A lesson from the masters

It appears those cunning Sicilians knew something about hurling, in addition to the protection racket. There’s an old Mafia saying that real power can’t be given: it must be taken.

Travellers from the southern capital who arrived in Thurles for a coronation saw the proof of that maxim yesterday. Kilkenny have long established that regime change is necessarily confrontational and those anticipating a new age will have to wait a while longer for the dawn, as a 3-21 to 0-16 scoreline doesn’t suggest the Cats are minded to abdicate peacefully any time soon. Kilkenny produced a masterful display, with emphasis on the word ‘master’. A well-worn sports writing expression has it that a team imposes its game on opponents, but it was a cliche made flesh in Semple Stadium yesterday. Kilkenny played at their level and beat Cork comprehensively.

“If we were weak in any position we’d have been punished, and we were decent throughout the field,” said Kilkenny boss Brian Cody. “Everybody dug in. Nobody has to do anything fantastic, everybody just has to do their job for the team, so we were happy with that.”