Rebels focused on own agenda, says Naughton

Cathal Naughton announced himself to the hurling public in 2006 with an assured goal in the All-Irelandsemi-final against Waterford. And now the Cork forward has Tipperary in his sights in Sunday’s Munster SHC semi-final.

First, though, he and his colleagues had to flush the Kilkenny defeat in the league final out of their system. The Cats handed out a hammering in that game and Naughton is frank in describing it.

“We were very disappointed with the Kilkenny game, our performance just wasn’t good enough on the day. The first 20 minutes, we were just blown out of it by Kilkenny. They’ve set the tone over the last few years along with Tipperary and that’s the level we’ve to get to. Since then, though, the preparations have been good. Training’s been enjoyable and we’re looking forward to Tipperary.”