Kilkenny will still be up for it despite absent Cody

 THEY will be a strange sight in Thurles on Sunday – a Kilkenny hurling team without their long serving manager Brian Cody patrolling the sideline. But don’t assume for one minute that it will make Galway’s task any easier in the second of the National League semi-finals. In fact, the Cats will probably have an extra cause to carry the day as their team boss recovers from recent cardiac treatment.

Cody has been the off-field inspiration behind Kilkenny’s unprecedented modern-day dominance of hurling. Winning nine All-Ireland titles over 13 years, the reigning title holders have been a cut above the chasing pack during that period. Their overall quality, team-work, intensity and savage hunger has combined to make them virtually unbeatable – and they still want more.

But without Cody’s tactical acumen, ruthlessness and imposing personality, it’s doubtful if Kilkenny would have even snared half the silverware they have accumulated since the James Stephens clubman took over in 1999. He has been the driving force behind their continued dominance; demanding standards never slipped; and adopting a zero tolerance approach to players who have got too big for their boots. Egos and Cody have always been uncomfortable bedfellows.

It’s reported that even some of Kilkenny’s most seasoned and decorated performers are still ‘half- afraid’ of their manager, but whatever the dynamic between Cody and his squad, the mutual respect is obvious. He rarely gets it wrong on the line either, with his calling up of Walter Walsh, a player who hadn’t one minute of senior championship hurling behind him, proving a masterstroke in last year’s All-Ireland final replay against Galway.

It takes balls to place such thrust in an unproven 21-year-old for such a high stakes match, but Cody has always had the courage of his convictions and his judgement is regularly vindicated. Having seen him up close and personally on the sideline when his team might be in some trouble, the Kilkenny boss can be cranky and verbally hard on his players. He knows what they are capable of and hates to see individuals not realising their potential on a day to day basis. He also despises losing.

Against that background, you’d might expect that Kilkenny might be somewhat vulnerable on Sunday without their commander-in-chief, but their will want to honour their absent manager with a display laced with typical power and commitment. Deep down, the likes of Jackie Tyrell, JJ Delaney, Tommy Walsh, Eoin Larkin and Aidan Fogarty know they wouldn’t have won so much only for Cody being in their corner. They will be desperately keen to repay him in some way for the years of loyalty and slavish devotion against Galway.

Furthermore, Kilkenny have a score to settle with the Tribesmen since the opening round of the league. On the day, they were arguably the better team but three goals from Davy Glennon, Niall Healy and Damien Hayes saw the home team get the verdict on a 3-11 to 0-17 scoreline. When the Cats also lost their second outing to Tipperary, it even sparked some loose talk about relegation but, unsurprisingly, they regrouped with hard earned wins over Waterford, Clare and Cork respectively in defence of their league crown.

This will be the counties’ seventh meeting (including last year’s Walsh Cup) in around 15 months and Kilkenny hold a 3-2 edge, with one draw. That level of familiarity should ensure no shortage of spice between the teams in Semple Stadium, but Galway’s need for victory is surely greater given that they need every competitive match they can get considering their free passport into the Leinster final in early July.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.