Selection snubs to spur treble-chasing Rebels

A MASTERSTROKE. What else could you call it? This morning Cork hurling fans who awake foaming with indignation at certain omissions from the 2005 Allstars should take a minute to bless the selection committee.

Far from being anti-Cork, they've revealed themselves as Rebel fellow travellers.

Just as every intercounty hurler outside Cork was wondering about the Leesiders' appetite for a three-in-a-row, yesterday's All Star selection provided the ideal goad for John Allen's men. When the lonely, freezing fields of Carrigtwohill and Ballygarvan are approached for stamina training this winter the Cork side will have the perfect motivation: to right the sins of omission suffered in particular by the man who drives them on and the man they all grew up worshipping. That Cork play Clare in their first outing in the Munster championship just adds to the spice. On a more serious note, the indignation is a tad misplaced. The Allstars has always been a matter of accommodation and facilitation. Players are being slotted into positions that are alien to them.