Throw Ball, every successful All Ireland team has to cope with injuries. Down went into the 1991 championship with a first choice midfield of Ambrose Rogers and Liam Austin. Ambrose was injured before the first round, and missed the entire Ulster championship. Big Austin took a knock against Derry in the drawn semi final which meant that he was unavailable for both the replay and the Ulster final. Both were only fit for the bench in the AI semi and final. Given that we had otherwise a generally very young side, and had not won a provincial title in the previous ten years, those were major losses. We were outsiders in every game we played that summer, so Sam came home strictly on merit.