Brendan Cummins believes that Brian Cody's rivalry with Henry Shefflin, and the controversy surrounding it, has provided a new motivation for the Kilkenny manager.
Cody won his 18th Leinster title as Kilkenny manager on Saturday when his side defeated Shefflin's Galway by five points.
The cameras were trained on the two Kilkenny legends immediately following the game in anticipation of their post-match handshake. They had shared an awkward and icy moment following Galway's win against Kilkenny in Salthill earlier in the championship.
"I think it's absolutely energised Brian Cody," former Tipperary goalkeeper Cummins said on The Sunday Game.
"He's been around the block so much. Everybody has written him off. The narrative for the last three years is, 'Oh, this is Cody's last year'. In fairness to the man, the amount he has done with rebuilding teams...
"Now, I wouldn't agree with it. I think you should just walk down the sideline, shake hands and say, 'Right, that's it. Thanks very much, see you the next day' and move on.
"He held the whole place in the palm of his hand last night with the cameras following him around. He thought, 'I'll go over now in a minute, maybe I won't'.
"Certainly, as sports people we'd all like to say, 'Look, go over and shake hands, and we're not talking about it tonight'.
"Brian Cody is just very dogged in the way he goes about things. He'd have been delighted that he got one over on Henry."
Brendan Cummins on Henry Shefflin and Brian Cody handshake
Brendan Cummins believes the controversy surrounding his relationship with Henry Shefflin has energised Brian Cody, while Shane Dowling describes the furore as "sad"#SundayGame #RTEGAA pic.twitter.com/CeFdKhyQ6Z
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 5, 2022
Former Limerick Shane Dowling added: "I don't know what's going on. To be honest, I don't care, it's none of my business. I'd say a lot of people don't know what's going on. What I do know is that it's just sad, two iconic people, you'd love to see it being a bit more normal."
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