What have people been writing about the Galway hurlers? Manager Matt Murphy stands in the dressingroom, a cup of tea in his hand and his head spinning with ironic thoughts.

"Kilkenny weren't trying? Kilkenny were under-strength?," he inquires of his impromptu press conference before being gently guided onto the matter in hand.

"I'm delighted to be in the final. We need to be in the final and we needed to win that game. But let no-one go away with the notion that we were thinking we have the perfect team. We know that we don't.

"We know that we made a lot of mistakes out there but remember six or seven of that team haven't played serious championship hurling before." Then, without warning, as the company relaxed into a discussion of the match:

"We were very lucky because we didn't have to play the match on a pitch that was hard as a rock with the ball flying because we're not able to cope with those sort of games. We need soft ground and we're slow and we're cumbersome. We'll work on it though."

The question of Padraig Kelly's torrid time in the company of Charlie Carter suddenly diverts the conversation into a more contemplative direction.

"Right now we've a number of problems. One of our better corner backs is out with a broken finger but we hope he might be ready for the final. You can't always have the ideal corner-back.

"Padraig has been through the mill. Padraig has got man-of-the-match in All-Ireland finals. He's an All Star. I know he struggled back there and he doesn't like it back there but he went back and he's a team player. There's no 'I' in team." Incoming, incoming.

"We came here and they told us to play in the minor match. That was the running joke around Gort during the week with the smart Tipp and Clare boys around the place. They were asking us were we going up for the minor match." Pause.

"We'll be having a senior match the next day."

In the Kilkenny dressingroom, defeated manager Brian Cody sits and speaks.

"I wouldn't say I'm fierce disappointed. It was a disappointing way to lose the old game just at the end. But ahh, I'm reasonably happy. We've had a good League run, a good old campaign. I'm happy enough."

What can he mean?