Everyone’s out of puff in the Kilkenny Death Zone

Through incredible planning and focus, Kilkenny have oiled a conveyor belt of lean, mean hurlers that have placed All-Ireland glory on a summit out of the reach of most. As the serious contenders already turn to 2016, Dónal Óg Cusack examines how far they have to climb.

When you want to conquer Everest, the biggest challenge is the Death Zone. You get up above the 8,000-metre mark and there just isn’t enough oxygen for you to breathe. There is little more than 800 metres of climbing left to get you to that summit but all the things you were so good at down at sea level are much harder now. You will become weak and you will lose the ability to think straight. You suddenly struggle to make good decisions under stress. You become disoriented. You forget the plan. You can only survive for a certain amount of time using an oxygen bottle.

In hurling, the Death Zone is where Galway lost last Sunday’s All-Ireland final. The Death Zone is the second half of any All-Ireland final against Kilkenny. As a species they have evolved in Kilkenny to the point where they can survive longer and operate better in the Death Zone than any group we have ever seen. They don’t just prepare to survive the Death Zone. They prepare to be part of it. They prepare to exploit it.