Former Kilkenny captain recalls fulfilling 'every young lad's dream'

Former All-Ireland winning captain with Kilkenny, Padraic Moylan (Dicksboro), has described winning the U20 All-Ireland as 'every young lads dream'.

A strong second half set Kilkenny on their way to an opening round seven point win over Wexford in the O'Neill's.com Leinster Under 20 Championship on Saturday afternoon.

Mark Dowling's Kilkenny oufit dealt with the incessant rain a little better than their opponents with Sean Bergin's goal giving them the breathing space they needed to go on and secure a 1-13 to 1-6 win.

The Cats are now preparing to face Dublin in UPMC Nowlan Park this Saturday at 5pm.

LISTEN: Kilkenny managers Mark Dowling (U20) and Niall Bergin (Minor) preview the season ahead 

Rewinding the clock back to 2022 and the Cats were 0-19 to 0-18 final winners over Limerick in a ding-dong battle in Semple Stadium, Thurles and in November of last year, captain on the day, Padraic Moylan, who was named on the Rising Stars Hurling Team of the Year just this week, sat down with the podcast to look back on the county's memorable 2022 campaign.

"It's every young lads dream growing up, obviously the senior is the main stage but U20 is a step on. As the game (the final) went on, it was impossible to call," he recalled.

"It was point for point all game and we were lucky to get out the other side of it but it was a great moment lifting that trophy for the whole of Kilkenny."

"(Through underage) we were always a written off team, I remember one moment in the Tony Forristal Semi-Final, we played Cork and we lost by 14/15 points but fast-forward a couple of years later and we're going toe to toe with some of the best U20 teams in the country," the Dicksboro clubman told the Kilkenny People Sport Podcast.

"It was all talk about Limerick and who they had and other teams as well," he noted, recalling tough battles and big expectations surrounding Cork and Galway that year too..

"I think the game against Galway in the semi-final of Leinster was probably one of the best games I hurled in in my life to be honest and to get over that hurdle but also to prepare for a Leinster Final against Wexford a week after and trying to get the lads mentally prepared again was a big task," he added.

LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW ALONGSIDE CIAN KENNY BELOW: