Technology scores - Magnificent

Sunday’s All-Ireland hurling final was, by any criteria, a spectacular, heart-pumping event, one defined by skill, commitment and — if political correctness has not marked this word offside — manliness.

As sports events go, and remember it’s little more than a few weeks since Germany and Argentina played in soccer’s World Cup final, it may be reckless to hope that 2014 might offer a more exciting or passionate afternoon — and that claim can be made objectively and without any fear of being accused of insularity or parochialism. It does though, put enormous pressure on the two teams involved when they meet in the replay — how can they match, much less surpass Sunday’s performances?

One detail may have been overlooked in the euphoria. Without technology, the aftermath might have been marked by acrimony and argument, but because Hawkeye confirmed that the free that might have won the game for Tipperary was wide, hostilities can be deferred until the replay.