Rebels must roll on without 'The Rock'

Diarmuid 'The Rock' O'Sullivan gave 12 years to the Cork full-back line. During that time, the colossus from Cloyne won three All-Ireland senior hurling medals in 1999, 2004 and 2005. As well as that, he also played senior football with the county in the 2002 Munster final and All-Ireland series.

In many ways, O'Sullivan was as revered by the Cork faithful as his recently retired team-mate Joe Deane. In fact 'The Rock' was probably more loved than the man from Killeagh. In terms of size and style they could not have been more different. Deane was the epitomy of the kind of player O'Sullivan must have had nightmares about.

O'Sullivan, given his physical attributes, always relished marking a man of similar stature. Those who were present at the 2000 Munster final will not forget easily the tussle 'The Rock' had with Tipperary's equivalent, Paul Shelley.

It was far from pretty but to many in the crowd the joust represented everything good about limited defensive ability and limited attacking capability. To coin a much-used boxing term, and one that is beginning to annoy me, it was 'pound for pound' or 'P4P'!

We all remember the many, many times O'Sullivan, all 'Vaselined up', barged his way out of defence, brushing anyone who got in his way out of his way before either setting up scores or taking one himself. He was the spark that lit the fire under the Cork crowd and when he had a good day, of which there were many, he was 'bulletproof'.

However, O'Sullivan, even though he is being referred to in many publications today as "one of the game's all-time great full-backs" was porous at times.

He was not always comfortable under the high ball and a low ball into the final line of defence caused him headaches on numerous occasions. He was no Usain Bolt and it appeared that he was carrying excess timber for most of his glittering career.

That aside, there was no number three like him throughout his time marshalling the Cork full-back line, Clare's Brian Lohan aside!

O'Sullivan and Lohan were masters of getting out of difficult situations and making it look like it was all under control when for the most part they were living on luck and the back-up of good corner-backs either side of them.

O'Sullivan, now 30, played his last game for the county in the semi-final defeat to Kilkenny last August, when he departed the field in tears, perhaps knowing that it was to be his last meaningful act on the Croke Park sod.

'The Rock', being 'The Rock', will be hoping no one is shedding a tear at his decision but there are certainly full-forwards up and down the country breathing a collective sigh of relief that the path to the Cork goal may be a little bit more penetrable now.