‘We played some stuff !’

HE staggered down the tunnel under the Hogan Stand, gasping for breath, Brian Phelan’s Waterford jersey on his back but turned inside-out (“Ah, I know Bull well!”).

Limerick’s Donie Ryan was drained, out on his feet, but there was one last kick in him. “Ah God lads it’s a great day — but ye media fellas know nothing about hurling!”

It wasn’t a sharp kick, nor a mean-spirited one. A knowledgeable thinking man across a broad sweep of sports, Donie knows this game, understands that on all known form, Waterford had to be favoured for yesterday’s semi-final. There are some elements, however, that aren’t as obvious as others, and Donie had an inside track denied to us pundits.