Galway’s intensity will keep them in touch

I fancy Galway, to be honest. I think from the Leinster final, Galway will learn a lot more about that game than Kilkenny. That’s a big factor and their intensity is something else. As long as they bring that, they’ll stay in it and it might be enough to get them through.

It’s crucial that Galway match Kilkenny early on intensity-wise, and they’ll have learned a lot from the last day against Tipperary as well, in the way they responded to goals with points straight after. The problem is that they’re not always going to get that lucky.

These Kilkenny players are as good as the Tipp forwards and what Galway did defensively the last day didn’t work. It’s up to their manager Anthony Cunningham to come up with a plan now to neutralise the Kilkenny attack but that’s easier said than done.