Kilkenny team in good health

NEWS of Kilkenny’s demise has been greatly exaggerated! Wexford had a lot going for them on Saturday in the Leinster senior hurling championship.

NEWS of Kilkenny’s demise has been greatly exaggerated! Wexford had a lot going for them on Saturday in the Leinster senior hurling championship.

A home tie against their great rivals, a successful under-21 encounter between the same counties four days earlier and a resounding victory for their senior footballers at the same venue just before the hurling game commenced.

All of this came on the back of a relatively successful National League run which saw the county retain its Division 1 status and an impressive championship opener against Antrim. But once the news filtered through before the throw-in that captain and unquestionably their mostwould have provided a formidable obstacle, but he was sitting in the stand.

His centre-half-back replacement, Ciarán Kenny, succumbed to an injury early on and he too had to be substituted. With two of their first choice outer defenders absent Wexford were going to struggle. And struggle they did!

The most glaring statistic from the opening half was that Wexford won just three of their 17 puck-outs. Rarely have I seen a midfield pairing as dominant as the Kilkenny duo.

The performance of Michael Fennelly was particularly noteworthy. The Ballyhale star has not played for weeks due to a hand injury, and while he would have participated in all the physical training, the sharpness of his hurling was incredible.

Fennelly’s midfield partner, T.J. Reid worked industriously throughout and the Ballyhale duo could