MAYO MANAGER James Horan is confident new recruit Gavin Duffy can successfully make the transition from professional rugby to Gaelic football.
The Ballina native recently joined up with last year’s All-Ireland SFC runners-up and Horan says he’s been working to get up to speed with his new teammates.
“He’s training hard. Obviously his skill-set is a bit off where it needs to be,” says Horan. “When you’ve a guy as dedicated with the application he has and you give him the resources that he needs on a daily basis he’ll accelerate very quickly. We’re just very excited about where he is and how it’s progressing.
“I’ve said it before that if there is anyone who can add anything to the panel or improve what we do or how we play I’ll certainly have a look at him. Gavin Duffy fitted a huge amount of those categories. It was a very low-risk move on our part and there was only benefit in it.”
An excellent underage footballer, Duffy played at midfield for the county in the 1999 All-Ireland minor football final.
Mayo lost to Down at Croke Park and Duffy went on to a career in professional rugby, earning 10 caps for Ireland.
He bowed out for the province against Cardiff Blues recently but has wasted no time in backing up his talk of one day pulling on the red and green again.
Horan adds: “He’s a very keen and ambitious guy. As any of the Ballina guys around here will tell you he’s very passionate about football and has been in contact with a lot of players down through the years.
“A lot of them would get texts from him before a championship match. He’s always been a great follower of football. I think he said in a few articles down through the years that he’d love a crack at it and if the chance came he’d bite the hand off you.
“We’ve played him wing back, midfield, half forward… around that area. And look that could change but that’s where I’d initially be looking from five to 12.”
Horan says the leadership the former Connacht captain brings to the set-up is valuable in itself.
“There’s always a number of different ways to improve a panel or a team,” he says. “Gavin was captain of his province for a number of years at professional level. you need to be made of the right stuff to do that on a consistent basis year after year. You need to be a guy of the highest integrity. ”
As for the skills, the manager thinks they can be adapted in time.
“There’s a lot of science behind it. It’s not something we would have just gone with. We looked at it from a sports science background. They’re both evasion sports. The sports scientists will tell you the skill pack is similar and there is quite a high transference, particularly from his position in rugby to Gaelic football. There is a bit of rewiring to be done for sure but we’d be confident that process can happen,” he adds.
