So what became of the Cork hurlers' second Croke Park entrance? 

All summer, Cork have warmed up in white training gear, then returned to conclave in their dressing room before reemerging in battle red

The Cork hurling team run out onto the pitch for the All-Ireland final against Limerick. Picture: INPHO/Morgan Treacy

It is a rich part of the lore of hurling championship — how games were won or lost in the parade or the warmup. Inquests invariably circle back to forewarnings in the preliminaries. Who was out too soon or way too late? Who used too many cones? Who waved that bit enthusiastically to the crowd?

This time: What happened to Cork’s double entry?

All summer, the Rebels have warmed up in white training gear, then returned to conclave in their dressing room before reemerging in battle red. Seemingly, last week they received clearance to do just that again. But on Sunday at Croke Park, it was all blood, no bandage. And no retreat inside after they emerged unusually early.

“I don’t think Cork dealt well with the day overall,” Liam Sheedy threw in, on Dalo’s Hurling Podcast. “They were out very early. The whole occasion… even watching them in the parade, I never thought they were ready.

“I look at Caroline (Currid) and the impact with Limerick she had in ’18 in their first final. I thought they dealt with the occasion very well. But I don’t think Cork did. I think they’ll learn a lot from it but I think we all thought they would bring a lot more to the pitch.”

Mark Landers added: “There were 13 players starting their first All-Ireland final. They were out early. And what struck me; all year Cork have come out and done their warm-up in their second gear and gone back in and come back out.

“And it was announced last Thursday they had got clearance to do that. But when it came around they weren’t allowed. And it does upset fellas, they don’t like their routine being changed.”

“How did anyone think that would be allowed on All-Ireland final day, with the president back, the pageantry,” Anthony Daly wondered. “That you could go back in.

“Dónal Óg (Cusack) was still saying to me at quarter past three that Cork will be going in now and coming back out. ‘You can’t go in,’ I said. “I agree with Liam. In the parade, there were two or three staring out into the crowd. Of course it’s easy talk after. People might say, ‘he took it all in and he hurled well’.”

Landers added: “It was obvious when they had the red jerseys on they weren’t going back in and I said that was a victory there for Limerick. They are not the reasons we didn’t do it. I’m only grasping at straws, but maybe little contributing factors.”

A bigger factor was Cork’s failure to cope with the tactical questions posed.

Sheedy said: “The big thing was Limerick disconnected the Cork half-back line from the full-back line. The Cork half-back line weren’t pushing out or coming back. They’d have been better off standing 30/40 yards from goals, say ‘we’ll keep our structure here’ and let them pick off a point or two.

“But I think once they disconnected the full-back line from the half-back line it was curtains, it was over.”