Wexford's Rory O’Connor has paid tribute to the county’s pair of PwC All Stars, Diarmuid O’Keeffe and Lee Chin.
O’Keeffe was named at midfield alongside Tipperary’s Noel McGrath last week, while Chin was chosen at right half-forward.
It was the first time that Wexford had won a hurling All Star since Damien Fitzhenry was selected in 2004 while it was their biggest representation since their All-Ireland winning year of 1996.
O’Connor said: “It's a pure reflection on certainly the two lads, two leaders. 'Dee O' firstly, what a guy, to the point, doesn't cut a corner, only for us getting into an All-Ireland semi-final, that's when he got recognised for an All-Star and the season he had. So delighted for him.
“Then Chin, the powerhouse behind the team, when he's clicking everyone is rowing in behind him.
“For the goal he scored against Tipp, he ran straight down the middle, just that leadership to take on the goal and score it.
“Even his free-taking this year, so those two lads fully deserved their All-Stars and it's great to have a couple of All Stars back in the county since 2004.”
Wexford had other strong contenders, like Liam Ryan, Matthew O’Hanlon and Kevin Foley but ultimately had to settle for two spots.
O’Connor added: “Sure everyone has opinions on the All Stars. I thought Liam Ryan was certainly unlucky.
“What a year he had at full-back, every match, marked some of the top players. His point against Tipp, he'll be slagged about it for years.
“Yeah, certainly you could say that some lads deserved it, some lads don't, but some lads have to miss out unfortunately. Hopefully it'll motivate him to try to go even harder to win one.”
If you haven't already, be sure to like our Irish Mirror Sport and Irish Mirror GAA pages on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
