Rushe ready to make amends against Limerick

Two years ago Dublin's Championship challenge perished when Anthony Daly's young side were beaten by Limerick in the All-Ireland quarter-finals at Semple Stadium, Thurles.

That was then, a different time for Dublin hurling, before the capital had emerged as a real hurling force and before they had announced their dramatic entrance with a stunning Allianz Hurling League title win over Kilkenny.

One of the young leaders of the small ball revolution on Liffeyside, centre-back-cum-midfielder Liam Rushe, reflects on the massive changes that have come about in that time.

Rushe started at full-forward that day and only six other starters from that four-point defeat - Gary Maguire, Niall Corcoran, Joey Boland, Johnny McCaffrey, Alan McCrabbe and David O'Callaghan - are expected to feature again on Sunday.

"I would like to see how many starters we have from that day now. Probably only five or six from that team. It's been a massive turnaround," Rushe says.

"I didn't realise then how young we were. I was just gone 19. The same with Peter Kelly and Gougher (Oisín Gough) and people like that.

"We're two years older and we had the experience of last year so hopefully, we won't make the same mistakes of two years ago."

Rushe scored an early goal to give the Dubs a 1-3 to 0-1 lead, but they failed to build on that advantage and Limerick were level by the interval and thanks to a brilliant performance from current skipper Gavin O'Mahoney, finished strongly in the last 10 minutes to secure a place in the last four.

"We just didn't kick on. We let them back into the game. We were up by six points early in the game. We just let them claw us back. When you get a lead, you have got to hold it.

"Like Kilkenny did to us the other week. They got a lead and they kept us at arm's length. You have really got to attack a lead at this level. If you don't and they claw their way back in, they have got the momentum all of a sudden. You have just got to put matches to bed.

"We just started going for goals and doing stupid things. We started launching balls into a two-man full-forward line when they had Stephen Lucey floating around in front of them. We didn't play the match properly. It's just that bit of inexperience."

"It will be a huge challenge. They had a comprehensive win over Antrim. They did a lot better against them than we did last year.

"They're organised and that's half the battle. As well as that, they play a different sort of hurling this year and that's something that we won't have come across this season. But we look forward to these challenges."