Newcestown skipper and scholar Collins happy to mix it

BY JOHNNY CAROLAN

NEWCESTOWN hurling captain Eoghan Collins is well used to splitting his time, so dealing with the demands of dual championship assaults is well within his wheelhouse.

The 22-year-old is currently undertaking a degree in agriculture which sees him spend three days a week at MTU Cork and the other two at Clonakilty Agricultural College. Having played in the Dr Harty Cup during his secondary- school days at Bandon’s Hamilton HS, he has lined out for MTU in the Fitzgibbon Cup for the past two campaigns.

A half-back who defends with vigour and distributes the ball well, he provides a steadiness that belies his age and perhaps that is why the hurling management entrusted him with the captaincy.

So far, he can point to an unbeaten championship record as skipper. Newcestown opened with a win over Sunday’s final opponents Blarney before then seeing off Ballyhea a week later. After a 2022 season where they failed to emerge from their group, the strong start imbued them with belief.

‘We weren’t happy at all withhow we did last year,’ Collins says.

‘It was just a case of, at the start of the year, straightening what we did wrong. We knew we were good enough to compete anyway and, once we beat Blarney the first day, we felt we could do something.’

The two wins also ensured Newcestown would top their group regardless of results in the final round of group fixtures. There they faced an already eliminated Courcey Rovers, with last year’s beaten finalists needing to win to avoid the relegation play-off.

The Ballinspittle/Ballinadee side got that, denying Newcestown an automatic semi-final place in the process. Instead, they had to take on Killeagh in the quarter-finals but it mightn’t have been a bad thing in the end, Collins feels.

‘When you’re footballing every second week, it can be hard to stay sharp in the hurling,’ he says. ‘Obviously, you go out to win every game and we were disappointed not to beat Courceys. Getting the extra game of hurling might have helped us alright – in hindsight, it probably was a good thing.’

It’s hard to argue, given their presence in the two finals. Cooperation between managements helps, too. ‘Compared to last year, playing dual is definitely a lot easier when you’re winning!’ Collins laughs. ‘The momentum is up and fellas are driving it on. Recovery is a massive thing as well and we’ve been good to do that this year.

‘There’s a lot playing dual and it is a good thing. It helps too that the two management teams get on well – if a lad needs a break, he can take it.’

Barring a draw on Sunday, there will be a fortnight to prepare for the football, as there was for the hurling.

By contrast, Blarney come into the game just eight days after winning their re-fixed semi-final against Bride Rovers, following a successful appeal against the original result. Newcestown were interested observers, but Collins doesn’t feel that the drama impacted them.

‘We saw the result of the other game and we knew that there might be some bit of an appeal,’ he says.

‘It hasn’t really affected us at all, though – we were just getting our fitness right and getting our touch in. ‘It was a bit strange alright, to be a week out from the match and not know who you were facing but they’re both extremely good teams and we knew whichever one came through, it’d be tough.’