Cody: we weathered storm

IT HAS become enshrined as an August tradition. Kilkenny go about the business of triumphing in an All-Ireland hurling semi-final and Brian Cody explains in the aftermath how his charges have managed to advance to another September showdown.

The latest success at Croke Park yesterday was an awesome production, Kilkenny melding together strength and power to brush past Cork. The five week hiatus from competitive action may have left Cody uneasy beforehand, but the nature of his players’ display ensured those worries were perfectly assuaged afterwards.

“Obviously we prepared well for it. We were saying to ourselves that it was going to be hard to gauge how we were going after the layoff and that, and the form Cork had been showing coming into the game... All we could do was prepare and go into play the game. I thought we played quite decently. There were big questions asked of us, especially in the first 20 minutes of each half.