Watching this weekend’s opponents, Tipperary, in their semi-final against the Dubs gave Carrickshock man Richie Power much food for thought.
“You have to give great credit to Dublin and their backs,” he says.
“They set out their stall at the beginning to stem the goal threat that Tipperary have – 11 goals in the Munster championship, is an unbelievable statistic. We know the goal threat there, we saw it in last year’s final, and we’ve seen it this year as well.”
Despite Dublin’s relative success in restricting Tipp to just one goal, Kilkenny will, it seems, resist the temptation to employ a similar kind of sweeper defence. It’s just not their way.
“We’re going to put out 15 players and Tipp are going to put out 15 players, and we’ll go man to man,” says Power.
“Whoever’s hungriest over the 70 minutes is going to come out on top.”
Power remembers little of the exploits of his father during the 1980s and 1990s, bar the excitement surrounding the big days. He was, after all, only one year old when Richie Power senior won his second All-Star in 1986. But the impact was not lost on him.
“From a very early age, I was growing up hoping and praying that I’d have a chance to play in an All-Ireland, and luckily, I have done that,” he says.
“This All-Ireland coming up could be my last, so you have to savour it, and give it your all, because you don’t know when you’re going to be back there.”
Power has come into his own since joining the senior panel six years ago. His father’s success, he says, has been a source of inspiration, as opposed to one of pressure.
“I don’t think I ever felt much pressure. But in terms of advice, I think I wouldn’t be where I am today without that,” says Power.
“At the end of the day, it all comes down to one thing, and that’s working hard. He drills it into me everyday I go out with the club and county.
“You go out for 70 minutes, you work hard, and you come off that field as if you need to be carried off it. That’s when you know you couldn’t have done anymore and you’ve done your best.”
Last year, it was not enough. But while Kilkenny lost out on an All-Ireland title, Power’s season was not devoid of well-merited accolades. As well the Leinster SHC win, he landed an All-Star award, his first. It was, however, of little consolation in the grand scale of things.
“I suppose if we would have won the All-Ireland, the All-Star would have been an added consolation,” he says,
“But being crowned All-Ireland champions is really the be-all and end-all; everything else is just an added bonus.”
And he should know, having won four of them. Perhaps the old sporting adage, about learning more from a defeat, will ultimately stand to this team.
“You have to bottle the hurt from a defeat, to call on that experience the following year,” says Power.
“I remember when the final whistle went on last year’s All-Ireland final and the sinking feeling, realising – whatever about five in a row – we were no longer All-Ireland champions.”
In his 24 championship games, Power’s own personal scoring tally stands at a solid 7-46. The hunger for more – and most importantly, to regain the title – is there, but the focus remains clear.
“People talk about revenge from last year, but I don’t think that really comes into it. If you get caught up on a revenge mission, it takes over, and it takes from the All-Ireland experience,” he says.
“We set out at the beginning of this year with one aim: To get to Croke Park on the first Sunday of September and win.”
