Paraic puts sport in perspective

After three Leinster final appearances and three Leinster final defeats, it would be tempting for Paraic Sullivan to suggest Rhode’s latest provincial decider is life and death stuff.

It is, of course, nothing of the sort. And doesn’t Rhode’s captain just know it. A tour of duty to Chad with the Irish Army in 2009 put many things into perspective for him.

Deployed close to a refugee camp in the stricken region, he was part of a regiment ordered to keep the peace in an atmosphere of high tension and sweltering heat.