Buckley: Seeing Limerick makes Cats crave success

By Paul Keane

The exact odds differ between bookmakers, but all are in general agreement that Kilkenny are fifth favourites for the 2019 All-Ireland hurling title.

It’s a low billing that Brian Cody has rarely experienced in his 20 years in charge of the county and a situation that is almost certainly providing him with inspiration.

Back in April, at the launch of the Leinster championship, shortly after winning the National League, Cody couldn’t help having a pop at critics.

“It’s like as if we weren’t able to play hurling before or something, that we were playing a game that was kind of different altogether,” he said, responding to those who’d criticised his tactics and style before the league win.

TJ Reid made similar remarks around that time, though Kilkenny were painfully unable to make the ultimate statement come summer by securing Leinster or All-Ireland silverware.

In fact, with Cody just days out from the 20-year anniversary of his appointment as Kilkenny manager, he is arguably facing his greatest challenge.

Cillian Buckley, this year’s captain, admitted it’s strange after such a glory era to now be considered also-rans.

“Ah it is, yeah. Kilkenny obviously have a serious history and a serious amount of All-Irelands going back through the years, but we have no God-given right to win them either,” said Buckley. “You have to earn that, to be among the top three or four teams. The truth is, the facts show, we haven’t been among those teams for the last few years. I suppose the aim isn’t to be among the top three or four teams either, it’s to be the number one, compared to wherever we are at the moment.”

Cody’s 21st season in charge of Kilkenny will begin in far-off Australia on November 11, when they play Galway in the Spotless Stadium in Sydney. The Wild Geese meeting of the last two Allianz League winners will be part of the Magners Sydney Irish Festival.

Buckley, a three-time All-Ireland winner, is keen to get going again after exiting this year’s championship at the quarter-final stage, losing to Limerick.

“Looking at Limerick winning the All-Ireland, it makes you think back on the feelings that come with that and the times afterwards and you just crave that success again,” he said.

Buckley got the armband for 2018 as a nod to his county championship success with Dicksboro, but couldn’t fulfil his ambition of leading Kilkenny to an All-Ireland.

“Obviously, after coming off the league success in April and building then for the Leinster championship, we were on the crest of a wave and got to a Leinster final,” he said. “We were within minutes of winning a Leinster at Croke Park and three weeks later we were out of the Championship. It was a fierce disappointment and a tough one to take. If we could take any solace from it, it was that it was an All-Ireland final contested by Galway and Limerick who were the two teams that beat us. I mean that in the sense that we would like to think we weren’t all that far away.”

With Ballyhale Shamrocks regaining the Kilkenny title, it remains to be seen who they propose for the county captaincy in 2019. Buckley feels that TJ Reid may be the natural fit and doesn’t see any issue with the manager not actually getting to pick his own captain, a tradition that has been scrapped by almost every other county.

“I actually like it, it’s an extra prize for winning the county championship,” said Buckley. “It allows the club the honour to put forward someone for it. I think it’s nice the way it is.”

Kilkenny have named a strong 34-man panel for the game against Galway, including Reid and the Ballyhale players, though Buckley said they won’t actually travel.

“I think we are down five or six, they are obviously involved in the Leinster club championship now but, we’ll still have near 30 or so travelling,” said Buckley. “As far as I’m aware, they (Ballyhale) are not travelling, they are out in the Leinster semi-final the weekend we are due back, so I think they have more on their minds.”