At the end of a trying week Cork reached their first All-Ireland under-21 hurling final in 20 years. Half a dozen players who saw action for the seniors in Croke Park last Sunday and another couple of unused subs overwhelmed a Wexford team without their best forward, Rory O’Connor. Before a ball was struck there was a suspicion that the game might swing on his absence; in the event, that was unfounded.
Cork dominated this competition in its early years to the extent that even two decades without a title hasn’t dislodged them from the top of the roll of honour, a position they share with Kilkenny. Cork hurling, though, has suffered the consequences of not being successful in this grade.
The only concern for