Irish captain Morrissey relishing unique challenge of hurling-shinty international:
Ireland Hurling Shinty captain Dan Morrissey poses for a portrait during an Ireland Hurling Shinty squad
By John Harrington
The Hurling-Shinty international rules code puts a big premium on some of the more ‘old school’ aspects of hurling that may no longer be as prevalent in the modern game as they one were.
Very physical man to man marking, hip to hip contests for possession, and first-time striking on the ground and in the air are all staples of the game.
It makes for an entertaining blend of raw physicality and subtle skill that Ireland team captain, Dan Morrissey relishes.
“It definitely makes you practise skills that you wouldn’t usually use in the modern game,” he told GAA.ie
“I just really enjoyed it last year. I think it’s going back to that 50-50, win your own ball thing. There’s an awful lot of that which you don’t see as much of in the modern game.
“Like, trying to go forward, because you can’t get the ball into your hand, a lot of the deliveries are kind of 50-50 balls in. It’s not like it’s got to be hit to the forward’s advantage.
“So, from a back’s perspective, I really like that. High ball coming in, competing with your man. I suppose reading the game and trying to get out in front as often as you can.
“And then it’s the skill of not being able to put the ball in your hand and trying to get your head up at the same time and give a decent delivery in.
“When you’re watching a game you mightn’t notice but when you play the game, being able to put the ball in your hand makes such a big difference. And not being able to requires an awful lot of skill. And controlling the ball without putting the ball in your hand is a skill that’s just not really used in the game.”
Ireland are going for a third win in a row in this international rules series, but there isn’t a hint of complacency in the camp ahead of Saturday’s match in Inverness.
There’s a lot of respect for the skill-set of the Scots who raced into an early seven-point lead in last year’s encounter before Ireland eventually settled and won after extra-time.
“We were fairly slow starters last year,” says Morrissey. “It probably took us a bit of time just to get used to the way they play the game. You’d be surprised with how far they can hit their shots and how skilful they are with the ball.
“Their game is all focused around goals. They probably struggle to get points from play, whereas that’s maybe something we have an advantage on. It’s a mixture of old school, yeah, where you have the overhead pulling and ground hurling but you have to be very skilful.
“Not being able to put the ball into your hand is a very difficult thing to do. Trying to get your head up and deliver the ball, when you have a lad with a 50-inch shinty stick chasing you, they can get a flick at you…like, in a hurling match, if you think you have a yard on your man, you might be fine and have a bit of space, whereas the shinty stick is that bit longer.
“They can get a flick in even if they’re a couple of yards behind you. It’s a tough game, you want to get in nice and close because if you get a belt of the end of a shinty stick, you’ll know all about it.
“It’s a mixture of old school hurling but it’s a very skilful game, especially for the inside forwards, being able to control it without putting the ball in their hand and putting the ball over the bar, it’s not an easy skill. It’s something you probably don’t see in the modern game too much anymore.”
What will the Irish gameplan be for tomorrow’s match?
“We’ll try to keep it simple,” says Morrissey. “I think one of the big advantages we have over them is the solo. They obviously can’t solo with their sticks. So that’s one thing we definitely try to use to our advantage.
“And look, I suppose it’s trying to…their game is so focused on goals, so we’ll be trying to keep that area tight. I suppose that’s my job to try and not leave in too much goals. And then I suppose easy frees is what kept them in it a lot.
“So you’re not allowed to kick the ball in the game and that’s, it’s a big temptation in hurling, when it’s in a ruck you want to just kick the ball out into space, so you can run onto it.
“I think that probably cost us three or four points last year. I suppose they’re kind of the main things. We’ll try to use the solo as best we can and avoid conceding too many goals and giving away soft frees.”
The Ireland v Scotland hurling-shinty international has a throw-in time of 2.10pm on Saturday, October 25 and will be streamed live on GAA.ie and on @BBCALBA YouTube.