Behind the spike in hurling's penalty conversion rates

Most strikers now know they are being studied, which is why the best penalty takers often account for the detail in front of them, especially in how a keeper holds the hurley, writes Christy O'Connor.

The Art of War, the Chinese military treatise written by Sun Tzu in the sixth century BC has long had an influence on business and managerial strategies but it’s become an increasingly popular reference point in the culture of modern sport.

One of its most famous aphorisms incorporated into elite preparation is taken from the last verse in the third chapter, which has been more tersely interpreted and condensed into the modern proverb: “If you know both yourself and your enemy, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.”