Sunday March 5

Allianz Hurling League Division 1A

Kilkenny v Cork, Nowlan Park, 2pm - Live on TG4

Just over a decade ago this was the game in hurling, a clash of the bluebloods.

Since Cork's last All Ireland title, though, in 2005 Kilkenny have managed to raise Liam MacCarthy eight times.

On Sunday the two Allianz Hurling League points on offer matter to both teams. Waterford and Clare have already defeated Kilkenny, Cork's loss to Dublin is a worry too.

Kieran Kingston's new look outfit had made a flying start to the campaign with a splendid success over Clare, but the Dublin display was a setback.

Now Cork travel to Nowlan Park for a hugely important encounter against a pumped up Kilkenny, who also crave victory.

Kingston wasn't overly concerned by the Dublin result. "I don't think we're as bad as we showed (Dublin) and I don't think we're as good as people said we were after (Clare). We're somewhere in the middle.

"We expected a rebound from Dublin and we got it. We just weren't able to match their hunger on the night.

"Dublin are a very strong athletic team and we knew they were going to come at us. They ran at us and caused it a lot of problems but we expected that.

"We created a huge number of goal-scoring opportunities and didn't take them. You have to take them at this level."

Despite a couple of February losses Brian Cody remains optimistic that Kilkenny can stitch a winning run together. “It’s a very competitive League, everyone knows that from the start," Cody says. "Obviously we’re down four points from two games, it’s not ideal.

"Everybody wants to win their matches, we want to win our matches. We’re under pressure in the League as regards to making the quarter-finals. We’re not looking at relegation. We’re looking at the brighter side of things. The challenge is there now to start winning matches."

That is what Kilkenny will be intending to do this weekend, but Cork, with Shane Kingston impressing, will be equally determined.

KILKENNY: Eoin Murphy; Paul Murphy, Padraig Walsh, Conor O'Shea; Conor Fogarty, Jason Cleere, Kieran Joyce; Cillian Buckley, Paddy Deegan; TJ Reid, Colin Fennelly, Richie Leahy; Richie Hogan, Conor Martin, Walter Walsh.

CORK: Anthony Nash; Killian Burke, Damian Cahalane, Colm Spillane; Christopher Joyce, Mark Ellis, Mark Coleman; Bill Cooper, Daniel Kearney; Dean Brosnan, Conor Lehane, Shane Kingston; Alan Cadogan, Seamus Harnedy, Luke Meade.