Cody: Anyone can beat anyone on a given day

In his 21 seasons as Kilkenny manager, Brian Cody is not sure if there has ever been a more even and finely balanced hurling championship.

Which three counties survive the Munster bearpit is anybody’s guess, while across the way in Leinster, four into three doesn’t go and so one from Galway, Dublin, Kilkenny, and Wexford will be left standing idle with an empty summer in front of them from June 16 onwards.