Brian Hayes feared season could have been over for Cork after injury
Michael Bolton
Cork hurler Brian Hayes has spoken about how victory over Limerick last year gave them a vital boost in the Munster championship ahead of their clash on Sunday.
Last year Cork were underdogs as they faced Limerick in the Munster championship, needing a win to keep their championship alive.
They won in one of the games in the season, and repeated the performance when they met in the All-Ireland semi-finals.
Coming into this weekend, Cork are on top of the table with a Division 1A title secured, and are seen by many as favourites for the All-Ireland.
Hayes, part of a full-forward line that can't stop scoring, says the victory last May provided a platform to build on.
"For us last year, it was do or die. When you are coming up against the All-Ireland champions, it is a nice way to test yourself.
"It was a close game, and coming out the right side of it gave us that belief to push on again in the All-Ireland series. Hopefully, on Sunday, we can get the right kind of bounce off it."
After losing a classic All-Ireland final to Clare, the response from the Rebel county has been immense, as they have never looked back on the heartbreaking defeat in Croke Park last July.
Despite always having a talented squad, it has been 20 years since Cork have won Liam MacCarthy. The Cork forward says the wait from 2005 is not talked about in Cork.
"There has only been a few lads who have been involved for a good couple of years, it does not really make a difference how long it has been, it doesn't bring any added pressure.
"We are just focusing on ourselves and the present, it is a long way off for us for still, we are just looking to the weekend and what we can bring to the match on Sunday.
If Cork are to be successful this season, Hayes will likely have been a crucial part of it.
Scoring for fun in the league and championship, an injury at home to Galway threatened to end his season.
In what at first looked serious, thankfully only put him out of action for weeks rather than months, to the relief of the corner forward.
"You fear for the worst at the start but thankfully it wasn’t anything serious and we were just relying on symptoms to see how long it would take to get back.
"Thankfully, it wasn’t too long and I was able to work with the physios and S&Cs that we have, and the doctors. It’s been fine since thank God.
"The games are coming so thick and fast, you can’t really afford to be missing any matches.
"We’re always minding ourselves and keeping our bodies right. Our S&Cs are good that way, that we’re minding ourselves."