Cork machine can draw power from twin engines

Hurling/Countdown to All-Ireland final: Ben & Jerry's is America's favourite ice cream. And down Newtownshandrum another Ben and Jerry are also considered quite tasty, albeit in a hurling context. Ben will captain Cork in Sunday week's All-Ireland final against Kilkenny at Croke Park, and joining him in the Rebel line-up should be his twin Jerry, the latter patrolling midfield.

The O'Connors are used to being quizzed about their close bond now that young Jerry - he was born 15 minutes after Ben - has joined his sibling on the Cork team. Ben, though, tries to play down the link as it relates to hurling.

"This is really the first year that he (Jerry) has got himself in as a number-one choice all the time. It's nice to have a clubmate of your own playing alongside you because you know his game better than you would some other player's.

"I think there's a bit much made of the fact that Jerry and myself are twins. If there was another fella from Newtownshandrum thrown in, then we'd probably have the same understanding. It's nice to have fellas from your own club playing alongside you."

Their physical similarity doesn't extend to their personalities, says Ben. "I don't think we're similar. I suppose we have the same interests because there is nothing to do below in Newtown except hurling. We'd be different in personalities, although we're both quiet."

They're not averse, however, to "doing the twin thing".

"It would happen fairly often that people would mix us up. If I'm called Jerry and he's called Ben we just play along. We wouldn't even go to the hassle of telling someone they were wrong. We'd just talk away. We get away with it."

Hurling is a family affair that extends beyond the twins to their father, Bernie, who has coached all his boys from the time they played under-12s right through to minor, under-21 and senior. Those ties were never more in evidence than earlier this year when Newtown won the All-Ireland club title in Croke Park.

The O'Connors are also united in the business of making hurleys, Bernie for the past 12 years. Ben took it up four years ago and observes: "I try not to change my hurley too often. I don't break too many of them. Cork have a different style hurley to any other county; the same at Tipp and Kilkenny. For a Cork fella to use anything other than a Cork-style hurley, he'd find it very difficult to get used to it."

Ben admits their Munster final defeat to Waterford was a bit of an eye-opener as they played well that day, but he adds the back-door system has allowed them develop as a team to a point where they are looking forward to the Kilkenny game with relish. He is at pains to highlight the quality of the opposition and points out that but for Wexford's last-minute goal Kilkenny would have arrived this far as Leinster champions.

"It was a bit of a shock to them to be beaten in the Leinster final. On the day they played poorly as well as Wexford playing well. Yet it was only for the last puck of a ball that Kilkenny were denied.

"They have shown what champions they are. They had two fierce tough battles with Clare. Especially the first day when they were down to 14 men and had to battle, they did so. They are battle-hardened and they are a fierce team to be going in against."

He's looking forward to the match, conscious of how hard the team has worked these past nine months, and hoping that, with help from the brother, they get it right on the big day.