The last thing either the Cork or Dublin hurlers will lack going into Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final is match fitness – or at least they had better not.

Jimmy Barry-Murphy and Anthony Daly have both put all their trust in two fitness experts with different backgrounds, but with one obvious thing in common: neither David Matthews nor Ross Dunphy have ever played hurling (at least not in public) and yet their fitness philosophies could prove the difference between making an All-Ireland final and not.

Barry-Murphy chose Matthews as Cork's fitness trainer, on his return to management two years ago: still the Irish record holder over 800 metres (although just about, Mark English recently missing his 1:44.82 by .02 of a second), Matthews famously introduced his fitness philosophy by declaring he would rather have a Sebastian Coe in his team than a Usain Bolt, because the perfect level of fitness for the Gaelic footballer or hurler these days is that of of the 800 metres runner.

“I know 90 per cent of people would go for Usain Bolt,” he said at the time. “But he would blow up after five or six minutes. The clever ones would go for Sebastian Coe.

"He'd be still there at the end, still running for the last five or six minutes, when the game is most likely to be won. That's the perfect combination of speed and endurance."

Hand-picked by Daly
Dunphy was also hand-picked by Daly, late last year, after his previous fitness trainer, Martin Kennedy, decamped to the Dublin footballers.

Dunphy started out playing soccer and later played senior football with his native Wexford, although his interest in fitness training took off while on honeymoon in New Zealand.

“That was a bit of blow, when he (Martin Kennedy) went to the footballers,” said Daly. “But Ross was really good, fresh from the start. He had his own ideas and that really helped. But really, no matter how good a trainer is, if the lads themselves don’t want to drive it on, it’s a tough project.”

Dunphy certainly has some interesting ideas: head of physical education with the Defence Forces, based in the Curragh, he insists the Dublin hurlers make regular visits to Portmarnock beach for a recovery purposes, dipping in and out of the sea – "the colder the better"– and he's also approved of the occasional boxing session under team physio and Olympic gold medallist Michael Carruth, to "keeps boys on their toes".

Matthews retired from competitive athletics 13 years ago, aged just 26, but remains fascinated by the sport, while running his own fitness business.

He’s talked before about the what he’s learnt since working with the Cork hurlers:

“The one buzz word that cropped up from the start was “intensity”, but that was a little new to me, if only because I didn’t know exactly what it meant in hurling.

“What exactly is intensity? Or lack of intensity? You’d hear it all the time in hurling, but is it just speed endurance, running at a different pace, keeping it going?

“So my definition of hurling intensity, now, is your ability to keep going, before you start to fatigue. That’s everything – carrying, hooking, blocking, all the basic skills. Because when a player gets tired the first thing that goes is his head.

"And this idea that defending starts from the full-forward line is certainly true. That's why it's so important for the forwards to have the same conditioning as the midfielders, and backs.

Touch of a surgeon
"Balance is also key. These guys need the fitness of an athlete and the touch of a surgeon, more so when in oxygen debt.

“I remember when I’d finish an 800m if someone asked me the seven-times tables I’d be lost, because when you’re in major oxygen debt like that, the first thing that goes is your concentration.”

Given his strict running background, Matthews is understandably keen to keep pace with whatever training the Cork hurlers are doing, which means retaining the stopwatch from his own running days:

“We’d also repeat sessions, over a 10-day cycle, so that players would have some tangible evidence of how they were progressing, whether that was over a 180m sprint, or simply lining up against each other.

“Because the clock never lies. Anyone can tell a player they’re fit, but it’s much better, psychologically, if they know it themselves.”

Dunphy was quizzed on some of these philosophies at Dublin’s recent press day, and whether he believed this 800m fitness was so perfect?

“You’re looking at sprint endurance. I wouldn’t compare it to 800m, maybe a bit in the pre-season, but I’d go a bit lower, closer to 400m runners. But I’m not sure, because that’s being a bit too simplistic about it.

"Look at a world-class kayaker. I know he's not running, but he has to be very mobile, very strong in the upper body. Then someone like a bobsledder has to have powerful explosion.

Prototype
"Maybe if you could marry a bobsledder and a kayaker and put a bit of hurling into them you'd have a prototype?"

Interestingly, their respective roles have reversed slightly for this Sunday: Dublin’s won’t have played in the five weeks since their Leinster final win over Galway, while Cork – who had to endure a 10-week wait before their successful Munster championship opener against Clare – are back out again just two weeks after beating All-Ireland champions Kilkenny.

“I know all athletes would have this perception of being “rusty” if they hadn’t raced like that, in a long while,” noted Matthews. “Tapering, as any athlete will tell you, is a sort of holy grail, hard to find, but key to getting things right.”

Both teams, presumably then, will at least be suitably tapered for Sunday.