Brian Cody stayed up to watch all of Super Bowl 51 last night

Brian Cody has confessed to an unexpected interest in American football, writes Michael Moynihan.

The Kilkenny hurling manager said he’d stayed up the previous night to watch the Super Bowl: “Yeah, I saw it all. Tom Brady, yeah.”

While not admitting to be a fan of Brady, the New England Patriots’ quarterback - “No, not really at all” - the Kilkenny boss admired the Patriots’ fightback to beat the Atlanta Falcons.

“I started watching it. I really know very little about it, just watched it.

“Just a brilliant comeback, crazy. I don't understand much about the game to be honest about it. I didn't have to be up to early so I'm OK.”

Told that Dublin boss Jim Gavin is a gridiron fan, Cody said he’d “go back and look at the video - we're not too structured, you know”.