When the going gets tough . . .

Winners' reactionThey have Brian Cody cornered in the Kilkenny dressing-room, his arms pressed against the wall and head held back, savouring that moment of glory. If a great victory means rising above every circumstance then Cody knows he has delivered this All-Ireland exactly the way he wanted.

"I've always known how All-Ireland finals are won," he says. "By character, and heart. Our skill level has never been in question. But when the reports of the All-Ireland final are written we knew that if we lost people weren't going to question our skill. They would have questioned if we had the heart for the battle, and were able to dig in. And fight our corner.

"Those sort of questions were never in my mind, but they won't ever arise now. And that's the wonderful thing about this All-Ireland. We won that game because of the character of the lads."

It was when Cork first pressed ahead, 18 minutes into the second half and coming at Kilkenny like a hurricane, that Cody knew that character would be tested. So he did his part, straying onto the field with fists clenched.

"I know managers aren't supposed to cross that white line. But I'll be honest about it and say I did. And it was the first time I've done it in two years. If I get reprimanded fair enough but you do what you have to do.

"And there were shades of 1999 there, when we fell behind at a crucial stage. Cork were on a serious roll, and I know what crossed all our minds. Again it was the players getting a flick in here and there. Martin Comerford got the goal but it wasn't just that. It was the spirit all over the field."

For Henry Shefflin it was the spirit of the performance too that matters most, not the just way they won it: "Well, it's never about how you play. It's about the final scoreline. In 10 years time they look back on this game and see that Kilkenny won, and not what kind of a game it was.

"And there were two great teams out there. It mightn't have been free-flowing, but it was tough, hard hurling. About getting in there with your body. And thankfully we came out the right end of that."

Like his manager, Shefflin felt the memories of four years ago come creeping back when Cork pushed a point ahead. "Of course you think of 1999," he says. "I remember looking up at the scoreboard and seeing we were still stuck on 11 points. And we couldn't seem to get off that. But then all our backs were marvellous. The forwards mightn't have clicked today but we did work hard collectively."

Cody doesn't need much reminding about how well his defenders stood up. Noel Hickey had delivered his performance of the season and others like Michael Kavanagh and JJ Delaney just kept doing what they've done all year.

"Our defence was always going to be tested today," says Cody, "and a lot of ball rained down on them in the second half. And some of that defending was incredible. Hickey was immense. Kavanagh. Delaney. But Richie Mullally came in then, his first game in three months, and got into it straight away. And every single player contributed. Some of them won't get rave reviews but everyone does something for the cause."

So he can reflect now on the three All-Irelands won in his four years as manager. And also of winning two All-Irelands in succession, something that seemed increasingly difficult in the modern game.

"People were saying for the last number of years that no team would win two All-Irelands in a row again. But I knew in my heart and soul it would be done sooner rather than later, and why couldn't we be the ones to do it.

"But I'd never rate in any way. The All-Ireland final that you win today is the greatest All-Ireland final. If we win next year that will be the greatest. It's just the feeling of victory, when you turn to the fellas you've worked with all year. Right now this is untouchable."

There were some moments during the year when outsiders looking in felt Kilkenny's season might be under threat, the exit of Charlie Carter coming immediately to mind. Yet Cody never once saw it that way.

"My main ambition coming in was to get a spirit in the team, every time they go out to play. And a spirit that couldn't be broken. That spirit is there now. And things are bound to happen along the way. That's life. But nothing ever has effected the spirit in our team. Little blips appear here and there to the public, but nothing has even remotely impinged on our spirit."

The question now is whether that hunger can be sustained for another year, to start the hunt for the three-in-a-row. "Look, the double-double is amazing. We never once thought of that setting outlast year. But we've just had a good chat here among ourselves, to finish things up. And no one mentioned three-in-a-row. We'll just go out again next year and see what happens."

As a parting note Shefflin offers words of support to his captain DJ Carey, whose pressure on the field yesterday hadn't been helped by what they'd said in the papers.

"It was quite scandalous to have that sort of stuff going into the papers at this time. And to have that as front-page news there must be very little to write about. So I'm really delighted for DJ out there. He's a great man to have walk up the steps and it was a great honour for me to walk up behind him."