Cats in the mood for heat of battle, warns Fitzpatrick

“I’M back, flying fit, top of me form actually at the moment.”

In any other county, that news from Cha Fitzpatrick would be enough to see this most cultured of hurlers immediately reinstated to his usual midfield position.

Kilkenny isn’t any other hurling county, however. Two weeks ago the Cats got their 2010 championship campaign off to an impressive start, a 4-19 to 0-12 shellacking of Dublin in the Leinster semi-final; even with Cha out injured, the new pairing of Michael Rice and Michael Fennelly did the business for Kilkenny, and thus, for Sunday’s Leinster final in Croke Park against Galway, are in pole position to start again.