'There's a beach in Tramore' - ex-Kilkenny captain urges Aussie players to return

Former All-Ireland winning captain, Andy Comerford has praised Kilkenny's 'leadership' and response to their heavy defeat to Galway in the Allianz Hurling League two weeks ago.

The 18 point loss was Kilkenny's largest since losing to Wexford in the 1954 Leinster senior hurling semi-final, with the three-time All-Ireland winning captain capturing national headlines for his scathing assessment of the performance. - CATCH-UP HERE

However, the O'Loughlin Gaels man was quick to commend the Cats' hard-earned draw with Tipperary in Semple Stadium last Saturday night.

"We left happy enough with the draw, (it) could have been worse, (we) could have been beaten by Tipperary, but (we) showed all the characteristics that we want to see in the team", Comerford told host Ciaran Neary on CRKC's TC Tyres World of Gaelic Games programme.

"They rolled up their sleeves, they got stuck in and got the result," he commented.

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But the well-known and respected voice on Kilkenny GAA was keen to use the positive upturn to issue a rallying cry to absentees for the 2026 season, Huw Lawlor and Billy Ryan, who set off on their travels Down Under at the beginning of the year.

"We need an uplift from other players. I don't know what the scenario is with these Australian guys, I was in Australia Ciaran, you see the Sydney Harbour Bridge and you see the beach. There's a beach in Tramore,"

"You're only going to get one crack at an All-Ireland here, wouldn't it be (a) great uplift for the panel to see these lads coming back and getting stuck in and rolling up their sleeves and doing it for TJ Reid to try and get him over the line.

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"Listen, as I said, Sydney Harbour Bridge, you see it, good luck," the former inter-county player and manager continued, adding, "get back and try and get this All-Ireland won and there is an opportunity. I'd be always of the opinion, you always have a chance with Kilkenny of winning the All-Ireland.

"Things are coming together, and they are starting to come together and will come together but you need personnel and you need probably one or two more lads to come from nowhere," he added.

"There were green shoots there on Saturday night, and bear in mind, Ciarán, I don't think Tipperary were at 100%, I think they were only at 80%," Comerford admitted but stressed that a 'bit of an uplift' could be key in determining how far Lyng's team can go this campaign.

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