KILKENNY'S CONOR FOGARTY has admitted that he and his teammates will not be dwelling too much on their 2022 defeat to Limerick ahead of their All-Ireland rematch this weekend.
Last year, Kilkenny were beaten 1-31 to 2-26 in the final, and consequently, Limerick won their fourth title in five years and achieved their first-ever three-in-a-row.
The sides met again in the Allianz Hurling League in April of this year, and once more, Limerick emerged victorious with 0-15 2-20 scoreline.
Kilkenny has not won an All-Ireland title since 2015 and will be determined to end that streak in Croke Park this weekend.
Fogarty, who has already won four Liam McCarthy titles with Kilkenny, believes that 'The Cats' should look forward, not back, this weekend when the game takes place
"The fuel is there to try and win an All-Ireland and to try to turn them over this time, but we're focused on what we have to do ourselves, and we aren't dwelling too much on the past at this stage," Fogarty said to RTÉ Sport.
Conor Fogarty 🔥👌🏻
pic.twitter.com/cRzIKlni0l— OurGame.ie (@OurGameHQ) July 9, 2023
"Preparations have been very good, the same as throughout the year, and we're fairly happy about how things have gone for us.
"I've probably been involved in eight All-Irelands at this stage, and it's no different from the first one, in that I'm really looking forward to it."
Limerick will once again be the bookies' favourites this weekend. Forgarty knows full well that the task will be 'tough', but he also admitted that Kilkenny has the personnel to topple the current All-Ireland champions.
"The thing with Limerick is that they have very few weaknesses. They have strength all over the field, and they're a very hardworking team.
"We'll have to bring everything to help turn them over ourselves. It's going to be a tough task, but we're feeling good and feeling up to the challenge."
The game will start at 15.30 pm on Sunday. The game will be also available on RTÉ Two.