Darren Sweetnam admits the lure of a career in professional sport helped make his mind up to abandon his inter-county hurling career.

Cork Constitution 26 Cashel 15

Munster U20s head coach Greig Oliver will point to the Junior World Cup success of JJ Hanrahan, James Rael and Niall Scannell this summer to motivate his current crop as they go into inter-provincial action next week.

Cork hurler Darren Sweetnam, pictured, will play his second game of rugby within a week tonight.

Dave O’Callaghan may be graduating from the Munster Academy this summer but he is fully aware there are plenty of skills still to be learned as he embarks on a professional rugby career with his native province, not least patience.

It doesn’t seem long ago but it’s more than a decade all the same. Paul O’Connell, raw and big-boned, was 21 when I first set eyes on him. It wasn’t long before I wanted to throttle him.

THE great and the good of Munster and Shannon Rugby turned out in force last night in Limerick for the launch of Anthony Foley’s autobiography, Axel: A Memoir.

THE capture of former ACT Brumbies and Australia A head coach Laurie Fisher may be described as a huge coup for Munster, but it brought into sharp focus the dearth of indigenous coaching talent coming through the professional provincial system in Ireland — or those willing to forego a steady job for the insecure world of professional coaching.

Saracens' Darragh O'Mahony has enjoyed a successful career in England but, when the Corkman watches Munster taking on Stade Francais in the Heineken Cup quarter-final this weekend, he will find it hard to submerge a certain sense of regret. Hugh Farrelly met him in London.

“DID I ever tell you about the time that I ...”