Re-appointed Kilkenny senior hurling manager Brian Cody is looking forward to the challenge of defending the three-in-a-row. The James Stephens clubman accepts that his all-conquering team will be in everybody's crosshair next year but sees this as an extra challenge: "If we were starting this year and there was a team out there that had won the last three All-Ireland finals there would be a massive drive and ambition to knock that team and stop that run. "That kind of rivalry is part of sport. All the other teams will be saying 'Look, we have to get up there and beat these lads.' We know that. "Obviously we are there to be taken on in a major way now. That is great for us as well. The whole thing is a challenge and challenges drive on the really serious people in sport." Tweet

Most Read Stories