Cats make Laois nightmare come true

The sun shone and the rain fell in intermittent waves but there was no sign of lightning striking twice in Portlaoise last night as Kilkenny made short work of an outclassed Laois side in this Bord Gáis Leinster U21 final.

Forewarned and forearmed by events last Sunday, this Kilkenny team made the short trip determined not to fall prey to the sort of ambush with which Galway had peppered their seniors in Croke Park.

Unbackable favourites entering this Leinster U21 decider, Kilkenny went on to prove that odds of around 33/1 on were in no way out of order against a county participating in its first provincial final at the grade since 1990.