Harsh lessons learned as Rafferty looks to future

Meath aiming to bounce back in All-Ireland series

If there are any crumbs of comfort Meath can take from their devastating loss to Westmeath in the Leinster SFC, is that it happen to the best of them as both Donegal and Mayo exited their provincial championships following surprise defeats at home to Down and Roscommon respectively.

The pain of the loss to neighbours westmeath in Tullamore still stings for All-Star full-back Sean Rafferty, but the Na Fianna man is already looking forward and cannot wait for the draw for the All-Ireland series next Monday so Meath will know the first step on their road to redemption.

"The dressing room (after the loss to Westmeath) was heartbreaking, not a word said, there were a few tears here and there and the bus journey home was probably the same. It was very disappointing, hard to take still, a few days later. Every time you think about it, it's a heartbreak," reflected Rafferty at the launch of the 2026 Beko Club Champion.

"That's sport and we have to move on and there's an All-Ireland series coming now, so our focus will shift to that. We can let ourselves feel down for a while, but not forever and we have to take our learnings and take our beating.

"We were beaten by a team that was better us on the day, so you just have to accept that, that's sport, that's the way it goes sometimes, but the only thing you can do now is look back, take the learnings and move forward to the All-Ireland series now with a bit of positivity and know that it hasn't changed who we are as a team. We can still hit a very high level.

"We didn't against Westmeath, but it's still in us, it's still there, so now we're chasing getting back to that level again.

"Initially coming away from the game, the feeling is that they probably wanted it a bit more on the day than we did and that's a tough thing to accept because there's no reason behind that.

"It's not a tactical thing or anything like that, it's a team thing. You're looking and going, why weren't we up for it, why weren't we at it, not that we weren't up for it, but not at the level that they brought.

"It probably took us a while to get to that level in the game and by the time we got to it, maybe it was a small bit too late for us when we started that bit of a comeback.

"It's a tough thing to go away and try and figure out and you could drive yourself mad thinking about it, but that's probably what we're taking away is why aren't we getting to the standard we think we can get to all the time

"We probably got to it most of the time in the league and that got us promoted to Div 1, but we didn't get there (against Westmeath) and if we want to become an elite team at that top level, chasing Leinsters in the future and chasing the latter end of All-Irelands, we have to be able to get to that elite level all the time.

"You're coming away looking, why didn't we get there and how do we fix that, and I suppose that starts on the training pitch now when we go back training. We're going to have to get back to that level of training and then drive it on from there.

"We're still a young team. I'm 26, but a lot of the younger lads are 22 and that, so they're still very young to take them learnings and have a few years to build as a team.

"We're early still in that development as a team, so them learnings are a good thing at the same time as being very tough in the moment, but can we use them in the right way and turn it into the positive going forward? Because now it hurts and that's normal, but we can't dwell on it too long either.

"We need to get back on the horse and drive forward and keep the positives we have going and get the fans behind us again and get a result in that All-Ireland series and kick-start our season again because you're into a new competition now where you're starting fresh. "It is a positive in a way because you are taking the learnings away and there are learnings when you lose and you maybe don't feel them as much when you win even though you might need to, so that's just the way it is in that sport and we'll keep moving."

With a tough test against a provincial finalist in the opening round of the All-Ireland series, the Enfield based teacher is looking forward to the challenge and is hopeful that Meath might have some key players back from injury.

"It's a provincial finalist in round one now. It can be either a beaten or winning team. That's the position you put yourself in, but as I said there, it's not like we don't back ourselves any time.

"We do our study on teams. We feel like if we bring the level we're capable of getting to, we can be tough for any team. So we have that little period now where we can go away as a team and work on the things we felt that let us down and maybe get that consistency a bit higher.

"Once the draw is made we can lock in and focus then and make sure that we bring the level we want to bring to that first round of the All-Ireland series this year.

"We obviously lost Mattie (Costello) during the league, and that's a massive loss after him being nominated for an All-Star last year. The same with Ronan Jones. We haven't really seen him now since Leinster last year, and Kinlough was a massive loss, unfortunately, with the cruciate last year as well.

"I'm sure from their point of view, they would have been rather trying to get fit for a Leinster semi-final or then maybe a Leinster final. That's what they would have been rather preparing for, rather than preparing for a first round of an All-Ireland.

"(The break) gives them time, and that's great, and they can obviously give something massive back to the team, but as a team, you feel like you let them down a bit because they're away doing all the hard work, off the pitch, the hard yards, running, committing.

"They would have died probably to get a chance in that jersey there on Sunday, and we probably let them down a small bit in how we approached it. They will be back hopefully soon, and that will be a huge boost to us."

Has the hype aroubnd Meath in recent months been a factor?

"I wouldn't really look at the media too much, or anything like that, because I know that any given day you can be beaten out there, if you're not at it," said Rafferty.

"I didn't get that vibe around the camp that we were assuming we'd get anywhere. The expectation was there from the outside, and why wouldn't it be? We just got to Div 1, we'd beaten Kildare in the league, Westmeath failed to come up, unlucky, again.

"The expectation was there and we probably did want to get to a Leinster final and probably get over the line after last year, but I wouldn't say that's what caused this (the loss to Westmeath).

"It's hard to put a finger on it, from my own point of view and being around the squad, I didn't feel like anything had changed in our prep between previous games and this game. It was just, on the day we learned that harsh lesson that nothing's guaranteed, unfortunately, and if you don't bring that level every time, you can be beaten," concluded Meath's number three.

*The Beko Club Champion accolade rewards and celebrates dedicated club volunteers whose hard work often goes unnoticed. Celebrating 10 years of the partnership with Leinster GAA, Beko has overseen the distribution of over €250,000 worth of equipment to over 90 clubs across the province, rewarding hard work, commitment and dedication taking place at grassroots level.