How much pressure did ‘drive for five’ put on the Cats last year?

EVERYONE is fixated on the similarities between this year’s final and the previous two.

What about the differences? There’s one significant change. Kilkenny are no longer bearing the burden of hunting consecutive All-Irelands. Though Brian Cody and company protested otherwise, the ‘drive for five’ of last year took a toll. Even their opponents admit that.

“I think this year it is going to take a bigger push to beat Kilkenny because they don’t have that weight of history on their shoulders,” says Tipperary goalkeeper Brendan Cummins.