Brendan Maher: I’m glad we’re getting another crack at Kilkenny

Captaining Tipperary means facing up to searching questions on and off the field. Brendan Maher has been doing that all year, and when you ask him if the Premier County’s record against Kilkenny is something he’s conscious of, he doesn’t back down at all.

“There’s no point saying it’s not a monkey on the back. It is. I’m just glad we have another opportunity now to play against them again, to have a crack at them.

“It’s two years since we played them in the championship and I’m just glad we’re back and have a chance to prove ourselves again against the best, and there’s no doubt Kilkenny have been the best - possibly of all time, but certainly of the last 10 years.