National Hurling League Division One final/Kilkenny v Limerick Semple Stadium, Sunday, 3.30:  They've already contested some of the great finals in hurling history, their rivalry so enduring it's been ground down to friendship, Ian O'Riordan reports

One thing certain about tomorrow's league final is that rival managers Brian Cody and Joe McKenna will need no introduction when they meet on the sidelines of Semple Stadium.

For the Limerick team, of course, it's a different story. Tomorrow's meeting with Kilkenny marks their first national senior final since 1997, when they last claimed the league title by beating Galway. That possibly helped make amends for losing the All-Ireland finals of 1994 and 1996, but what's happened since then is best described as a downward spiral into the mundane.

Several efforts were made to halt that descent. When Eamonn Cregan took over as manager the mood improved a little but losing a close-fought Munster final to Tipperary in 2001 was about the best he could muster. A year later they played Cork and Tipperary again and lost both. Soon there were rumblings of discontent and disagreement behind the scenes and that was frequently reflected on the field.

What made this situation worse was that Limerick's under-21 team had produced three successive All-Ireland titles - winning first in 2000, and again in 2001 and 2002. Most people assumed that would mark a new era for Limerick hurling but instead it acted like a burden.

To add insult to injury, Limerick's senior footballers made the Munster final in 2003 and 2004, outshining the hurlers for the first time in over a century. And dual players, who'd never previously considered the option, began to chose football.

So further efforts were made to halt the descent. After manager Dave Keane had a difficult time converting his under-21 success to the senior stage, despite a thrilling draw with Waterford in 2003, Limerick looked outside the county and towards Pad Joe Whelahan, who had led Birr to back-to-back All-Ireland club titles in 2002 and 2003. Again that move failed and Whelahan's resignation after disastrous league defeats to Cork and Tipperary in early 2005 left Limerick hurling at an all-time low.

Enter Joe McKenna, stage left. He had first come on board to advise Whelahan, then acted as his selector for 2005. Whelahan's sudden exit left the spotlight on McKenna, who surprisingly needed the casting vote of the county chairman to be confirmed as the new manager. Since then Limerick have made significant progress.

"I was asked to take over several times over the years," says McKenna. "But it was never my intention to be manager, far from it. I think things just went so low over the last two or three years that I felt I'd like to have some input for a few years, and try win back some of the hurling in Limerick."

McKenna's first year in charge showed promise. Two draws against Tipperary - the second ending in defeat after extra time - sent them into the qualifying group, where they had good wins over Antrim and Laois, and a very close loss to Galway. Then they produced one of the most rousing second-half performances of the quarter-finals against Kilkenny but still ended up with a five-point defeat.

So McKenna went back to the drawing board and redesigned things a little for 2006. Ger Cunningham, the Limerick native who had such great success with Newtownshandrum, came in as his number two, alongside selector Liam Lenihan and experienced team trainer Dave Mahedy of the University of Limerick.

When they started back in October McKenna put his refreshed regime into operation, and he now works with a squad of 45 (28 of whom are players), which along with the management includes dieticians, physios and other medical personnel.

Like most managers, McKenna set out to win every game, but unlike most managers he achieved just that. They went unbeaten in the Waterford Crystal Cup, and continued that through the league - drawing with both Tipperary and Kilkenny. They're now 15 games unbeaten, and the biggest test of that run so far came in last Sunday's semi-finals when they found themselves eight points down to Clare with around 12 minutes left to play.

Enter Mark Keane, stage exit door. Keane had played on all three of Limerick's successful under-21 teams, but had opted out of the senior panel. He'd returned during the league and hit 2-40 before the Clare match. His 2-10 on the day helped close the gap and force extra time, which Limerick easily won.

Keane's absence from Semple Stadium tomorrow because of a groin injury speaks for itself, but other members of that under-21 era - Damien Reale, Mike O'Brien, Conor Fitzgerald, Brian Geary, Andrew O'Shaughnessy, Paul O'Grady and Brian Begley - are now very much the finished senior product. If Keane was playing tomorrow, and O'Grady (who is ruled out with a finger injury), then nine of the Limerick side would have come from the successful under-21 teams.

Yet McKenna doesn't view his team as the underage talent finally coming good: "I wouldn't say that, but I think we've a very good cross -section of players now. But I wouldn't single any of them out as the under-21 guys or the older guys. I just feel we have a panel where every player is as important as the other."

They also boast four survivors of the 1997 league-winning team in tomorrow's line-up - TJ Ryan, Mark and Barry Foley, and Ollie Moran. Barry Foley is the somewhat surprise replacement for Keane at left corner forward as he hasn't started a competitive game in three years. He did appear as a substitute against Clare last Sunday, scoring a free. Denis Moloney is the replacement for O'Grady, but otherwise the team is unchanged.

Which moves us to Kilkenny. Brian Cody has been rotating players throughout the league, but last Sunday's selection, which easily beat Tipperary, had a championship feel to it. Henry Shefflin and Noel Hickey's return for the first time this year was perhaps most significant, but John Tennyson's positioning at centre back stood out like a monument, as did Martin Comerford's at centre forward. With so many quick and able players around them, Kilkenny were able to run and drive or pass and flick, and Tipperary couldn't handle it.

Cody has made just one change, with Richie Power taking the right wing forward position from Willie O'Dwyer. O'Dwyer was a late swap last Sunday for Michael Rice, who was ruled out because of illness, and is still not fully back to his playing health. Power, who then replaced O'Dwyer as a substitute last Sunday, has been Kilkenny's leading scorer to date, hitting 0-26 on their way to the final.

"I'm happy with the progress," says Cody. "But I wouldn't even begin to suggest we have a settled team yet. We've been changing things match to match, but I'm happy in the knowledge I have decent players who are capable of bringing the Kilkenny team forward. But I'm also aware that things hot up for the championship, jump several notches really. That's the way it works."

Limerick face a daunting task. A poor start is unfathomable, but containing this Kilkenny team over the full 70 minutes undoubtedly presents their biggest challenge so far this season. Win or lose - and a win would be a little surprising - Limerick will at least know the preparation for their championship meeting with Tipperary in two weeks couldn't be more complete.

On TV: TG4:

TeamLine-ups

LIMERICK: B Murray; D Reale, TJ Ryan, M Foley; O Moran, B Geary, D Moloney; D Ryan, D O'Grady; M O'Brien, S Lucey, C Fitzgerald; A O'Shaughnessy, B Begley, B Foley.

KILKENNY: J McGarry; M Kavanagh, JJ Delaney, N Hickey; J Tyrrell, J Tennyson, T Walsh; D Lyng, R Mullally; R Power, M Comerford, E Larkin; J Fitzpatrick, H Shefflin, A Fogarty.