Master against apprentice - Brian Cody and Henry Shefflin collide

The prince and the king.

This afternoon, the most successful hurling manager of all time will lead a team coached by his former captain - the most decorated player in history.

Brian Cody won three All-Ireland titles as a defender with Kilkenny but his success on the sideline has made him a legend of the game. This is the former primary school principal's 24th year in the hot seat. The Cats have won 11 All-Irelands, 17 Leinster championships and nine league titles in that time.

Henry Shefflin was the star forward on Cody’s greatest team, skippering Kilkenny to the first of their four All-Ireland wins in a row in 2007. The three-time Hurler of the Year won 10 in all and is the only player in either code to have been named an All-Star 11 times.

After leading his home club Ballyhale to two All-Ireland titles, he would be among the frontrunners to succeed Cody. But the great man doesn't look like retiring any time soon and so Shefflin surprisingly took the reins in Galway.

In what is Henry’s first season as an inter-county boss, the hurling world has long been looking forward to his team’s Leinster SHC meeting with his native county.

None more so than Ballyhale’s Joey Holden, who retired from Kilkenny duty last winter. He is one of the select few to have been managed by both Shefflin (with Shamrocks) and Cody. He has no doubt that the younger man’s approach has been shaped by his long-time manager.

"They both demand the best out of you," he told RTÉ Sport. "They demand that you give it your all. They have similar attitudes in regards to your work-rate, helping your team-mates and putting the ball in to the best area.

"They’ll be using the teams around them on the day but they would be a similar style on the sideline. Though