"Energy comes from being motivated, and you need to find sources for that motivation, be they a Leinster rugby player or, personally, "I'd have great respect for the Munster rugby guys over the last number of years and a lot of individuals who are on the team, the likes of the O'Garas and the O'Connells.

"Any of these guys you can look for inspiration off. All you have to do is look on the internet nowadays. I was looking at a thing the other night, Team Hoyt, I don't know did ye guys see it? "A guy's son was an invalid and the son asked him could he run a race. He started taking the son to races and then he ended up doing triathlons with him.

"For any guy that has any interest in sport I'd recommend you go home and type Team Hoyt into Youtube. Anyway, you'd swear we were having a pint the way we're talking."

Having looked up Team Hoyt, it is the story of a man from Massachusetts, Dick Hoyt, who pulls his cerebral palsy-suffering son Rick in a special boat as he swims, carries him in a seat up front as he cycles and pushes him in a special wheelchair as he runs.

They have competed in almost 1,000 events, roughly a quarter of which were triathlons.

"The thing I would like most is for my dad to sit in the wheelchair and for me to push him," says Rick.

As united as they are, it's unlikely that the bonds between the Cork hurlers are quite as strong as this, and some of them have already been broken.

Brian Murphy, Joe Deane and Diarmuid O'Sullivan have all retired and, for the first time in his intercounty career, the 32-year-old faces into the Championship without O'Sullivan in front of him in the fullbackline. Like the Hoyts, they have a lifetime of sporting involvement behind them from their home of Cloyne to Croke Park.

"He's a loss to us and a loss to the game, but he'd be the first to tell you that you need to take those things on the chin. Everything moves on. The same thing is going to happen to me in time, whenever it happens.

"That again is one of the beauties of sport, nothing stays the same.

I think since we've been young, we've walked down the square afterwards and as many days as possible we've went for a pint together.

"Maybe that might happen on Sunday - but it will be different because he won't be playing the game."

For the third time in seven years, Cork go into the Championship with the rancour of a strike not far behind them. If Frank Murphy is the face from the county board side of the argument, then Cusack's represents the players.

But there'll be too much flying around his head tomorrow afternoon for the strike to get a look-in.

"If a guy said to me, 'Is that in your mind going on to the field on Sunday?', it's not. I wouldn't be capable of it. My brain is basically full in trying to deal with what I'm trying to deal with on Sunday.

"I haven't room for that kind of stuff to be in there. That's not a press conference answer, that's what is in my brain.

"I know what was in my head when I woke up on Monday morning and I saw the sun shining. I said to myself, 'Isn't it great we're heading to Thurles on Sunday?' "The one thing about sport and the great thing about sport, especially in places like Thurles, the truth is out there. If you want to know the truth about yourself and about the team, that's where you'll find it."

There won't be stereotypical answers out there either.

MATCH VERDICT

THE belief earlier this year was that Tipperary could potentially destroy an ill-prepared Cork team in this classic meeting of two of hurling's most successful counties.

However Cork's impressive form in recent challenge games has softened this opinion, though Tipperary retain the tag of favourites.

The Cork team is vastly experienced in terms of the middle eight, though whether this is a positive or negative remains to be seen. While all those players are still capable of performing at intercounty level, a slight erosion in their collective impact has been apparent in recent years.

They could pull off a big performance tomorrow, but maintaining that throughout the campaign would be a tall order. Elsewhere there is uncertainty about their full-backline which Tipp can exploit, with neither Eoin Cadogan or Conor O'Sullivan tried and trusted at this level.

Tipperary have newcomers too but they have served a more rounded apprenticeship. The inclusion of Eoin Kelly is a surprise, but now Tipp have plenty of other options on and off the field and appear to be the more coming team. They should prove that by shaking Cork off in the final quarter.

Verdict: TIPPERARY

CAPTION(S):

CRUNCH TEST Denis Walsh is preparing to face Tipp as underdogs WHAT A PAIR Donal Og Cusack says Ronan O'Gara and Paul O'Connell, above, are an inspiration ADVICE Donal Og Cusack has been giving Cork his pearls of wisdom for years