Familiarity breeds respect and focus

CORK selector Ger Cunningham knows Kilkenny well. During 16 years in the number one jersey for Cork the big St Finbarr’s man saw black and amber forwards bearing down on him in three All-Ireland finals, after all.

Does that mean he takes a more prominent role preparing this Cork side ahead of Sunday’s final?

“Not really, no more than in any other game. This is an experienced bunch of lads, for a lot of them it’s their fourth final and they’ve played Kilkenny in three of them, so they’ve been through the mill. They’re experienced enough themselves, they don’t need to hear about me!”