Mark Rodgers praises Clare hurling's resilience to win All-Ireland
Michael Bolton
Clare hurler Mark Rodgers has praised his team for their resilience in bouncing back from setbacks to win the All-Ireland last year.
After years of semi-final heartbreak and Munster final losses to rivals Limerick, the Banner County ended an 11-year wait for the Liam MacCarthy Cup with a thrilling final win over Cork.
In 2022 and 2023, Clare suffered narrow defeats to Kilkenny in the semi-finals, while last year’s Munster final loss to Limerick might have suggested that history was repeating itself.
However, after overcoming the Cats in the semi-final, Clare came out on the right side of a classic final — with Rodgers crediting the squad’s attitude.
“I can't put my finger on one thing in particular. I mean, if there’s anything, any couple of words that kind of summed up the year for us — resilience was probably the biggest thing.
“Last year we went really well through the league, got beat then in the first round against Limerick — in a game that we were playing really well in for 50 minutes. We lost the Munster final, where we didn’t play well at all.
“I know it’s well spoken about that Brian gave us a week off, but it was almost hard to gauge the deflation in the dressing room that day. But yeah, like, that resiliency is there — and we know it’s there — and thankfully that’s something we can fall back on.”
Leading Clare to victory was manager Brian Lohan, a legend in the county whose belief in the team, according to Rodgers, was transformative.
“He has such a command of the dressing room. I mean, he’s a complete legend in Clare hurling folklore. He has the backing of every fan; everyone in Clare is right behind him.
“It kind of feeds through into the dressing room. You can feel it when he’s speaking — everyone is hanging on his every word.
“He’s a really good guy, one-on-one to talk to. He’s really good in a group too. He’s comfortable in all those settings. He instils a lot of belief in us, and I think that’s probably the biggest thing.”
After a difficult league campaign that saw Clare relegated, all attention now turns to Sunday’s clash with Cork, who impressed on their way to winning Division 1.
Clare fans and players need no reminding of the difficult years that followed the county’s 2013 All-Ireland victory, when the Banner were often out of contention come the business end of the season.
However, as shown last year, Clare thrives when written off at this stage of the campaign.
Lohan knows what it takes to build on success, having won two All-Ireland titles as a player in the 1990s. Rodgers hopes that experience can be brought to bear again.
“I think Brian was in two of those dressing rooms — in 1995 and 1997. We’re very much in the position now where we want to put our best foot forward. We know we’re better than what we showed in the league, but we have to prove it.
“We have a very secure circle, if that makes sense. The players and management are very much in one boat, and not much of it filters in.
“We’re very confident in what we have in that group, and everyone is comfortable with each other’s thoughts and opinions.”