Kilkenny manager Mike Wall says his side has a "clean bill of health" going into this weekend's Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor A Camogie Championship semi-final against Waterford.
Kilkenny defeated Dublin 4-15 to 2-7 in their final group stage game in Freshford on Sunday to finish second in the table. The top four sides in the six-team group qualified for the All-Ireland semi-finals.
Along with Kilkenny, Cork - who topped the group - third-placed Waterford and fourth-placed Galway progressed to the last-four.
"Job done," Wall told KCLR's Camán Caint podcast.
"It's exactly where we wanted to be at the start of the campaign. It was a campaign that threw up challenges with four championship matches in a row, and the Leinster final made it five in a row. Luckily, enough we came away with any major injuries.
"Our main prerogative was to finish in the top four. We weren't overly concerned about where exactly we finished. Obviously, the higher up, the better. We ended up finishing in second place, tied on the same amount of points as Cork."
Minor A Championship Rd 5 @ElectricIreland #ThisIsMajor
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Kilkenny : 4-15(27)
Dublin: 2-7(13)— Kilkenny Camogie (@KilkennyCamogie) April 16, 2023
Though they held a 2-8 to 0-5 lead at half-time against Dublin, there was no sign of complacency in the Kilkenny dressing room.
'The attitude in the Kilkenny camp is as good as I've seen'
"We treated [Sunay] as an All-Ireland quarter-final," said Wall.
"We told the girls that at the bare minimum, we wanted to win the second half by a point. The girls are very driven, they weren't sitting in the dressing room thinking this is over and done with."
The All-Ireland semi-finals will be played as a double-header at the Nenagh Éire Óg grounds on Sunday. Cork and Galway face off at 2pm, and Kilkenny and Waterford at 4pm.
Tickets available for our Electric Ireland Minor A and Minor A Shield Semi-Finals and Minor C and Minor C Shield fixtures this weekend.
It’s the Minor moments that last a lifetime.#ThisIsMajor@ElectricIreland https://t.co/tEgsrrcNJG
— The Camogie Association (@OfficialCamogie) April 18, 2023
"It will be a massive battle," Wall said about the game against Waterford.
"We played Waterford down in Waterford on a really, really bad pitch on a heavy day. We were delighted to come out of there with a goal of a win. We'll take that again at the weekend.
"Waterford are the only team so far to beat one of the top two - ourselves and Cork. They beat Cork in the championship. We know they have it, and that this team is on the road a long, long time.
"We're certainly not taking anything for granted. It's final four, they finished in third place. They didn't creep in. We know there's an absolutely massive battle ahead of us on Sunday.
"It's a wonderful opportunity for Waterford. Last year, with 13 of this team, they took Cork - who ended up winning the All-Ireland - to extra-time, and only lost by a point.
"Two years ago, they got to the All-Ireland quarter-final with a lot of this team. It's a team that's been building. We know we'll have to be in tip-top shape and put in a brilliant performance to come out of there with the win.
"The attitude in the camp is as good as I've seen. I know that might be a cliche for every manager to say every year, but the attitude of these players is genuinely second to none."
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