'He is 24/7, 365 days a year hurling' - Cork hurlers enjoying fresh perspective from Donal O'Rourke

BRAINS TRUST: Cork coach Donal O'Rourke, centre, and Cork backroom team colleagues. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

The new voice in the Cork dressing room is not Pat Ryan’s. It’s an old Sars teammate of his that is bringing the necessary bit of unfamiliarity - and the unexpected.

New manager and new voice should not be confused as one and the same. It’s a very small number of current Cork hurlers who didn’t work with Ryan either during his two years as selector/coach under Kieran Kingston - 2016 and ‘17 - or the more recent two years he did as U20 manager.