Cork played with freedom and showed their bold approach

Cork’s lines all stood up to the task against Kilkenny at Semple Stadium yesterday

I spoke on Saturday of the mutual fear and respect between Cork and Kilkenny and this was evident again in Thurles yesterday. One thing they know down around the Nore — never, ever write off a Cork team, especially a Cork team in Semple Stadium, a place where they love to perform.

The big question mark over Cork coming into this game was whether their forwards would stand up to this Kilkenny defence? We got a very emphatic answer — every one of those six Cork starting forwards scored from play.