WEXFORD hurlers are in the business of taking on challenges in life rather than attempting to walk away from them. There are, of course, no marks for guessing who has managed to instil this sort of attitude into the chemistry of the new Leinster champions, it is the philosophy of their team manager, hotelier Liam Griffin.

Griffin is certain that the approach is not short lived and that nothing will change in this regard when his side take on Galway in Sunday's All Ireland senior hurling semi final at Croke Park.

Griffin's success in the entrepreneurial sector has rubbed off on his players in the even more heated and competitive area of championship hurling. "It's not so much that we accept the stiffest challenges, we want them and the full squad feels that way too," he says.

Griffin insisted before the Leinster final that Wexford wanted to meet Offaly in the decider "with all due respects to Laois".

The Leinster final win over Offaly saw a barren 19 years of Leinster championship hurling come to an end for Wexford and confirmed Griffin in the view that his team had new energy and fresh levels of resilience.

The first thing you notice when talking to any one of this generation of Wexford hurlers is that Griffin, the motivator and facilitator, is spot on in his appraisal of the mood. Yes it's true, they do spurn the soft options. The manager is on record as saying before that Leinster final that, in the event Wexford winning, they would be glad Galway were their opponents in the All Ireland semi final "with due respect to Antrim, who would seem to be the soft option".

"This is the route we want to go. We are stronger mentally, and in a general sense, now than ever before. We can cope better with adversity."

What pleased him most about the Kilkenny and Offaly games in the Leinster championship was the way his team fought back when faced with difficult situations.

"We layed every single bogey in Leinster. They said we could not come back. We have proved them so wrong. They said we could not beat Kilkenny - we disproved that notion. They said we could not beat Offaly and we did. So all the criticisms that had been levelled against us have actually been eradicated. No matter what happens on Sunday we would still have answered all of those criticisms in Leinster."

The All Ireland championship odds quoted by Hackett bookmakers are: Limerick 4 to 5, Galway 5 to 2, Wexford 7 to 2 and Antrim 20 to 1. How does Griffin deal with the reality of still being third favourites to win the All Ireland title in a four horse race? "As far as I am concerned the bookies don't often get it too wrong. We are happy with that if that is what they think, but it doesn't affect us.

"Galway are entitled to be favourites. Their big advantages lie in the success of their underage teams and the feed from those teams down the years, something we have not enjoyed. Then, of course, they have Joe Rabbitte."

Griffin regards Rabbitte, on form, as the best hurler in the game. The damage Rabbitte did to Wexford in the National League semi final remains a sour point. "He beat us on his own that day. He is the main man. As far as we are concerned in Wexford the guy could walk on water."

Hurling fans, it would seem, may have to wait until Sunday to find out who will be Rabbitte's marker, even though Wexford named their side last evening. Silly pre match games among selectors have become common. Grit" fin augmented the trend yesterday. I don't know who we wilt have on Rabbitte and if I did I wouldn't tell you," he said.

Wexford's last All Ireland success was in 1968 when they surprised Tipperary. Griffin feels that his players can now cope in much the same confident way in which the likes of Dan Quigley, Willie Murphy, Phil Wilson, Tony Doran, Dave Bernie and goalkeeper Pat Nolan dealt with that Tipperary challenge 28 years ago.

"The day we won the Leinster title was the end of a chapter in Wexford hurling," he insists. "This is the beginning of a new chapter."

As far as Sunday's match goes, Griffin says: "Galway are one of a few teams that beat us this year, so we are looking forward to another crack at them. We want to see how much we have progressed. We feel we are a better team since the League semi final and Sunday will prove whether we are or not.