TOMORROW AT THE Aviva Stadium, Dr Eanna Falvey will have a watching brief on the sideline.
He’ll be the first point of contact for any of the Irish players who come off second best during 80 minutes of ferocious contact with the All Blacks.
This is weekend work. Falvey’s nine to five sees him based out in Santry at the Sports Surgery Clinic.
To physiotherapist David Breen, Falvey is his boss. As sounding boards for sporting queries go, Falvey ranks high with his experience of working with the Lions, the Irish rugby side and the country’s best amateur boxers.
Breen’s focus is not on rugby or boxing but hurling. At the same time as kick off at the Aviva tomorrow, the ball will be thrown in at Cusack Park for the AIB Munster club senior hurling final.
After winding down a season with the Limerick hurlers, Breen has been immersed in Na Piarsaigh’s efforts to land a second Munster title in three years. Sixmilebridge are tomorrow’s opponents.
“It’s been a long year”, admits Breen, who studied physiotherapy in Edinburgh. “I’m nearly going 12 months now between county and club. You get good backing at work though to facilitate that. Eanna and Geoff Moylan – who won the AIL a few times as manager of Shannon – are my bosses.
“They’d be very sound if you’d to finish up early for training and things like that. And if you’ve any query, they’re great. I’m learning off fellas at the top of my profession.”
Commitment
That level of accommodation is helpful when trekking back to Limerick for training sessions.
“We go back down Tuesday’s and Thursday’s. My brother Kieran is a surgeon in St Vincent’ s hospital. We meet at the Red Cow and head down home from there.
“You’ve training at half 7, then go home to get dinner and then head back to Dublin. I’d be home in the apartment for around half 12. It takes its toll, physically and mentally but the company in the car helps. And look it’s a great complaint to be hurling at this time of year.”
Brothers Kieran, David and Adrian Breen celebrate after the 2011 Limerick county final
Pic: INPHO/Lorraine O’Sullivan
A successful winter helps dull the disappointment at how the summer ended. Limerick’s season featured the dizzying heights of wonderful wins in Munster over Tipperary and Cork at the Gaelic Grounds.
But it was brought to an abrupt halt by Clare in Croke Park in August.
“It was a big anti climax. The hype down at home was supposed to have been massive beforehand. Being away from Dublin, I missed a lot of it. My parents moved out to Cratloe across the border a few years ago as well so the game was all the talk at home.
“The experiences in Munster were fantastic this year but maybe only having had two games worked against us. It was a great year in ways but it’s strange when you look back and you’re just thinking of how it ended in the All-Ireland semi-final.”
Banner Buddy
Their conquerors Clare were familiar to 28 year-old Breen.
“I’d be very good mates with Paul Kinnerk, the Clare coach. He’s from Limerick and we were in school together in Ardscoil Rís. We’re used to it now over the last few years as he’s been with Clare.
“We know the craic, if Limerick are playing Clare. We’re not going to fall out, we both have a job to do and that’s it. Fair play to them, there was a big transformation in their camp and they’d an amazing season. We just have to drive on next year.”
Before that he wants to bring the curtain down on 2013 in style. Tomorrow is a big occasion for Na Piarsaigh, magnified for Breen by the fact that his brothers Kieran and Adrian will be on the field with him with his father PJ a selector on the sideline.
Facing a Clare club in a game that takes place in Ennis adds spice to it. That Na Piarsaigh’s manager Sean Stack is a Sixmilebridge native, adds even more.
“It’s a tough position for him”, admits Breen. “He’s had it before when he was with Toomevara but he’s got a job to do and he’s a very straight guy. He’ll be focused on us. We won it two years ago and it’d be very satisfying to do it again. That’s our aim.”
