In Kerry in the summer of 1982, they were printing T-shirts professing their disbelief that they had just won five in a row and were giddily eyeing up the post-championship winning holiday to end all post-championship winning holidays.
But Kilkenny don't do that kind of hype. Brian Cody would ensure against it. They take care of business regardless. Not so, according to JJ Delaney in the upcoming Laochra Gael.
In the show, which will be screened this Sunday, he admitted that the hoopla surrounding the 'drive for five' in 2010 seeped into the players. It was a distraction.
With all the attention Kilkenny were getting before with ‘the drive for five’, it distracted everyone away from it.
It would have been great to say you did the five in a row but, look, four in a row isn’t bad, is it not?
He also may have fed the perception that Kilkenny enjoyed the 2011 All-Ireland victory over Tipp more than possibly any other.
We heard all the talk about Tipperary were going to take over hurling for the next few years as well and when you’re getting that bit older you’re kind of saying ‘right, I mightn’t have too many more opportunities to stop this in the tracks.
It was just getting back on top, getting back what they took off us the year before.
Information one would never have been able to glean from John Mulhall's performance in Kilkenny that evening.
[Irish Examiner]
