If Tommy Walsh left as Lomu, he returned as McCaw

Last week, Tommy Walsh picked up his phone and scrolled down through his phonebook looking for Éamonn Fitzmaurice’s number.

It was a down week for Kerry, as they licked their wounds after the league final defeat to Dublin before dusting off the drawing board ahead of another summer assault on the championship.

There was no hint of attention seeking in the timing or manner of his decision to opt out of the county squad but it must have been a hard call to make.