Hurling has once again begun in Brussels for this, our seventh(!) season.
After taking all five tournaments last year this year represents a new challenge for our biggest-ever squad. We need to know how to behave as defending champions. Teams will be gunning for us and it remains to be seen if we’ll have the firepower and desire to take all four tournaments this year.
One fact that gives me hope is in all those losing years (one tournament win in the first five years) we have always competed. No matter how over-matched we always traveled and we always left everything we had on the pitch. No other team in Europe has travelled as much as we have and until this past season no other team had as little to show for it. But now we enter this season as clear favourites having lost just one game in all of 2009.
It’s a good feeling and I’ve enjoyed it over the winter but the time to look towards the past is over. We now need to look to our year ahead.
Numbers to training have been small so far as football continues to capture much interest and its earlier start to the season gives it more momentum at this time of year. That said, our overall panel has grown with returning faces, resurgent players and new faces going into the fold. There is definitely scope to aim at fielding two teams at our own tournament this year. More excitingly, they would be two strong teams.
It remains to be seen what the opposition will be. Lux normally have a number of students that make them a competitive force. Den Haag have been very strong but their focus seems to be on football this year and they finished last year on a decidedly low note. Paris should be relatively strong once again although the loss of their own tournament is a shame for their development and Zurich, once three-time winners of the Cup, will likely continue to impress with a team more Swiss than Irish which is to their credit.
Enough talk. Off to training to be ready for May 1st!
