There is definitely a cross over for a rugby back to play football. Fielding, kicking, covering ground. Limericks Dan Larkin played in the 1991 Munster Senior football final and the following year was at out half for the Munster team that beat Australia in Musgrave Park. On a side note he went off injured that day and was replaced by Jim Galvin who kicked the winning drop goal and was one of the finest club hurlers in West Limerick in his day

S Man (Limerick) - Posts: 229 - 15/05/2014 15:16:42    1588114

roundball

not concerned at all to be honest
dubs were commenting on eric miller and there was no chance of him ever making it
it was only a PR stunt at the time
as for duffy he plays in differant position in rugby so cannot see why he wouldnt have the fitness to play a part from the bench
but does he have the skill for inter county?
suppose thats what horan is trying to find out

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 15/05/2014 16:19:19    1588159

15/05/2014 15:16:42
S Man
County: Limerick
Posts: 221

1588114 There is definitely a cross over for a rugby back to play football. Fielding, kicking, covering ground. Limericks Dan Larkin played in the 1991 Munster Senior football final and the following year was at out half for the Munster team that beat Australia in Musgrave Park. On a side note he went off injured that day and was replaced by Jim Galvin who kicked the winning drop goal and was one of the finest club hurlers in West Limerick in his day
15/05/2014 16:19:19
hill16no1man
County: Dublin
Posts: 7550

1588159 roundball

not concerned at all to be honest
dubs were commenting on eric miller and there was no chance of him ever making it
it was only a PR stunt at the time
as for duffy he plays in differant position in rugby so cannot see why he wouldnt have the fitness to play a part from the bench
but does he have the skill for inter county?
suppose thats what horan is trying to find out

Ireland rugby player Philip Danaher played in that Munster Final in 91 for Limerick too

http://anfearrua.com/viewdoc.aspx?id=1530

Gael85 (Dublin) - Posts: 1433 - 15/05/2014 17:07:53    1588200

Distance covered during a game doesn't tell the whole story, the huge physicality of rugby is very draining and fitness levels are enormous in the modern game. It's not like Usain Bolt is unfit because he only runs 100m per race!
I do find it disappointing that now teams just want 15 super fit guys to hand pass the ball up the pitch and run back when lose possession. With the physicality of Gaelic football being gradually eroded every year this is the outcome

bad.monkey (USA) - Posts: 4649 - 15/05/2014 17:33:02    1588213

I must say this has brought out a lot of the prejudices within the GAA towards other sports its all right for people to play Gaelic and then move to other sports but God forbid anyone tries to do it the other way around. Here is a notion, non GAA players also have agility, vision, speed and co-ordination. Just because they play one sport it doesn't mean they couldn't be a great Gaelic player and just because they have those skills it would mean they would be a good Gaelic player.
Who knows how he will get on but one thing for sure is that if he is a success it won't be because he was a rugby player and if he isn't, it won't be because he was a rugby player - although quite a lot of posters on here would say opposite for the latter.

zinny (Wexford) - Posts: 1975 - 15/05/2014 17:51:23    1588226

Dont understand why people think he wont be able to play a high level of football just because he hasn't played in a while. I mean a pro rugby player (even at 32) is going to be in great shape. A 15 in rugby will be fast, fit, agile, have good spacial awareness and good fielding ability. Would have the makings of a good corner back. Dont know were he plays but if he is a forward I could see him struggling after not playing for so long.
Best of luck to the man.

white.n.blue (Monaghan) - Posts: 249 - 15/05/2014 18:44:43    1588249

15/05/2014 14:49:54
Ned_Stormcrow
Ormondbannerman, It is lousy and unfair on club players who perhaps feel they have done enough to warrant a call up, or are close to getting a call up to represent their county. But now they find their place is taken by someone who played a totally different sport. As I said, there are many benefits bringing in a top level sports star from another code in terms of motivation, fitness etc. But to make him available for selection is going too far. It smacks of desperation on Mayo's behalf. I think they'll really struggle this year to match the previous two. He's a former county level player at underage who is coming back to the sport and as he has played to the elite level in another sport he may do well. It isnt that unfair and lousy to club players. Duffy is getting a look at because of his pro sport experience combined with his natural football talent.
He may be available for selection but that doesnt mean he will be and while he will train with the county squad he could as easily be dropped back to club football as do very well with the side
Certainly doesnt smack of any desperation..

15/05/2014 16:19:19
hill16no1man
roundball not concerned at all to be honest
dubs were commenting on eric miller and there was no chance of him ever making it. it was only a PR stunt at the time
as for duffy he plays in differant position in rugby so cannot see why he wouldnt have the fitness to play a part from the bench
but does he have the skill for inter county?
suppose thats what horan is trying to find out Would have fitness to play from the start as well and would have the skills, very similar skills and others that could be easily adapted to for him to play gaelic

15/05/2014 18:44:43
white.n.blue
Dont understand why people think he wont be able to play a high level of football just because he hasn't played in a while. I mean a pro rugby player (even at 32) is going to be in great shape. A 15 in rugby will be fast, fit, agile, have good spacial awareness and good fielding ability. Would have the makings of a good corner back. Dont know were he plays but if he is a forward I could see him struggling after not playing for so long.
Best of luck to the man. +100000
excellent post

