Darren Sweetnam: The one who got away from Cork hurling

There were occasions when Darren Sweetnam seriously wondered whether he had made the right call in late 2013 when turning his back on a certain place in the Cork senior hurling team to sign a professional rugby contract with Munster.

He was 19 when he joined the academy that season and made gradual rather than spectacular progress before making his PRO12 debut against Cardiff in February 2015.

A native of Dunmanway and an Ireland international at hockey and badminton but above all a magnificent hurler, he had come on as a substitute for Cork in the losing 2012 All-Ireland senior hurling semi-final against Galway.