Seánie McGrath: Off the ball carry-on has gone to a different and unsavoury level

If all this pre-match digging hadn’t been happening all over the field, and hadn’t played out to the extent it did in Ennis and Thurles the weekend before, Darragh McCarthy might have got away with his offence.

UNSAVOURY LEVEL: Cork’s Robert Downey and Darragh McCarthy of Tipperary argue. Pic: ©INPHO/James Crombie

My vantage point for Sunday’s game was almost at ground level. I was in the lower rows of the South Stand, down towards the City End. The lack of elevation was offset by the perfect line of sight that I had of Cork’s inside line in the opening half.

As a former inside forward, you think you know a bit about how lads in there operate, but I was genuinely blown away not only by their skillet, but the constant movement and dialogue. Hoggie, Brian Hayes, and Alan Connolly never stopped talking to one another. Never stood still either.