Cats fluid forwards will see Kilkenny claw back O’Duffy Cup

By COLIN BARTLEY

KILKENNY’S ladies will be aiming to lift the O’Duffy Cup for a 15th time as they take on Galway in the All-Ireland Camogie final tomorrow.

And the girls will be looking to avoid a three in a row, having lost the last two finals narrowly to Cork.

For the first time since the 2015 Kilkenny and Cork do not line out for the final, Galway putting on a stunning display to knock the Rebelettes out in the semi-final. Kilkenny were no less impressive in a mature and measured demolition of Tipperary in their semi-final, disposing of the Premier ladies easily in the end.

Kilkenny and Galway have already met twice this year, and it stands at one win apiece, Galway beating Kilkenny in the league final but the Cats turned the tables on Galway in the championship round-robin.

The Cats are looking to recapture the All-Ireland they last won in 2016, which ended a near quarter of a century wait for the title after Kilkenny’s heydays in the 1980s. A legend of that team, Ann Downey, is now the manager and knows what it takes to win on All-Ireland day.

There is little if nothing between these teams, each team’s win this year over the other was by just two points. Both racked up big totals in the championship round-robin stage against the likes of Offaly and Wexford. Kilkenny made light work of beating the Limerick girls, Galway found it much tougher.

The Galway ladies are a dogged team, strong in the tackle and will try and make it uncomfortable for Kilkenny, but the extra yards the Croke Park pitch gives will make it harder to contain the Kilkenny ladies.

Throw in tomorrow is at 4.15pm in Croke Park, the game is live on RTÉ 2. The Camogie Association is hoping for a crowd of around 25,000 for the game.