I’d say Brian Cody gets a good kick out of the notion his Kilkenny teams did not apply tactics

Comparisons of teams and players across generations need to be conditional, mindful of changes in a sport and in the science of sport.

This came to mind twice in the past week — once while watching the 1996 Leinster final between Offaly and Wexford and then fast-forwarding to the current debate about ‘tactics’ in 21st-century hurling.