Veteran Cummins still the man to beat for Tipp

IF there’s one thing sports journalists like writing about more than an athlete’s performance’s on the big stage, it is their departure from it.

Year after year, men and women who have given us great days face the same persistent questions about their career’s endpoint from members of the fourth estate, who can be all too quick to see them off in their rush to lionise.

Take Padraic Joyce, for example. The Galway forward made his championship debut back in 1998 but found himself quizzed on his retirement plans long before he hit his 30s largely because he began to sport some silver flecks around the ears.