‘They'll humble you straight away' – Billy Ryan on teaching, hurling and ambition
"Look, every year when you set out your stall with Kilkenny and you're training, the ultimate goal is to win an All-Ireland,' he said.
'I know every other team are going after that as well. If you pick up a Leinster title along the way on that journey, happy days. We are happy with how the Leinster final went and we've got another one under our belt. But you nearly feel straight away afterwards that the momentum shifts to an All-Ireland semi-final and trying to get back to a final and hopefully winning that."
Ryan knows the history and the legend. He is a teacher in St Patrick's De La Salle, where Brian Cody was once a principal. Eight-time All-Star Eddie Brennan is a club-mate and the player he studied growing up, trying to model himself on his explosive speed and insatiable appetite for goals.
The classroom operates as a perfect counterbalance to hurling. It is another reflection of the love for the game within the county.
"Yeah, it is actually fantastic. If you play well on the Sunday, they'll bring you right back down. They'll humble you straight away. I love it. I genuinely love it.
'In fairness, the class I have as well, there's a lot of lads that love the hurling. We were playing Antrim up in Belfast this year and a few of them went up to it. The support has been absolutely immense for me and I'm truly grateful for it. I have great people around me and the community as well where I'm from in Ballycallan, it's so supportive and it genuinely is fantastic to have."
The 28-year-old finds respite in his work.
'It's great because you can get caught up in the hurling thing and you can nearly drive yourself demented with hurling and whatnot. I just find teaching is great in the way it resets you and you can divide the man from the player in a way when you're going back into the working environment.
'You are trying to be a role model for these children and show them the way of how to go about their day-to-day stuff. I genuinely love it. It's something that when I'm walking to work in the morning, I'm genuinely looking forward to each day."
Ryan has already played in two All-Ireland finals, nabbing a goal in the 2022 decider. He scored another last season in the semi-final as Kilkenny pushed six clear of eventual champions Clare.
That comeback knocked them out and is a lesson they have not forgotten with Tipperary coming down the tracks. In the Leinster final, Kilkenny were cruising before a late Galway burst. They can't afford to allow the same opportunity on Sunday.
"I suppose with any semi-final, whoever you're facing, you can bet that they're going to be a top-quality team. The way we see it is that no matter what team you're playing, they're always going to have a purple patch. The challenge for us is to try and limit it.
'I think last year we didn't. Clare got a run on us and their purple patch went on for far too long. That was probably what cost us. We just couldn't get our hands on the ball or we couldn't reset. It cost us and that is something we are going to have to look at. There have been glimpses probably in the last few games as well that teams are getting purple patches on us and we're dropping the intensity. Tweaking it is probably the challenge that has been set for us."
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