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.

“We weathered the storms in both halves. We finished strongly in both halves as well. To be fair it’s a testament to Michael Dempsey and our physical trainers along with our entire medical team in the background.”

There were times when Kilkenny had to contest and times when they were able to cut loose. As is his pragmatic persona, Cody preferred to concentrate on the former. The garlands may be directed at the fury and finesse they combined to string 1-7 together without reply before half-time. But it was the more earthly qualities that Cody chose to gush about, those periods at the start of both halves when Cork attacked and Kilkenny battled.

“The reality of hurling or any game, is neither team is going to dominate a game for half of the match. That’s the way it went today. Cork, even though they’d been out the last few weeks, they came at us very early like we knew they would. As long as we tapped over a few points and regrouped, we were going to work our way back into the game. I think that’s what happened really.”

Those qualities of persistence and endeavour were encapsulated by full-back Noel Hickey. The Dunamaggin man has endured an 11-month stint out of action, crocked on the sidelines with injuries. Rehabilitated and restored to the No 3 shirt, he played like a man who had never been marked absent and his manager was impressed.

“Noel is immense. For whatever reason people continue to question him. He was immense, you can put it whatever way you like but he did it from start to finish. That’s just the way he is. He’s an absolute inspiration to all of us.”

On a day that touched perfection from the Kilkenny viewpoint, the one bum note was the sight of midfielder Cha Fitzpatrick being stretchered off near the end. Cody was hopeful that matters were not too grave.

“He’s obviously being checked out now to see how he is. Hopefully everything will be fine with him. He had a serious game today for us. I didn’t see the incident. I genuinely didn’t see it so there’d be no point in talking about that at all.”

And so they march on. September 7 beckons them with the prospect of a tilt at that fabled three-in-a-row and the prospect of Tipperary or Waterford. There will be no fretting in the build-up, the Cody era has seen seven previous All-Ireland final appearances. Number eight will not prompt mass anxiety. It is something they savour and cherish.

“It’s brilliant to be involved in the All-Ireland final. It’s something we appreciate hugely and respect in a massive way. We realise that we’re living at a time when we have this opportunity.

‘‘It’s a massive ask again to take on the winners of Tipperary and Waterford which we’re looking forward to immensely. It’s the be all and end all for everyone involved in hurling, that day in September. It’s the greatest day of the year. We’ll look forward to it and we’ll work towards it.”