TJ Reid says Kilkenny were waiting in the long grass ahead of last night’s encounter with Clare, as Brian Cody once again proved himself the All-Ireland semi-final mastro.
Last night’s mauling of the Banner in front of just under 40,000 fans at Croke Park was Cody’s 17th All-Ireland semi-final victory out of 22 attempts - including a draw with Waterford in 2016.
The four defeats came to Galway (2001 and 2005), Waterford (2020) and Cork (2021).
Intriguingly, the Galway defeats both came against a fresh tribe side, who weren’t playing in Leinster at the time, while the other two last four losses came in Covid hit years.
It also helps Cody that he has an on-field general like Reid, who at 34 years of age rolled back the years with perhaps his best display in three seasons.
Reid had a hand in nine of Kilkenny’s first 11 scores and finished with 10 points, including four from play.
But he was quick to heap praise on his team: “Look, you have to be confident, you have to believe in your team, and we did,” said the Ballyhale Shamrocks star.
“We had four weeks of great training. We were together for the last four weeks, serious training, serious bonding.
“We were waiting in the long grass and I suppose we trained really hard and it showed. Our performance was excellent from start to finish.”
Cody also felt the four week break since the Leinster final victory over Galway was a big benefit to Kilkenny.
“Up to the Leinster final we were playing more or less every week, which gives limited time - no time, really - for training,” he said.
“We have great emphasis on our panel at all times, so that gave a chance to everyone on the panel to get out there and work for the team, to put their hands up to make a claim for a starting place.
“I know everyone wants to talk about a settled team, but I make (it) clear that I’m only interested in a settled panel.
“Everyone fighting for their place and knowing if we put them on - who knows what team we’ll pick for the next day, but it’s whatever team we pick is the right team to pick.
“It’s about having that absolute spirit in the whole panel, where everybody respects everybody else’s opportunity - that if they earn the right to play, they should play.”
Cody was delighted with a first half display that saw his side go in at half-time leading by a whopping 14 points - 1-17 to 0-6 - against a Clare side that simply didn’t turn up.
“We were coming up to play Clare, an outstanding team who showed in the last two games, in different ways, the quality they have and the spirit they have - the real fight in their team and the skill level.
“To be in the position we were in at half-time took a huge effort - honesty, skill, application, and everything else."
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