CORK’S STUNNING DEFEAT of Tipperary a couple of weeks ago saw the hurling championship explode into life.
While most of the GAA fraternity were enthralled by the thrilling Semple Stadium affair, the Clare hurlers were at training and keen to keep their focus on their semi-final against Limerick.
“I only saw it on The Sunday Game (that night), because we were actually training at 4pm,” says Bugler.
“That was the view of the management, that game was irrelevant to our focus. Our focus was Limerick, they didn’t want us watching that game and thinking ahead.
“I suppose it has thrown things wide open. From our point of view, there’s only one game (to focus on) and we’ll see after that.”
It’s no surprise that the Banner are putting so much stock in Sunday’s Munster semi-final against Limerick.
Since their last Munster final appearance in 2008, Clare have played nine games in the province and lost eight. Just 11 members of the current squad have tasted a Munster SHC victory – their last one coming in the 2013 quarter-final against Waterford.
Bugler and Pat Donnellan are the only men on the current panel who’ve achieved more than one win in the southern province. The duo featured in Clare’s 2-26 to 0-23 quarter-final win against Waterford in 2008, and the subsequent four-point victory over Limerick in the semi-final.
Bulger was sent-off in the last-minute of the Limerick win and missed out on the Munster decider, where they lost to Tipperary. It was Clare’s first Munster final since 1998, and they haven’t had a sniff of one since.
Bugler admits Clare’s poor record in Munster has been weighing on the minds of the squad in the build-up to this weekend.
“I think we are putting a bit of pressure on ourselves,” he says. “There has always been an excuse over the last few years. In 2014 it was a hangover after ’13, in ’15 we were decimated with injuries, last year it was too close to the league.
“There are no excuses this year, it is a shocking stat when you look back on 2008 as the last time we played in a Munster Final. I think on that day only one current panel member played, Patrick Donnellan.
“All of us want to play in a Munster final, we want to tog out on that day because it is a special day in the GAA calendar. That is a motivation, to get to that day, we need to try to get over this hurdle.”
The two-time All-Star is 31 now and says he’s enjoying the inter-county game as much as ever.
“I wouldn’t be playing it if I wasn’t. I enjoy the camaraderie at training, I love the championship day with the crowd and the atmosphere that’s around.
“When you start off hurling at senior inter-county when you are 18 or 19, hurling is probably the be all and end all. Other things in life then take priority be it family, but that is good too. Hurling can’t be everything.
“Balance is the word I’m looking for. As you do get to the latter stages you do try to enjoy it as much as you can. Even small things like the bit of craic in the dressing room before training and the relationships you make, you try to enjoy them more.”
‘It’s like the child being put sitting in the corner for a while’ – Tipp official on Barrett future