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 15/05/2014 19:51:59    1588281

It will be interesting to see how he compares the 2 games at the end of the year if he makes the panel, we won't have seen this first hand comparison for along time.

updwell (Limerick) - Posts: 899 - 15/05/2014 20:08:42    1588290

Considering Mayo spent €650,000 on their senior football team last year, a % of which would have been spent on dieticians, fitness coaches, pyschologists, performance analysts etc, then you would have to imagine he has not been brought in simply for his experience of professional sport and to offer some wisdom. That would be useful in a club situation but hardly in a set-up where such a huge sum is spent on preparation already. And while he has had a long career with Connacht, he has never come near playing in a game where the pressure would be similar to an All-Ireland final so even for that he provides no obvious purpose. It is quite a strange move by Mayos management, I would be amazed if he lasted long with them. Is an overemphasis on fitness and physique a possible explanation why they seem to suffer with the skills of the game on the biggest days?

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 15/05/2014 21:11:09    1588327

Surely as a rugby player his biggest challenge will be kicking a round ball in the direction he wants to kick it-a different technique from a rugby ball. His general fitness should be ok as a rugby back but it's not the same fitness, recently I saw the Limerick and Tipp minors and Tipp had a young Munster rugby academy player playing centre forward. He was on Limericks best player and was good in close in riddles and battling for the ball but when it came to sprinting and short sharp movements he struggled and appeared very top heavy-the difference in skill was also noticeable.

updwell (Limerick) - Posts: 899 - 15/05/2014 21:31:38    1588337

Soma
County: UK

Is an overemphasis on fitness and physique a possible explanation why they seem to suffer with the skills of the game on the biggest days?

In fairness modern day footballers have as high a skill level as at any stage in the last 127 years. Just because they are bigger and faster and teams play better defensively doesn't mean they are less skillful.

white.n.blue (Monaghan) - Posts: 249 - 15/05/2014 21:51:21    1588349

Soma
County: UK
Posts: 261

1588327 Considering Mayo spent €650,000 on their senior football team last year, a % of which would have been spent on dieticians, fitness coaches, pyschologists, performance analysts etc, then you would have to imagine he has not been brought in simply for his experience of professional sport and to offer some wisdom. That would be useful in a club situation but hardly in a set-up where such a huge sum is spent on preparation already. And while he has had a long career with Connacht, he has never come near playing in a game where the pressure would be similar to an All-Ireland final so even for that he provides no obvious purpose. It is quite a strange move by Mayos management, I would be amazed if he lasted long with them. Is an overemphasis on fitness and physique a possible explanation why they seem to suffer with the skills of the game on the biggest days?

He has appeared in and won a European Challange Cup Final.

ExiledinDublin (Mayo) - Posts: 131 - 16/05/2014 08:33:21    1588357

I suppose nobody really knows the answer at this stage. If its a sucess than Horan will be lauded as carrying out a master stroke but if it fails it could be the end of the road ofor Horan and the team.

Quarehawk (Roscommon) - Posts: 22 - 16/05/2014 09:35:22    1588375

he has never come near playing in a game where the pressure would be similar to an All-Ireland final

He played midfield for Mayo in the 99 minor final v Down.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11583 - 16/05/2014 09:39:11    1588378

ormondbannerman
Would have fitness to play from the start as well and would have the skills, very similar skills and others that could be easily adapted to for him to play gaelic

not very similiar skills at all in fairness
he throws an oval ball in rugby and has to handpass a roundball in gaelic
thats just one differance and how do you know he has the skills to be good enough?
have you seen him play gaelic lately?
if he hasnt played gaelic in a decade nobody would know if he is any good never mind inter county standard
I pressume horan is just looking to find out and if he is any use will use him to try see out games I would imagine
would have no problems fitting into horans cycnical tactics haha can see him doing a sean cavanagh to deny a goal chance

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 16/05/2014 09:49:48    1588383

White I am unsure of that. The Gooch has said that if he was starting off now it's unlikely he would make the breakthrough as he did not have the required physique, and in my opinion the late 90's had more skillful players but was obviously lagging behind in fitness. I appreciate that it may be nostalgia tricking me on this but there really were many genius footballers back then.
And Exile I don't think there is any comparison between a 2nd tier rugby final in front of 13000 people and the pressure Mayo are under going into an All-Ireland. Some of the Premiership games he played in for Quins would have had more pressure than that rugby final.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 16/05/2014 09:50:15    1588384

This has even made the main BBC Sport page, Mayo, it would seem, are big news.

link

brendtheredhand (Tyrone) - Posts: 10897 - 16/05/2014 09:53:47    1588385

Yew Tree are you suggesting Mayos minors and seniors were under similar pressure last September? A number of Mayos panel have played minor and u-21 finals, I doubt they would say the pressure and expectation is similar.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 16/05/2014 09:54:45    1588386

Duffy didn't want to say much about the experience when contacted except to note how "I thought my heart was going to explode during training with the running involved and how the rules have changed since I last played!"

seems he will have to work on the fitness afterall

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 16/05/2014 10:09:19    1588398

On the contrary the pressure would have been fairly intense Soma. Victory guaranteed Heineken Cup participation and its associated riched the following season.

ExiledinDublin (Mayo) - Posts: 131 - 16/05/2014 10:24:15    1588404