Limerick’s Under-20 hurlers face Kilkenny this Sunday in Semple Stadium at 1.30pm with All-Ireland honours on the line.
The sides meet in the decider in a repeat of the 2017 contest where Limerick claimed a sixth ever title. But when these sides met in the 2019 minor semi-final, it was the Cats that had the upper hand as Limerick seek revenge three years on.
Captain Jimmy Quilty feels it’s their time to have their name written in the history books by bringing an All Ireland home to Limerick.
The team has been training together the whole way through academy, creating a bond within the squad as Quilty outlined.
“A lot of us have been together since we were U14, it’s great to have us all up here again at U20. We competed well at minor, we won a Munster, we’re just hoping to go one step further.
“It’s a team effort, there’s no captain involved between me or Aidan, it’s a team effort and everyone pulls there weight, it’s a great accolade to have.”
Limerick will be without arguably their best player, Cathal O’Neill, who scored 0-9 in their defeat to the Cats in 2019.
But the place of O’Neill, who was ruled ineligible after featuring in the senior championship, a host of others have stepped up in his absence.
There are a variety of different clubs that make up the team, making it feel like the whole county is in unison when they step on the pitch according to Quilty.
“I think that there’s a great spread of clubs around the panel as well it’s not city dominated or top teams dominated. I think there’s maybe ten or eleven clubs in the starting fifteen and the same in the twenty four.”
For many of the side, this will be the final game at an underage level for Limerick as they seek to move into the senior grades with the Blackrock man one that certainly looks ready for the next step.
Yet, Quilty isn’t putting too much pressure on the team to get the win as he acknowledges the bigger picture, looking forward to a big day for the squad.
“Might be cliché to say but it’s just another game and it’s another stepping stone for a lot of players but of course it’s going to be a great occasion for everyone, family and friends as well, to be involved in such a great game and hopefully it lives up to the expectation.”
Watch the full interview with Quilty below.
The post WATCH | Limerick U20 captain Jimmy Quilty “hoping to go one step further” in All-Ireland final appeared first on Sporting Limerick.
