Never say die Rebels find final flourish

SO much for history and its lessons. Yesterday’s final brought together a team that couldn’t win an All-Ireland final and a county that had never known what it was like to lose one. And look what happened.

Cork did it by tearing up one of the game’s accepted wisdoms: that which says you always start your best 15. Appalling in the first half, they called in the A-team and breasted the tape with the minimum to spare.

There are those who will still criticise Conor Counihan’s selection policy this last few months but the Cork manager has always stood by the maxim that his is a results business and it was one he repeated yesterday.