Bugler keeping his fingers crossed for his Cratloe football team-mates

Clare’s

Brendan Bugler

has spoken about his decision to join the All Stars hurling trip to

Shanghai

and consequently to miss tomorrow’s Munster club football final.

Bugler, one of only two players (along with Cork goalkeeper Anthony Nash) to feature on both the 2012 and 2013 All Star hurling team, is a member of the Cratloe panel although he plays his club hurling with Whitechapel, who don’t have a football team.

Cratloe face Kerry favourites Dr Crokes tomorrow in the Gaelic Grounds, Limerick, a fixture which forced the withdrawal of Bugler's fellow All-Ireland winners Podge Collins and Conor McGrath from the All Stars trip.

The match couldn't be postponed because Crokes' Colm Cooper is going away after the final.

“It is tough. It was a tough decision to make,” said Bugler in Shanghai. “The situation I was in, I wouldn’t have been starting. I have very little football done this year with Cratloe.

“My hurling club is Whitegate and we’ve had a very good year. We were in the Munster intermediate, so I only joined them (Cratloe) before the county final. I didn’t start the county final. I came on the last day (against Ballinacourty in the provincial semi-final) and I wouldn’t have started the next day.

“I only joined in 2010. There’s no football in my club and I played bits. Usually my own hurling club would be out of the championship and Clare would be gone in August, or July, so I was using it to keep myself ticking over and I enjoyed it as well.

“I only trained with Cratloe three times this year. I didn’t get the opportunity because I was involved with my own club as well. Look it, it was great that they won the county, and fantastic, but they are up against it now with Dr Crokes.”

He also said that having booked time off work – he teaches in Kilkenny at Callan CBS – it would create difficulties for others were he to have changed his mind at the last minute.

“I wouldn’t count myself a great footballer or anything but the decision was made and it wasn’t just my decision as well. Other people had to be taken into consideration with time booked off and working up days with holidays.

“I had all that sorted and I was looking forward to this for the last two years (as a 2012 All Star, he was aware that he’d be travelling on this year’s trip). Cratloe are a super club, they understood straight away and the boys were fully supportive of my decision.

“There were all saying if they were in a similar position to me they would do the exact same thing. So, yeah, it’s good to have the lads’ support like that.”