‘We were at the crossroads’

DON’T rubbish the Allianz National League title, because it had “a major bearing” on Kilkenny’s 27th All-Ireland hurling success this year, manager Brian Cody said yesterday.

Cody underlined its importance in the context of restoring morale after the shattering defeat by Galway in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final and, more pertinently, in re-building the team. Kilkenny hurling had reached a crossroads and at a personal level Cody himself had arrived at a critical stage in his managerial career.

Relaxing in the Burlington Hotel yesterday ahead of the team’s journey home, Cody revealed that he had felt positive all along that his team would be very hard to beat: “But this wasn’t something that we turned up for and happened for us overnight. It all started off in the league.’’