Shane Kingston says Cork are keeping the outside out

It’s likely that you’ll have heard the word ‘hype’ mentioned with regard to the Cork hurling team in recent weeks.

Finishing the Allianz Hurling League so strongly and ending a 27-year wait for glory in that competition has left Pat Ryan’s team as the favourites for both the Munster and All-Ireland titles, while there is a buzz among supporters.

Within the camp, of course, heads are being kept level – they know the hype is there but it is acknowledged and lived with rather than being bought into. In any case, as Shane Kingston points out, it’s generally there anyway.

“Look, there obviously is a lot of hype,” he said.

“There's a lot of noise, but it's kind of irrelevant to us. We'd always emphasise keeping the outside out.

“If things are going bad, there's a lot of hype as well about how bad they're going. Just thankfully, things are going all right, but it's irrelevant to us, really.

“We know the job on hand over the next number of weeks and months, so we're just focused on staying grounded.

“We're trying to get the most out of ourselves and take the learnings from the league, really.”

Kingston, speaking at the launch of eir’s Poc Tapa Challenge, was limited to just four appearances during the successful league campaign as he battled a groin injury.

He knows that earning a place in the team is a challenge, given that the squad is the strongest it has been during his nine-year Cork career, but he knows that that can only benefit the team.

“The competition for the starting 15 and the competition even for the 26 is definitely the best I've been on anyway, to be fair,” he said.

“But you know what, that kind of keeps you focused then as well. You have to be switched on every training session. Any chance you get to play a game, then you have to be extra focused and try to get the best out of yourself every time because there's somebody else trying to take your place.

“Any opportunity you get to put on the jersey, you have to maximise it.”

Cork’s trip to Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg for Sunday’s Munster SHC opener against Clare comes six weeks after an impressive league win there – the county’s first triumph in Ennis since 2009.

Kingston isn’t reading too much into it, though.

“Obviously it was a good result,” he says, “there's no point taking from it, but at the end of the day, we're not getting caught up in that because it's a league game.

“There's a big gap, as I said, between a league and a championship match, so you can't take too much from it.

“You can just analyse it as much as you can and try to take the most learnings out of the game as you can.”

On that occasion, six goals were vital towards helping Cork’s cause, with seven more coming in the remaining two league games.

More green flags would be welcome on Sunday, with Kingston keen to see Cork maintain their efficiency in front of goal.

“I suppose any time you go out, you want to get goals,” he said, “it's not something we've put huge emphasis on really in training. It's just going to happen over the course of the league, naturally.

“I think over the last number of years, we were probably always creating goals, it was just maybe the efficiency of it all wasn't great.”

“Now, we're probably converting one or two more each game and we're reaping the rewards with them.”

eir, Ireland’s leading telecommunications provider, is calling on GAA clubs across the country to take part in the ‘eir for all’ Poc Tapa Challenge to be in with a chance to win up to €5,000 for their club and play on the hallowed turf of Croke Park on All Ireland Semi-Final Day. For further information on how to enter follow @eir.ireland or visit eir.ie.