Preview- Plenty of optimism as Shefflin leads Kilkenny 20s into action

After weeks and months of anticipation, the Kilkenny under-20 hurlers will kick off their Leinster Championship campaign this weekend when they face Kildare in the opening round of the group stages.

With games to come against Wexford and Laois, it’s set to be a busy couple of weeks for the Cats as they look to repeat their Leinster title heroics from a year ago.

Last year’s vintage went all the way to an All-Ireland final before losing out to Tipperary but with Kilkenny legend Henry Shefflin now in charge of the side there is a lot of expectation around the team.

After stints with Thomastown, Galway and most recently leading his own club Shamrocks Ballyhale to county championship success, the 10-time All-Ireland winner now steps into a bit of unknown territory as he takes over from Mark Dowling.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s opening clash with Kildare, the new boss admitted that he was delighted to get the call to be involved with the team.

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“It was an easy decision to make and I was delighted to get the call as there is no doubt that there is a lot of talented players in Kilkenny.

“The last two minor teams have been unlucky in All-Ireland semi-finals and a final so it’s great to be involved.

“I was back with Ballyhale last year and when the opportunity came up I was delighted to take it along and it’s been very enjoyable so far,” Shefflin continued.

There’s not only a fascination with the number one man in the role but the choice of Brian Hogan as a selector is also an interesting look with the former Kilkenny team-mates joining up mere months after being up against each other on the sideline during the 2025 county final between Shamrocks and O’Loughlin Gaels.

Shefflin’s managerial career now stretches over a decade when you take in his first stint with the Ballyhale club so we largely know what to expect.

With his right hand man Richie O’Neill by his side it’s a familiar look on the sideline but it’s Hogan’s influence that may be the x-factor for the under-20s.

An All-Ireland winner at the heart of the Kilkenny defence, Hogan has the experience of managing O’Loughlin Gaels over recent seasons. With three county final appearances as well as losing out in an All-Ireland final under his belt, he’s certainly built up a wealth of experience - but all of that was as the main man.

LISTEN: Henry Shefflin and Walter Walsh - Kilkenny Under 20 Preview

Coming in as coach/selector is a different matter altogether but together with Sean Kelly and James Gittens, it’s a star-studded management team on paper. With a talented player pool at their disposal, hope is high for a promising spring.

“There were two areas of key focus when I was coming into the job as I wanted to get the coaching side right and the Kilkenny side right,” said Shefflin.

“It was very important to have players and people representing both of those aspects well and we are very lucky to have Richie O’Neill involved after he previously done a bit of coaching with myself at Galway.

“Sean Kelly and James Gittens have also been successful at Dicksboro and Thomastown respectively, so that coaching side is very important. Then, having someone of the presence of Brian (Hogan) and all that he’s achieved with his own career path is very important,” he added.

“I was thrilled to get those lads involved and all of the backroom team are giving up so much time to help out so we are happy to have a strong management team in place.

“This is very much a development grade for us and we’ve players involved who weren’t on a minor panel before so it’s good that everyone gets a chance as everyone develops at different rates.

“Most importantly we as a management team work well together and we’re all there for one reason in trying to make these players better.”

It’s just over two weeks since St Kieran’s won the All-Ireland colleges title and with Eoghan Cahill, David Barcoe, Fionn Mahony, Louis Raggett, Jake Mullen, Bill McDermott and Ben Nevin all involved on both squads, finding the right balance has been key for Shefflin.

“Every under-20 squad sees players coming and going be it from seniors to freshers to schools action and a lot of teams would have that. The strength of schools hurling in Kilkenny is there for all to see with the CBS reaching a quarter-final and St Kieran’s going all the way.

“To be fair to the Kieran’s management and ourselves, we have seen the players a good bit where we might have a session a week with them and they were then back to the school for training and games so that balance worked out well. The way they won the All-Ireland title was very impressive.

“They showed massive character in their last three games and that will put the lads into a confident state. While there is a little bit of a lull afterwards, it’s a great lift for themselves and the whole squad. There is challenges with only having a certain amount of time with the players but it’s mostly positive as the lads are really looking forward to the upcoming games.”

The first step on the road is away to Kildare this weekend and while Shefflin is looking to improve the players, he also knows that winning is also key.

“The under-20 grade is about player development and trying to bring lads along however we know how this business works and it’s about results as well,” he said. “We are conscious that we want to win games and that’s why we are there so the pressure will be on as we have a very difficult Leinster Championship ahead of us.”

“We play Kildare on Saturday who already have two games behind them and are probably into a bit of a flow, while we will be playing together for the first time.

“We then have a massive game with Wexford in Nowlan Park the following week where we’d be looking for big home support before we finish off against Galway who would be hot favourites for Leinster in the last group game,” he added. “We’ve three tough games and it’s very important that we get points on the board as we need to win a couple of those games to ensure we are into the quarter-finals and onto knockout hurling as that’s where we want to end up as a squad.”

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