Wild Geese Trophy

Kilkenny v Galway, Spotless Stadium, Sydney, 3.30pm (4.30am Irish time)

By John Harrington

The Galway and Kilkenny hurlers have travelled a long way to contest tomorrow’s inaugural Wild Geese Trophy, and neither side wants to go back home empty-handed.

We know by now what to expect from a Brian Cody managed Kilkenny team – total commitment – and they certainly won’t be dialling down the intensity levels for today’s clash at the Spotless Stadium.

“Obviously the reason we're here the whole time is to play the game,” said Cody. “We've been here a couple of days and Sydney is a smashing place with so much to see and do.

“It's maybe easy enough to get caught up in the holiday atmosphere, but we made it very clear to the lads from Day One that the reason we're coming out here is to play the game and we can enjoy the place afterwards and that.

“They're very much tuned into it. It was grand to get a bit of a puck-around this morning in the stadium, it's an impressive stadium.

“The lads are totally geared for the game tomorrow and hopefully it'll be a worthwhile game for everybody.

“We would be very, very conscious of the fact that we're going over to play and to represent the game of hurling properly over there for the people who have such a huge interest in the sport.

Galway will be no less determined. There’ll be a strong representation of emigrant Tribesmen and Tribeswomen in the crowd today and Galway manager Micheál Donoghue and his players will be doing their best to give them something to shout about.

“Yeah, absolutely,” said manager Micheal Donoghue. “No more than any game, you come and you see the fabulous surroundings, a lovely stadium with a GAA pitch lined out on it, and your anticipation builds. So we're really looking forward to it tomorrow.

“It's an end of season game but we're all competitive by nature. It doesn't matter when or where we wear that jersey, we're always going to be as competitive as we can and I'm sure that won't be any different tomorrow.

Galway are here as 2017 All-Ireland SHC champions while Kilkenny earned their passage by winning this year’s Allianz Hurling League Final.

That success was a particularly sweet one for the Cats, and not just because they beat great rivals Tipperary in front of an appreciative home-crowd in Nowlan Park.

Kilkenny have been through something a period of transition of late with so many living legends retiring from inter-county hurling, and their first piece of national silverware since the 2015 All-Ireland title seems to suggest that this new-look young Cats team has come of age.

“There were big changes to the team in the past year and a lot of lads have gotten a nice bit of experience,” said Cody.

“But the reality is that next year is going to be back to square one. It's going to be a very, very challenging year.

“There's huge opposition out there now. Genuinely at least six or seven teams who will have winning things in their sights.

“Obviously you want to be as ambitious and competitive as you can possibly be, that's our challenge.”

The appetite of spectators for tomorrow’s match is surely whetted by the dramatic drawn and replayed Leinster Finals these two teams contested during the summer.

When Galway emerged triumphant in the replay they were heavily fancied to win back to back All-Ireland titles, but they ultimately fell at the final hurdle against Limerick in the All-Ireland Final.

“Obviously we're still very disappointed by that loss, it was a big opportunity for us,” admitted Donoghue.

“But, look, we have stressed many times that we're not a group that dwells on the past too much.

“Time has moved on and already we're looking forward to next year. Lads are already looking forward to getting back at it again.

“They're a great bunch. They're extremely motivated and there's a good age-profile to our panel and really hungry for success.

“I have no doubt when we resume back that they'll have the appetite to continue on. It's been a few months since the All-Ireland and already lads are looking forward to going back at it.

“No two years are the same and it'll be a massive challenge for everybody again next year but it's one we're looking forward to.”

It’s never too early to lay down a marker and you can be sure both the Kilkenny and Galway players will be keen to strike a psychological blow ahead of the 2019 season by lifting the Wild Geese Trophy today.