The grains of rice that can tip the balance between Nemo and Castlehaven

GIVEN the array of shooting stars on display, it was a surprise as much as a disappointment that last Sunday’s drawn Cork county final proved such a blunt spectacle.

If the Championship is a journey, finals are the destination, and no one wants bad memories from the experience once they arrive.

Hence, even with the Hurleys of Castlehaven and Nemo Rangers’ Paul Kerrigan, Luke Connolly, Barry O’Driscoll and James Masters on show, both finalists spent periods of the first game with the handbrake on.