Donal Og Cusack has praised Cork's All-Ireland SHC semi-final opponents Kilkenny for taking hurling to a new level.

Speaking at the launch of Guinness' Pace Yourself campaign yesterday, the long-serving Cork 'keeper said: "You have to give Kilkenny credit - I think they have taken the game to a new level. They have become comfortable at playing the game of hurling at such an intensity that other teams aren't able to match.

"We have seen in games against Kilkenny that teams are able to live with them for 20, 25 minutes because there's a certain amount of adrenaline but they aren't able to go toe-to-toe with them for 70 minutes. They have become very comfortable playing the game of hurling at that intensity."

Cusack admits facing the five-in-a-row chasing Cats will be a "massive challenge" for Denis Walsh's side.

"People can be accused of talking up the opposition, but the facts speak for themselves - Kilkenny are going for five-in-a-row, one of the greatest teams ever to play the game and it's a massive challenge, but as a sports person and a GAA player, where else would you want to be on Sunday week?

"You'd probably have to think about previous meetings and think about those situations. For us it's the semi-final of the third competition in the game, the main competition, and we want to win it.

"We don't want to go through another season without silverware, but all we can do is focus on Sunday week. It's a cliché to talk up the opposition, but the reality is they'll be raging hot favourites. We're under no illusion about the challenge that awaits us."

Cusack added that the Rebels were hugely disappointed by their Munster final replay defeat.

"The replay was typical Cork-Waterford, we lost a number of players, and it became a real battle. When it goes down to the wire like that, you don't want to lose it, because you've invested so much in it. It's been a long time since I saw a group of people that down after losing a game." Tweet

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