With just days to go to the All-Ireland hurling final showdown, Kilkenny half-back Cillian Buckley has been talking up the opposition, and indeed the strength of hurling in his province. But has he gone too far?
Speaking earlier today on Morning Ireland, the 23 year-old said:
Maybe 10 years ago lads were winning Leinster medals year in year out but as we've seen in the last few years the Leinster Championship has become as competitive as the All-Ireland. Playing in the All-Ireland final is where every player wants to be so we're really looking forward to it now.
But scorelines from recent Leinster matches totally contradict Buckley's assertion. This season alone has produced a sequence of lobsided outcomes with Kilkenny and Galway emerging as the chief assassins:
Kilkenny
Leinster SF: Kilkenny 5-25 0-16 Wexford
Leinster Final: Kilkenny 1-25 2-15 Galway
GALWAY
Leinster QF: Galway 5-19 0-18 Dublin (admittedly after a draw)
Leinster SF: Galway 3-28 1-14 Laois
Similarly in 2014, uneven match-ups were just as prolific with Kilkenny unleashing a 12 point drubbing against Dublin in the Leinster final suggesting there is ample evidence to suggest that the Leinster Championship is no way as competitive as Buckley implies.
Looking ahead to the All-Ireland Final, Buckley anticipates a different challenge from the Tribesmen and insists that Kilkenny will have to be at their sharpest to match any changes in play that occur throughout the game.
Galway are as physical a team as there is out there. They seem to play the standard 15 on 15 game so we'll have to adapt and make changes where we need to. You might have to wait 20 minutes into a game before these things happen but that's what it's all about.
This is the second time that Galway and Kilkenny have faced off in the All-Ireland final following their dramatic replay in 2012 which resulted in Kilkenny skating away in the replay with 11 points to spare.
