Cody: Maybe, we are a second-half team but that won’t do the next day

WHEN the doors to Kilkenny dressing-room finally opened, there were no flying champagne corks, no real excitement.

Tipperary defeated, job done. Another All-Ireland final. That’s all yesterday amounted to.

Even though, for 35 minutes of the second half, Kilkenny illustrated all the qualities that make hurling a wonderful game, by half-time, Tipperary were two points ahead and had some believing a surprise was brewing.

Whether they stopped playing or Kilkenny lifted to a level none of their contemporary rivals can match is a matter of conjecture but there was plenty to admire in the champion’s second half display. Their half-back line. The tireless toil of their forwards. Eddie Brennan’s search for the net, foiled time and again by Brendan Cummins, before being successful.

A satisfied expression is painted across Brian Cody’s rosy complexion.

“We picked up in the second half, we got the two goals which set us on our way, although for a long time, they didn’t look like they would come. It looked like Brendan Cummins would beat us on his own. I was concerned at half-time. I thought Tipp had controlled the game for the previous 20 minutes, and had taken over in key sectors. But we were still only two points behind and I felt there was more in us.”

So, what was the magic formula you hit upon at half-time, Brian?

“I said very little at half-time, as usual, I let the players essentially do the talking. We improved a lot in the second half certainly. But that’s hurling. We were in a similar sort of situation against Wexford in the Leinster final and we came out and gave a similar display. Maybe, we are a second half team but that won’t be enough the next day.”

Cody believes his players used their wealth of experience to redirect themselves to their target in the second half.

“The half-back line came into the game very strongly. But it was more of a team lift, our forwards upped their work-rate which meant there wasn’t as much quality ball coming into the Tipp forwards. It is very hard for backs to do their job if quality ball is being pumped into the forwards. It was an overall team effort in the second half.”

Peter Barry, one of the stars of the second half show, is surrounded by a forest of microphones, unfortunate enough to be one of the dressing-room stragglers.

Barry, wondrous at centre-back in the second half, dissects what went right at that stage.

“Brian put it up to us. We knew we had to stand up and be counted in the second half, because it could have ended there and then for a lot of us. When the challenge was put up to us, the lads responded.

“The half-time whistle was a turning point. We knew when we came in we were really poor, we were struggling everywhere. We were being beaten to the ball, the forwards were clustered, the backs were being pulled all over the place. We came in and calmly said if we didn’t step up the performance from 1 to 15, we would be sitting at home watching the All-Ireland final,” he says.

DJ Carey, quiet enough by his own exalted standards, opened the scoring floodgates with a 65 not long after the break. Barry pinpoints that moment.

“Any time DJ gets scores, other teams says it hurts them more. The reality is we are all here to hurl for each other. When he does score, it lifts the team because everyone here looks up to him unbelievably.”

Eddie Brennan was a star in the attack. He ended the afternoon with 1-4 in brackets beside his name, despite Brendan Cummins being on a solitary mission to deny him.

“Eddie is really going well, he has come into his own since switching to 15. Eddie is a great team player. A lot of lads mightn’t think that, because he scores so much,” says Barry.

Someone wonders if the chance to wreak revenge for that wet final in ‘99 will focus Kilkenny even more. Barry shakes his head at the memory.

“Bad day, bad day. Funny you remember the things that hurt you more, I would remember the ‘98 and ‘99 finals more than 2000 and last year. Cork beat us fairly and squarely, they out-hurled us all over the field.

“We only hurled for half the game out there, and unless we all hurl to all our potential against Cork for the entire game, we won’t have the McCarthy Cup in here.”

Although it took them a while to truly click, when they did, Kilkenny seemed to have none of the apathy afflicting other provincial champions after their lay-off. Barry reasons that Cody sending his panel back to their clubs was a big factor in that.

“In our six-week break, we went back and spent three weeks with our club which was important. I think it refreshed everyone.”

The last word went to the graceful Cody, who will spend the next few weeks trying to temper the hype around this team, who flirt outrageously close to perfection when everything runs smoothly.

“Kilkenny-Cork, it will be a 50-50 battle, no matter what has happened beforehand. When these two counties meet in an All-Ireland final, it is capable of going any way.”