Cork will be going in search of their first All-Ireland title in four years on Sunday when they take on Kilkenny in the hotly-anticipated final.
Ashling Thompson was a key driving force behind that successful outfit and will almost certainly have a key role to play again this Sunday.
The hard-working midfielder swung the game in the Rebels favour when she was introduced from the bench in the semi-final defeat of Munster rivals Waterford last month.
The four-time All-Ireland winner spoke to Scoreline ahead of the clash with old foes Kilkenny and she touched on her own desire to remain successful, the importance of integrating young players into the panel and her matchday routine for the biggest game of the year.
She began: “People probably think that the hunger dies as you age but it’s actually the opposite. You desperately want to win it and you realise how lucky you are to be involved.”
“The team spirit has been crucial. We have a lot of new girls and a lot of young girls in this panel. We have a lot of players that have been with us for a while though so I don’t think we can use a transitional period as an excuse.
“That word is thrown around sport a lot but for us we certainly won’t be applying it to ourselves. The new players have been phenomenal and the level of professionalism they have brought with them has been great and they are the ones who have drove us on this year.”
She continued: “I’m not expecting any surprises from Kilkenny in the final. What you see is what you get with them.
“They bring everything to the table and you really have to have respect them for that. We have a great rivalry with them and we’ll both be going hard at it and hopefully we come out on the right side.”
On her regime on the day itself, she said: “I ban the word ‘camogie’ on the day of the All-Ireland final in our house. I don’t do anything differently for an All-Ireland final as I would for any other game and I think that’s the best way to look at it.
“I keep it as normal as possible and I just have to go out and do my job. It’s important not to do anything differently or outside of the box and once you give 110% that’s all you can do.”
