The physicality is back and Cody is smiling

GAELIC GAMES: BRIAN CODY is in a teasing mood

GAELIC GAMES:BRIAN CODY is in a teasing mood. When it's put to him that this performance might have been a response to some unkind things that were said about his team after the league final, he breaks into a grin. "Who could have been saying such a thing?" he wonders. "Not ye lads, surely. Members of the press, ye were hardly so insightful as to say that?" Chortle, chortle. To the victor the smiles.

A day like this feeds his soul. He lived every stroke on the sideline for a good hour, claiming every free and line ball, chastising every error and clapping every advance. He eddied along the line for the 20 minutes at the end of the first half when the action got salty and the hits piled on. His team were having a light shone in their eyes far earlier in the year than they’ve become used to and by his bearing you could see that Cody was revelling in it.

At no time yesterday did he look like a man who could imagine being anywhere else.

“You can’t get revenge for the league final,” he pointed out. “The game is over and it is lost. Dublin were by far the deserving winners of the league, not just on that day but throughout the league. Since then they’ve beaten a very good Galway team and we saw how good Galway were last night. This was about today’s game. You can never get back the league final. But obviously what it did is it got very seriously into the players’ heads what the quality of the opposition is.”

READ MORE

That opposition was shrunken yesterday, cut down to size by the sheer ballast and brawn of a Kilkenny side that got on top early and stayed there for the day. Each department made Cody a happy man but he was especially pleased with how they outmuscled Dublin, having come out the wrong end of that exchange the last day.

“It’s a physical game and they seem to be trying very hard to put a stop to that,” he said, without feeling the need to go into who “they” were. “I certainly hope it continues to be a physical game because it’s an outstanding game when it’s allowed go ahead with decent challenges in it. If you don’t stand up to the physical challenge, you’re blown away in hurling.”

That was Dublin’s fate, delivered with verve and certainty by Cody’s players. But he went out of his way afterwards to stress his admiration for Anthony Daly’s side and to warn everyone else that their summer isn’t done yet.

“Dublin had a tremendous day in the league final. They were also very good against Galway and they competed all the way today. They showed terrific character even when they were nine points down with 10 minutes to go. They kept at it and kept at it. I genuinely believe they are going to have a say in this year’s championship. I’m certain of that.”

Malachy Clerkin

Malachy Clerkin

Malachy Clerkin is a sports writer with The Irish Times