I’m still finding it hard to come to terms with it all, says dream debut hero Walsh

You’d swear he’d been there all his life.

Think about it. How would you feel? Pitched into an All-Ireland final for your senior championship debut?

Not a bother to Walter Walsh. Weighing in at 15 stone and standing 6ft 4 inches tall were obvious advantages but surely nothing could have prepared him for this. Nevertheless, when the Tullaroan bulwark was replaced in the 59th minute, he came off to a rapturous reception from Kilkenny fans. With 1-3 in the bank and havoc wreaked it was a case of job done.