Limerick's meetings with Kilkenny have largely defined John Kiely’s reign - but the widely forgotten 2017 qualifier tie between them almost consigned him to the scrap heap.
The 2018 All-Ireland quarter-final was the game that propelled Limerick to that year’s title more than any other, while their shock semi-final defeat the following year is the backdrop to a 15-game unbeaten run in Championship hurling as they’ve hoovered up three Munster titles and a pair of All-Irelands ahead of Sunday’s three-in-a-row bid.
But there was little about Kiely’s first season at the helm to suggest that such unprecedented success was about to follow.
