Cork v Limerick: Rebels must show greater hunger, Sherlock feels

Wayne Sherlock won five Munster SHC medals as player – and, while he may not have the actual pieces of metal in his possession, the achievement in winning them is dear to his heart.

Now part of the Cork senior hurling management, Sherlock will hope to help the Rebels bridge a seven-year gap, the same feat as the 1999 side that he was part of.

While losing the provincial final need not be seen as a hammer-blow nowadays, Sherlock still firmly believes that there is value in victory.

“Definitely,” he says, “it's seven years since Cork have been in a final, which is hard to believe, but it's the same as it always was.

“Winning Munster gives you belief, because you're after coming through an unreal Munster championship and it definitely builds confidence.

“As a medal, it definitely hasn't diminished anyway and I still cherish them from my time as a player. I'd say our fellas who don't have them would do anything to get their hands on one.”

Though, of course, the medals themselves are mere tokens.

“Everything is in my mother's house,” Sherlock says, “I have nothing in my house, to be honest.

“They're up in a cabinet in my mother's house, but it's not about the physical medal either. Knowing that you've done it is the big thing.

“People talk about medals and trophies but knowing in your head that you've done it is more important than seeing the medal.”

If Cork are to claim the Mick Mackey Cup for the first time, it will be lifted in the stand also named after the Limerick great, in the current Munster champions’ backyard.

Three weeks ago, Cork were at TUS Gaelic Grounds and lost by 16 points, the heaviest loss in the championship since Pat Ryan took over as manager.

It was humbling but there is at least a chance to show that the lessons have been learned.

“I can't put my finger on it,” Sherlock says.

“We didn't over-train, we didn't under-train and fellas got good rest. I just don't know. The one thing that wasn't there that was in every other game we played was the effort.

“The attitude could have been better and we could have been tighter to our men. We gave them a load of space and we just let them play. When they play, they can destroy you.

“I think that's what happened – they were at their best and we most definitely weren't. The Waterford game then was just going to be about getting in and getting a win.

“The performance was okay, but will it beat Limerick? It won't, we know that. One thing we've kind of prided ourselves on in the last few years is that if we put in a big effort and perform, the result will take care of itself.

“That's what we're about and that was the most disappointing thing about the Limerick game. We were nowhere near it.”

Stopping Cian Lynch goes a long way to at least limiting Limerick’s effectiveness. As a player, Sherlock was superb one-on-on defender, so what would he do?

“Well, you have to mark him anyway,” he says, “he got too much space the last day.

“If you give a fella like him space, it's not his running, it's just the way he brings other fellas into the game. He just got too much space and it wasn't just him. Other fellas got too much space.

“If you give Limerick space, they'll absolutely destroy you. They've done it to teams and the key the next day is not to give them too much of it. But if you give Cian Lynch space, he'll pull all the strings.”

That Limerick have stayed on top in the province is a testament to all involved in the Shannonsiders’ set-up. Equally, though, Sherlock wants Cork’s hunger to be on show.

“If you were an outsider looking at a team going for seven-in-a-row, you'd be thinking it must be a cakewalk,” he says.

“But they've been winning most of the games by a point or two. Look, they're phenomenal, but going up to Limerick the next day, how can they be hungrier than us? That's my question.

“We have no All-Irelands, they have five. They're going for seven Munsters, a lot of our fellas have none. Realistically, how can they be hungrier than us?

“It's the question we have to ask ourselves and it can't be possible that they'll be hungrier than us. They're an excellent team and we're going up to play them on their home patch.

“They're probably going to go down as one of the greatest teams ever to play the game. So if you're not at it for this, you probably shouldn't go up there.

“But one thing we can guarantee the Cork fans is that we'll definitely be better than the last day.”