Hurling stars had to sling Singapore

GAA officials have played down the Cork hurlers’ withdrawal from the All-Star trip to Singapore, saying withdrawals have always been a feature of the scheme.

There was surprise in some quarters when it emerged that most of the Cork panel had pulled out of the trip to Asia, but Fergal McGill of Croke Park pointed out yesterday that when the same situation arose two years ago “nobody blinked an eye.”

McGill said it was not surprising that players couldn’t make it to Singapore three days after returning home from holidays in South Africa.