Play the man, not the helmet

This year will surely go down in hurling lore as the Year of the Helmet. In an All-Ireland series marked by contentious helmet incidents, Austin Gleeson last weekend saw fit to give us one more: right in front of a linesman and right in front of a camera, arguably the most clear-cut incident yet.

We can probably all agree that it’s a good thing that Austin Gleeson will be playing in the final. It’s a novel and refreshing All-Ireland pairing – only one final since 2006 hasn’t involved either Kilkenny or Tipperary – and victory will end a famine for either county.

In these circumstances, you’d want both sides to be full strength, to avoid any ‘what if’ questions and so that a victory won’t be compromised for either team.