Sean Og O hAilpin has claimed that Cork would have no chance of beating Kilkenny in today's eagerly-awaited All-Ireland hurling semi-final if they hadn't had a break from their recent hectic schedule last weekend. The Rebels played three weekends in-a-row against Dublin, Galway and Clare, and O hAilpin regards it as "one of the most hectic" periods of his hurling career. "What I found going through this route, it's more mentally draining than physically. The physical conditioning of this team is good, but the mental side is draining. I couldn't even speak on the bus on the way home from the Clare game. I was just shattered. You'd swear we had lost," he said. "If we had to play last week I can tell you straight away we wouldn't win, no way, not a hope in hell. We'd probably give them a good run up the tunnel but after that . . . As amateurs, we're not conditioned for four weeks in-a-row." The Na Piarsaigh clubman is unsure whether Kilkenny will have an advantage because they are the fresher team, or whether Cork will benefit from being battle-hardened. One thing he is certain of, however, is that it's a huge motivation for Cork to stop Kilkenny completing the three-in-a-row, all the more so since most of the players were involved in 2006 when Kilkenny did just that to the Rebels. "They beat us by three points. Truthfully, it could have eight or nine, but we were that close to pulling it off. It was shattering. Now we find ourselves in the same situation. It would be great to reverse the tables." Tweet

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