One notable aspect of Kilkenny’s destruction of Cork in last Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final was the fact the game was a done deal at half-time. The Cats lead by 13 points having hit the Rebels for 2-12. No way back for Cork. I decided to have a look at the half-time scores in Kilkenny’s matches to see what trends emerged. Here are the stats for the Cats unbeaten championship run:
08 Aug 2010 Kilkenny (3-22) 2-12 : 0-05 (0-19) Cork AIHC S-F 1st half: 13, 2nd half: -1
04 Jul 2010 Kilkenny (1-19) 1-08 : 1-05 (1-12) Galway LHC F 1st half: 3, 2nd half: 4
20 Jun 2010 Kilkenny (4-19) 1-10 : 0-08 (0-12) Dublin LHC S-F 1st half: 5, 2nd half: 14
06 Sep 2009 Kilkenny (2-22) 0-13 : 0-11 (0-23) Tipperary AIHC F 1st half: 2, 2nd half: 3
09 Aug 2009 Kilkenny (2-23) 2-12 : 1-09 (3-15) Waterford AIHC S-F 1st half: 6, 2nd half: -1
05 Jul 2009 Kilkenny (2-18) 1-10 : 0-07 (0-18) Dublin LHC F 1st half: 6, 2nd half: 0
20 Jun 2009 Kilkenny (2-20) 2-07 : 1-08 (3-13) Galway LHC S-F 1st half: 2, 2nd half: 2
07 Sep 2008 Kilkenny (3-30) 2-16 : 0-05 (1-13) Waterford AIHC F 1st half: 17, 2nd half: 6
10 Aug 2008 Kilkenny (1-23) 1-12 : 0-07 (0-17) Cork AIHC S-F 1st half: 8, 2nd half: 1
06 Jul 2008 Kilkenny (5-21) 1-09 : 0-10 (0-17) Wexford LHC F 1st half: 2, 2nd half: 17
15 Jun 2008 Kilkenny (2-24) 1-09 : 0-06 (0-12) Offaly LHC S-F 1st half: 6, 2nd half: 12
02 Sep 2007 Kilkenny (2-19) 2-10 : 0-08 (1-15) Limerick AIHC F 1st half: 8, 2nd half: -1
05 Aug 2007 Kilkenny (0-23) 0-11 : 0-06 (1-13) Wexford AIHC S-F 1st half: 5, 2nd half: 2
28 Jul 2007 Kilkenny (3-22) 0-13 : 1-09 (1-18) Galway AIHC Q-F 1st half: 1, 2nd half: 9
01 Jul 2007 Kilkenny (2-24) 2-11 : 0-06 (1-12) Wexford LHC F 1st half: 11, 2nd half: 4
10 Jun 2007 Kilkenny (1-27) 0-14 : 1-10 (1-13) Offaly LHC S-F 1st half: 1, 2nd half: 13
03 Sep 2006 Kilkenny (1-16) 1-08 : 0-08 (1-13) Cork AIHC F 1st half: 3, 2nd half: 0
13 Aug 2006 Kilkenny (2-21) 1-10 : 1-10 (1-16) Clare AIHC S-F 1st half: 0, 2nd half: 8
22 Jul 2006 Kilkenny (2-22) 2-13 : 0-06 (3-14) Galway AIHC Q-F 1st half: 13, 2nd half: -8
02 Jul 2006 Kilkenny (1-23) 1-09 : 0-04 (2-12) Wexford LHC F 1st half: 8, 2nd half: 0
10 Jun 2006 Kilkenny (1-23) 1-15 : 1-04 (1-09) Westmeath LHC S-F 1st half: 11, 2nd half: 3
And the fascinating stat to emerge is that, in their 21 match unbeaten run to date, the Cats have never gone in for their half time shower behind in a match. One match was a draw at half time - the 2006 semi-final v Clare. Well done the Banner 
The Cats half-time leads have ranged from a single point (twice in 2007 - the Leinster semi v Offaly and the All-Ireland quarter-final v Galway) to 17 points v Waterford in the 2008 final.
As for the second half, Kilkenny have only lost 4 second halves - the 2006 quarter-final v Galway by 8 points, the 2007 final v Limerick by one point, the 2009 semi-final v Waterford by 1 point and last Sunday’s semi-final by 1 point also. Interestingly two of those losing second halves did not feature Henry Shefflin. Whoever faces Kilkenny on September 5 might see some glimmer of hope in that particular stat.
When is the last time Kilkenny have played in a senior Championship Hurling match, and have not gone ahead once in the whole game?
Good question. I’m not sure of the answer. Try posting your question on kilkennycats.com - I’d be fairly sure that someone there might know the answer.
Has Henry Shefflin started every Kilkenny championship match since Brian Cody became manager? How many consecutive matches? Who has a longer unbroken sequence?
Hi Sean, my match stats only go back as far as 2004 so I can’t answer definitively. But since 2004 he has started every game. Cody took over as manager in 1999 so I’m missing 5 years of stats.