‘It’s definitely one we won’t forget in a hurry’

Fifty-eight minutes in and the game is still there for either county and Pádraig Maher has just been bustled over the sideline for a Kilkenny line ball. It doesn't seem like a particularly important moment in a match which has been waiting for something, someone to break it open. TJ Reid gets excellent height on his cut and there, in at full forward is Richie Power.

The Carrickshock man rises to catch with his outside arm, shielding the ball with his body, turns to his left after claiming possession and then instantaneously changes his mind, cutting inside Brendan Maher’s covering run to leave himself all alone, square in front of goal and ready to pull the trigger. Again. Above all players, Power has the uncanny talent for producing scores that kill morale. Four minutes later, his brother John was at the end of a ferocious Kilkenny blitz, tapping home Michael Fennelly’s driven shot.

Two goals from the Carrickshock brothers from one of Kilkenny’s dynastic families: it doesn’t get any better,

“Ah, look, it was great when John got the nod to start,” Richie Power says later, standing outside the Kilkenny team bus, the picture of contentment.

“It made it a kind of family affair. He showed good form coming up the game and he got his chance and took it well. Again, it was an energy-sapping game. There wasn’t a second you could catch your breath. We knew what Tipp were going to bring. We knew at half-time that we were in with a shout. We were in the same position three weeks ago and we knew what was in us. There was loads and loads more in it. And we promised each other before we went out for the second half that we would leave everything on the field and I knew that if we did that we wouldn’t be leaving empty-handed.”

This was Power’s 40th championship appearance, his 10th season but he remains an elusive kind of figure in the Kilkenny set-up, an out-and-out talent who seems to come alive on big days.

This weekend was special for the family, with Brian Cody scanning his eye over the auditions at Nowlan Park and yet again identifying the players who were ready to step up.

This time it was John Power, making just his fourth appearance, in with the brother. Not a bad thing message to go home and tell the parents: we both got picked. We both start.

Immensely proud

“I think Mam and Dad were more nervous than the two of us...I think they were up at six o’clock this morning to walk the block. But they are immensely proud. . . It is definitely one we won’t forget in a hurry.

“Look, he was there for the Leinster final. He was always there competing, competing. As Brian says, it is all done in training and John was lucky enough in the two weeks to show a bit of form.”

There was no big talk or heavy advice.

“All I told him was to throw the shackles off and go out and hurl like you can. It is one of those days that can pass you by. In fairness, I think he was more relaxed than I was going into the game. That is the way John is.”

Power has experienced two distinct eras in Kilkenny hurling, having hurled with both DJ Carey and on through the Shefflin era. “Two of my idols growing up,” he says. He shakes his head at the mention of Shefflin’s tenth All-Ireland, at the scale of the achievement. But it wasn’t spoken about beforehand. It was never about winning it for Henry – not for Shefflin himself or any of them.

“It is not about individual achievements. There are 36 players on this panel and we are all friends and we would just die for each other. Individual rewards are nice but our goal was to bring back the Liam McCarthy. It won’t sink in until we go back to Kilkenny. A lot of people wrote us off last year coming out of Thurles and that hurt a lot of lads.

“That hurt drove us on. I went back training after the county final. I knew I had to. Those are the kind of things you have to do and you get your reward today.”