'You have to adapt, if you don't you will be dead in the water'

There was much talk after Meath's defeat to Dublin in the Leinster SFC recently - and specifically about the lack of intensity shown by the players in green and gold. There was talk specifically of their inability to get stuck in and shut their opponents down.

On Saturday at a sunny, windswept Ballycran in the Ards Peninsula the Meath hurlers showed how it should be done. They displayed an intensity, an appetite for the battle, that was indeed admirable yet it still wasn't enough at the end of 70 minutes of fierce, unrelenting hurling.

This was classic championship fare. A sunny, warmish day, the sod dry, a do-or-die contest with a lot at stake with the losers consigned to relegation.

Those who were in attendance were served up a belter of a contest but despite Meath's best efforts they still couldn't close out the deal. A fact that consigns them to the Christy Ring Cup next year.

Some in the local hurling fraternity seem to feel that a demotion to the third tier hurling championship is a disaster that will set the county team back years, but why should it be? The Royals at least of have a chance of winning that trophy underlining the reality that, right now, the Ring Cup is the level Meath hurling is at.

That reality is further emphasised by the fact that Meath have lost every game in this year's campaign, shipping big defeats, sometimes looking way out of their depth. What use is that?

It's difficult not be filled with admiration for the Meath players who travelled to the heartlands of Down hurling in the Ards Peninsula on Saturday morning and went into battle once more for their county. Normally in hurling games a team has to win the battle before they can hope to win the game.

On Saturday Meath didn't lose the battle - it could be argued they even won it - but they still lost the game. They showed tremendous heart, spirit, hunger, call it what you will but ultimately they fell short, sunk by two quick-fire Down goals. They were devastating blows to their ambitions - but what fire they showed, what spirit, what intensity. They died with their boots on.

That at least is something they can take from Saturday's long journey and that grit and spirit was referred to afterwards by coach/selector Seoirse Bulfin. The man who worked alongside Davy Fitzgerald in helping Clare win the MacCarthy Cup in 2013 was an hugely animated figure along the sideline as the action unfolded on Saturday. At one stage in the first-half the referee Thomas Gleeson came over to the sideline to show the clearly-riled up Bulfin a yellow card for something he had said.

Bulfin and manager Nick Weir never relented in urging their troops on and the intensity, the depth of feeling demonstrated on the sideline transferred to the players. They believed, that indeed the players could go where so many other Meath teams have failed to go in the past and carve out a victory in Ballycran. At the interval, when they led by a point, that belief looked justified only for harsh, cruel reality to strike once more.

When the battle was over Bulfin was back to his affable, amiable self; the warrior passionately screaming out instructions on the sideline now replaced by the calm, quietly-spoken, decent man he undoubtedly is. He expressed himself "gutted" and "heartbroken" not for himself but for the players who didn't catch a break all year.

What about that fervour he displayed along the sideline? The passion for the cause? Where does that come from?

"I can't switch that off I wouldn't make any apologies to anyone, the auld barneys with linesmen and fourth officials, I'm like anybody involved with hurling. If your involved you're passionate about it. I wasn't travelling (from Limerick) up to Meath for the good of my health, but because I enjoyed it. I spent an hour talking to Nick (Weir) last September and I knew I could go to war for him, he's a top class guy, and the players have so much regard for him."

Then Bulfin went on to express his deep-felt admiration for the players and it was clear he meant every word.

"They are such a fantastic group to work with, there's a fierce honesty there, they didn't get the rub of the green, they were off the pace for a number of games, the quality of other teams went against them, but today for a lot of the game we were in with a real shout."

At the start of the year, whether through Bulfin's influence or not, Meath tried to play a passing game, working the ball out of defence. Progressively, as results went against them, they changed tact, played more long balls into the forwards. They certainly took the route one approach on Saturday, lofting the sliotar time and again into big Damien Healy. They had considerable joy from that too but not enough to knock Down out.

The change of approach was born of necessity.

"That (change in approach) came from watching some of the other teams. We had been watching Down the last couple of weeks and we felt going a bit more direct would reap dividends and I think it did in the first-half," explained Bulfin.

"You have to adapt too because if you have only one way of playing you will be dead in the water very soon."

Ultimately the fact that a large contingent of players didn't make themselves available for Meath this year hurt them badly in the end. Could Limerick or Kilkenny afford to lose 10 or more players and hope to fulfil their ambitions? Of course they couldn't.

Bulfin didn't rule out coming back to Meath next year - if asked to do so. His admiration for the dedication of the players is clearly heartfelt. He left home in Limerick on Saturday morning at 4.45am to meet up with the Meath players before heading north.

"It's very easy to do something like that when you are working with a group like these Meath players, they are fantastic guys, my six months with them flew. Their honesty is great, they give every ounce, whether it's training in Dunganny or playing, they give you everything. They took a couple of bad auld beatings in the league and championship but they came back for more."

Whether Bulfin will be back for more is something we'll have to wait to find out.