KILKENNY REACTION:THERE WERE no champagne bottles or cigars in evidence when Brian Cody finally made his way to the press room underneath the Hogan Stand. Perhaps that glow of quiet satisfaction was slightly warmer, but apart from that there was little different about the Kilkenny manager after this year's victory than there has been for the previous two years.

Apart from those few seconds after the final whistle, the Kilkenny manager keeps his delight private and always, always, deflects the attention, the words back on to the players.

"Terrific. A super feeling. That is what this day is all about. The players were terrific, totally focused. They were terrific from start to finish, they were totally focused and they hurled at an outstanding level. They got no more than they put into their game.

"They are serious players, they are serious operators and they are top-class fellas and I am absolutely delighted for them. It is a big day. It is the day of days for all hurlers.

"And to come and hit the pitch running and give a display like that is something you would be able to visualise beforehand. It was an outstanding performance without a shadow of a doubt."

All day, he patrolled the line, never letting up, scrutinising the calls, watching for any signs of weakness. But how proud he must have felt when the low rumbling of those opening salvo of points suddenly broke into an outright thunderstorm that left Waterford and the rest of the hurling world with no option but to take cover.

The team had left the manager with nothing to do other than to decide about when to make changes. Afterwards, he said that the performance did not take him aback.

"I always see it coming, to be honest. It doesn't surprise me when it comes. I can truthfully say that before any match. It is a guarantee that we will give ourselves every chance to win the game. It is a guarantee that we will perform. It is a guarantee that we will work."

As for the three-in-a-row, he reiterated that it never was an issue in the dressingroom.

"All-Ireland finals is the day of days for hurlers. We don't need any other motivation than to win the All-Ireland. Great sports people go after whatever is out there. And, naturally, that was a further motivation for some people. Great players would go after a thing like a three in a row. Of course, deep down . . . but as a group it wasn't needed to be spoken about because the motivation was within."

For the second year running, the All-Ireland final has been little more than a confirmation of Kilkenny's great hunger, something that captain James "Cha" Fitzpatrick acknowledged afterwards.

"Today we totally ignored the scoreboard. We wanted a good start and we got it. Eddie chipped in with a couple of auld goals there. We were relentless, to be honest. We never let up and that is why the margin was so big in the end.

"We were expecting a really close game and it was important to get that good start. It was tunnel vision that did it for us. It was a great feeling. It just seemed like a perfect display today.

"The lads gave an exhibition of hurling. I suppose it was like that all year for us. No one really came too close to us. So I have to say this has been the best year by far for this Kilkenny hurling team."

The victory sets this Kilkenny team apart from their predecessors in terms of the history books, but when Eddie Brennan was asked about the issue of "greatness" he looked uncomfortable.

"I don't buy into that, to be honest. We are just in a fairly privileged position.

"The display today came from the nights of training we put in. We got a few kicks as the year went on but we are just in a great position at the moment, we have a great team there and I can't overstate the emphasis of the panel. Without the panel, we wouldn't be where we are.

"There are lads on the line there who are probably more entitled to play than some of us. It is fair hard to sit there and watch that. But we are so caught up in this and are just trying to enjoy every moment."

And then, in mid winter, they will meet in Nowlan Park and sit down in a cold dressingroom and they will set about doing it all again.

"We were happy enough last year, but hoped to pick it up another notch," said Eoin Larkin cheerfully. "And I would like to pick it up a notch next year too."

And so it goes.