Preview- Kilkenny looking to bounce back in derby clash with Tipp

As a result of Tipperary’s victory over Waterford in Walsh Park last Sunday, the clash of the All-Ireland champions and Kilkenny in Thurles this weekend is something of a dead rubber with both counties now assured of their Division 1A safety.

While in theory there may not be much to play for, it’s still a crucial game for both as it’s their last competitive clash before the start of the championship next month.

All eyes will be fixed on Kilkenny as Derek Lyng’s team look to bounce back from their 18-point hammering against Galway in Salthill, their biggest league or championship loss since 1954.

After much criticism from both within and outside the county, how the Cats respond will be most interesting as they look to hit form ahead of that league rematch with Galway in the opening round of the Leinster Championship.

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Tipperary are also beginning to come to the boil and this round seven league affair will have them well tested as they face Cork in a repeat of the All-Ireland final for their opening clash in the Munster Championship.

Saturday night’s meeting, which has a 7pm start in Semple Stadium, will be the first competitive meeting between the sides since the scoreboard affair in the All-Ireland semi-final last July.

The Premier County sit on three wins thus far after victories over Galway, Offaly and Waterford and the win over the Deise which saw them produce the goods with the wind at their backs in the second half wasn’t far off their strongest team.

With the likes of John McGrath, Oisin O’Donoghue, Darragh McCarthy, and Michael Breen amongst others all back on the field, the All-Ireland winners will be looking to continue their recent winning run against the Cats.

For Kilkenny, it’s been an up and down type of league with their workmanlike 0-20 to 0-16 success over Offaly kicking things off before they then lost out to Limerick in the Gaelic Grounds.

A late Cian Kenny free then got the Noresiders out of trouble against Waterford before the Leinster champions suffered successive defeats at the hands of Cork and Galway.

The manner and the lack of any decent performance in the Galway loss left many question marks but for that same reason, you can expect a fiery response from the boys in the black and amber.

Losing on the road in Salthill for a Saturday night league game under lights can happen to anyone but the seeming lack of fight and ease at which the Tribesmen swatted away Derek Lyng’s men will have left the Kilkenny management on edge over the last two weeks.

Apart from Cian Kenny who ended the contest with 10 points to his name, decent displays were thin on the ground though it can somewhat be put down to an illness that went through the squad the week of the game.

The big injury worry emanating from the trip to Salthill is Mikey Carey after the Young Irelands man went down with a suspected hamstring knock.

Carey looks highly unlikely to be available on Saturday and he’d be a big loss in normal circumstances but given the fact he has been earmarked as Huw Lawlor’s replacement at full-back it only heightens the severity of his possible absence. The likes of Padraig Moylan, Darragh Corcoran and David Blanchfield amongst others may come into contention and with the Galway game only around the corner, it’s an issue that will need a quick fix from Derek Lyng’s point of view.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Cats are still awaiting the return of TJ Reid and Adrian Mullen and it will be interesting to see if they are available come Saturday.

Elsewhere, the two new lads in the corner of defence, Rory Garrett and Ivan Bolger have done well thus far and while they were on the backfoot the last day, it’s still been a positive few weeks with Liam Moore also showing well in attack.

It’s up to a few of the more experienced faces to step up the performance levels and with the result against Tipp down the list of importance, it’s crucial that Kilkenny start hitting their straps as they move into championship mode.

Saturday night should tell us a lot!