It's hard to believe, but Kilkenny will face Limerick in Sunday's All-Ireland final seeking to win Liam MacCarthy for the first time in eight years.
Once utterly imperious, it is now almost a decade since the Cats have been crowned All-Ireland champions - only three times previously have they waited longer for their next triumph.
They will be desperate to end that run on Sunday afternoon, against the team that defeated them in last year's decider.
READ HERE: The Best Hurling XV Playing In The USA This Summer
Limerick are seeking to emulate the four-in-a-row that Kilkenny achieved under Brian Cody during the 2000s, and despite the quality in this Kilkenny team it's hard to see John Kiely's Limerick being stopped at Croke Park.
One of the members of that immortal Kilkenny team of the noughties, however, believes that his teammates would get the better of this Limerick side if they were to face each other at their respective peaks.
READ HERE: Conor Whelan's Kilkenny Vs Limerick All-Ireland Hurling Final Verdict
Eoin Larkin believes classic Cody team would beat current Limerick side
Eoin Larkin won eight All-Ireland hurling championships during his 12-season long career with Brian Cody's Kilkenny, captained the county during their 2012 triumph, and was named the 2008 hurler of the year.
30 September 2012; Kilkenny captain Eoin Larkin lifts the Liam MacCarthy Cup. GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship Final Replay, Kilkenny v Galway, Croke Park, Dublin. Picture credit: David Maher / SPORTSFILE
READ HERE: Scheduling Blunder Has Kilkenny Star's Wedding On Day Before All-Ireland
He undoubtedly played a crucial role on one of the most iconic hurling teams of the modern age, with the highlight being the Cats' run to a four-in-a-row of triumphs between 2006 and 2009. Larkin believes that Kilkenny team would come out on top in a hypothetical game against this Limerick team with both sides in their respective primes.
Quoted in the Irish Mirror ahead of Sunday's All-Ireland final, Larkin discussed the differences between the team he won his All-Ireland medals with and the current Limerick team, and said that he believed that it would be a closely-matched game should they face off:
I think we’d be able to mix it up as well. If we needed to go long, we’d be able to go long. If we needed to go short, we’d be able to go short.
If you’re going back maybe 15 years, the likes of Tommy [Walsh], the likes of JJ [Delaney], Derek Lyng, Mick Fennelly, like they all had legs so we’d have been able to play that game.
I think us in our prime and them in their prime, like it’d be a great game but I’d like to think we’d come out on top. I think we’d have more household names, we’d have the better hurlers.
You’d like to think if we had JJ Delaney and Tommy Walsh on the wings, that they’d take care of Tom Morrissey and Gearoid Hegarty and in the full-back line you’d like to think that Jackie Tyrrell would do a job on maybe Gillane or Seamus Flanagan as well. And Noel Hickey then the same, maybe, take care of one.
I’d like to think our forwards would definitely take on their backs. I’d imagine if Henry Shefflin was centre-forward, he’d take care of Declan Hannon. Or whoever is going to be there.
Larkin went on to say that he believes Limerick have learned from their 2019 semi-final defeat to Kilkenny, but said that he would much prefere if they did not emulate the four-in-a-row.
Throw-in at Croke Park in the All-Ireland hurling final is at 3:30pm on Sunday afternoon.
SEE ALSO: A 2023 Hurling Team Of The Year With Players From Outside Limerick And Kilkenny
