New direction sees Ruairí Deane reaping rewards

The conversation with Ronan McCarthy is almost four minutes old when the performance of Ruairí Deane is brought up.

Standing outside dressing room number two underneath the Kinnane Stand in Thurles, Cork manager McCarthy is parsing through their surprisingly comfortable Munster semi-final win over Tipp.

Deane, indicative of the leading role he commanded, is the first player mentioned to McCarthy. The manager’s reply is that the Bantry man was “truly magnificent”.