“The championship is up for grabs every year and we take on the challenge. We did it and we didn’t get to where we needed to get last year.

“Questions begin to get asked then; is this the end and all the rest of it but you just go ahead and take on the challenge. We took it on this year and this is where we are at now.

“You try to improve the whole time, you look for improvement because I have yet to meet the perfect team and the trick is to try and be better than everyone else that is out there. You can’t ever do that on a regular basis and what you have to do each is to try and be better than the team that you are playing on the day and that is the challenge every day, and it is a new challenge, a different challenge and an enjoyable challenge.”

As a fine defender in his playing days, he warmed to his side's rearguard action: “I thought the standard of defending was absolutely magnificent. The closing down and the blocking that was done, I would say there was 30 seconds in the game that had three blocks at various ends of the field.

“That typifies the hurling. To me, that's one of the best skills in the game. It's not too difficult to play when you have the ball, when you don't have the ball the trick is to try and get it back and I thought the defending, the blocking down was magnificent, right to the very, very end.

“And it had to be.”

His changes to the team – the introduction of Ciaran Joyce, Padraig Walsh and John Power – all worked out well.

“That's what we expected to happen, the three boys who started the last day and didn't start this day could have done the same. That's the call, you make a call and that's it. We have a strong panel and we expected the lads to play well the last day because the rest are playing well.

“You do what you have to do and that's the way it works.”

JJ Delaney's first half hook on Seamus Callanan was a particular highlight.

“Magnificent piece of defending,” said Cody. “As we are so often told, our defenders are slow, and JJ Delaney who at this stage can't run.

“But we have worked a lot on speed with the boys and to keep them quick. You got to know what you are writing about when you are writing those things. You want to realise that it doesn't work like

that.”

The manager admitted that Kilkenny were slow to put on Henry Shefflin because the player they wanted to replace – Richie Hogan – stands in goal for penalties

Cody said: “The penalty was awarded there so we had to say stay where you are, because he's (Shefflin) brutal at penalities...Henry said get me on for Christ's sake so we did!

“You can talk about individuals and I thought Padraig Walsh was just savage all around the field, but it is a complete panel effort. You can talk about JJ's hook as one defining moment but there were so many others.”