Cool for Cats

FIVE years on, Brian Cody is not merely one of the most accomplished and successful hurling managers of the modern era.

The Kilkenny manager has outlived all of his main contemporaries, and enjoys the rare luxury that only victory guarantees for all but the chosen few. Little wonder he is gearing himself up for the challenge of three-in-a-row.

It so happens that he and his co-selectors are working with the biggest and arguably the best pool of players available to any coach, evidenced in the clean sweep of the major titles this season. Yet, he is dismissive of the view that Kilkenny are guaranteed to maintain their dominance in Leinster and that will only be a question of who might be able to stop them in the All-Ireland series.