Ben O’Connor bristles against ‘cleansing’ hurling: what we learnt from the weekend’s GAA action

Whether you agree with his points or not, it is hard not to admire Ben O’Connor’s willingness to play the role of truculent fox in the hurling henhouse. Having ruffled a few feathers last week with his comments on the ‘fellas above trying to cleanse hurling,’ O’Connor doubled down on his views following Cork’s win over Tipperary on Saturday night. In an era where most post-match interviews could be filed within a Dulux interior design catalogue – ranging somewhere between harmless beige and light taupe – it is refreshing to see a manager have a cut and actually speak their mind. Given his comments after the Galway match, it wouldn’t have been much of a surprise if he was advised to kick to...