Kilkenny midfielder Michael Rice has been part of the senior set-up since 2005, but despite winning four All-Irelands in that time, his appetite to land another shows no sign of diminishing.
The form books mean nothing when it comes to this stage of the season. Certainly, neither Kilkenny or Tipperary showed their best form in the semi-finals.
But the third instalment of this three-part saga is shaping up to be a cracker. This, says Michael Rice, is down to the mindset of both sides.
“Often they [All-Ireland finals] can be cautious affairs. But neither team wants to be left behind, so they just go for it. There’s no point in being cautious and losing by three or four points,” he says.
“It’s two teams coming to the peak of their year, all their training has been geared towards hopefully getting to an All-Ireland final. It’s probably coming to a stage where the two teams are fit, and the two teams are pushing their hurling to the highest standard they can get that year.”
Rice is one of four Carrickshock players on the current senior panel. The club has always had a strong presence on the inter-county scene.
“Pat Dwyer would have won two All-Irelands in 1992 and 1993, and he’d be a role model for ourselves,” says Rice. “And Richie Power Senior, Richie’s father, would have done a lot of training with us, even on under-16A and minor level – he put in a huge effort with us.”
In 2004, Rice broke his finger, which ruled him out for six months. ‘Broke’ is an understatement. Most hurlers’ fingers are fairly battered-looking, but Rice’s set the benchmark.
“It was a pure accident – I caught the ball, turned to strike it, a lad came in to block it, but missed the ball and got my hand. It got crushed against my own hurl.”
The top joint on the finger no longer functions, but as Rice notes, he does not need it to catch a sliothar. Conventional medical advice recommended a swift curtailment to Rice’s involvement with the sport.
“The doctor told me, ‘don’t go hurling at all’, but the doctor didn’t know what I wanted to do. We weren’t on the same wavelength.”
Rice’s passion for hurling is unmistakable, and his talent is pretty obvious to anyone who has ever watched him play the game. But like every Kilkenny player, the same theme – ingrained from years spent in the Brian Cody Academy – crops up again and again.
“The number one thing you learn is that there is no substitute for hard work. Going back, that is number one,” he says.
“After that, it’s about trying to be confident in yourself, trying to feel more comfortable in your game.
“You are always working on the basics – first touch, catching well, striking well, tackling, working back. That’s generally what is most important, and probably what makes the great hurlers – doing the simple things right, over and over.”
A mastery of the basics, and an appetite for relentless hard work – Rice has both qualities in droves. Rice picks the example of the half forward line.
“I think that’s the way that the game has evolved, every half forward line has to work so hard, back as far as their own 40 at times,” he says.
“That’s the way the game is now. You can’t just say ‘I’m a wing forward, I’ll stand between the 65 and 40’. You have to work.”
Following the hamstring injury to Colin Fennelly in action for Ballyhale Shamrocks, which may yet see him miss the final, many people once again questioned the practice of playing club matches with an All-Ireland final date already booked in.
Tipperary immediately suspended all club games involving inter-county players following their qualification for September 4. Rice, however, is a strong voice for the status quo.
“I don’t think there’s any harm in it; we’re training as well, and we play matches in training,” he says.
“After the semi-final, there’s only four weeks to go and you can’t be wrapping yourself in cotton wool, or you wouldn’t train at all.”
