Dublin hurling manager John Murphy would love another crack at Kilkenny, despite describing the prospect of reaching the ESB All-Ireland MHC final as "something of a poisoned chalice".

The Cats are raging hot favourites to beat the winners of Sunday's second All-Ireland semi-final between Dublin and Clare after their 19-point trouncing of Galway last weekend, but Murphy insists his players won't be fazed if they make their final. Dublin have already played Kilkenny twice in the Leinster championship, losing the first round by 0-9 to 2-13 and the final by 0-10 to 1-20.

"Look, we're certainly not looking beyond Sunday," Murphy told the Irish Times.

"An All-Ireland final for a Dublin team would be a huge bonus, for the whole province really, so of course we'd love to be there. And to beat the Munster champions as well. We'll take that, and whatever reward comes with it we'll deal with in due course."

He continued: "We'd be happy enough with the way things have gone. This is our sixth championship match now, and at minor level that is quite unusual.

"We've been building up nicely all along, although the Leinster final was a bit of a setback, I don't think we were as bad as some people made us out that day. And Kilkenny's win last Sunday proves that they are indeed a fairly handy outfit."

Murphy was in Croke Park last Sunday to see Kilkenny beat Galway 5-19 to 0-15 and couldn't but be impressed.

"Obviously the system they have, and the club scene, is very competitive. When they come through to county level they're very well prepared. But the bottom line is it's the number one sport in the county. I know they've a small population, but they get the vast majority of youngsters playing hurling, and that's a natural head start as well. But there's a whole load of factors. But look Dublin beat them at under 21 level, so it is possible." Tweet

Most Read Stories