Cork star forward Orlaith Cahalane is one of those players the prefers to do her talking on the pitch.
That she does with style and like all involved with the Cork camogie team she is looking forward to taking on Galway in the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland camogie final next Sunday.
Throw-in at Croke Park is at 5.15pm and Orlaith knows that it’s a huge challenge taking on the Tribeswomen, but it’s one they are ready for.
“I suppose every year we play Galway it’s tough game and we were just taking it game by game for the first few group games and just trying to win all of them and getting over the line to try reach the knock-out stages,” said Orlaith.
“We had a good break then until the semi-final, which I don’t know if it was a good or bad thing. We got a few hard challenge games, but it was it was tough then waiting for the semi-final, but it was great to get over the line against Waterford.”
Cork had a stop-start season, with a number of three or four week breaks all through and before the semi-final it they had no competitive match for four weeks. It can be tough getting back up to the intensity of championship.
“The break was tough and getting back into the intensity of championship probably took a bit of time against Waterford.
“But our training games have been some of the best games we’ve played all year like our, getting on the pitch is really tough. Getting on to the starting 15 or the 20 is really tough, such is the number of players vying for places within the squad.
“Management are going on performance, so you have to be performing in training. So you have to be training every night and putting in the performance to get on the pitch.
Last year was tough, but this year has been even tougher.
“I feel like there’s 30 people putting their hands up to get on the pitch, so it’s really hard missing out on that then for the other people who don’t.”
“The trainings, they’re the toughest games and you’re marking some of the best players in the game. You coming into training marking Laura Treacy or Laura Hayes and like you have to be in your best performance to get a few scores off them.”
Cork’s Orlaith Cahalane takes on Waterford’s Bevin Bowdren during the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship semi-final at UPMC Nowlan Park, Kilkenny. Cahalane will be key player for the Rebels as they bid to retain their title against Galway. Picture: INPHO/Bryan Keane
Looking back to earlier in the season, Cork won the league something they hadn’t done since 2013, with only a few members of the current panel having league medals – Ashling Thompson and Pamela and Katrina Mackey.
This season Cork targeted the league and used it ensure they got their year off on a high as they beat Galway in the decider at FBD Semple Stadium.
“The first year I came on the panel we lost the league final to Galway and it was really tough coming back after that loss like to go face Munster championships straight away. Then last year then we didn’t make it to the league final [Galway beat Cork to knock them out], so we had a bit of time to dwell on it then again before the Munster championship.
“So this year we said we need to be trying to win the league and go into the Munster championship on a strong footing and then into the group games of the All-Ireland.
“Meabh [Orlaith’s sister] was saying that she’d never won a league medal and she has been on the panel for a number of years so I didn’t understand how she didn’t have one, so it just shows how competitive it really is.”
That win set up Cork nicely for the rest of the season as they now face Galway again who will be gunning for the Rebels after their three-point loss in last year’s final, something Orlaith is well aware of.
Definitely we said going into the semi-final in 2023 they can’t beat us for the third time. So I just know Galway will probably be thinking that now about us now.
“So we know they are coming for us and we’ll just have to prepare for that as best we can and give it everything on the day and hopefully it will be enough to come out on top.”