Old Newcestown were nowhere to be seen during a disappointing 2022 campaign that started and finished at the group phase. And while Newcestown had battled and fought to reach this season’s decider, and battled and fought some more to get a replay, it would be selling them incredibly short to say their battling and fighting qualities won them Saturday’s replay.

There is so much more to Wilson’s side. There is grit, absolutely. But there is also craft.

Richard O’Sullivan painted 1-4. Edmund Kenneally showed a wicked first touch to trap possession for their opening green flag. Colm Dinneen assisted for that first goal and finished powerfully for their second. Seán O’Donovan produced a superb fetch to set their third goal in train.

Half-back Eoghan Collins landed a massive white flag coming down the stretch. Beside him, Luke Meade swept intelligently all evening long.

“We have hurlers all over the field, there’s no two ways about that. If you’re going out to win a Senior ‘A’ county, you have to have work-rate and fight and grit, and you have to have the hurling as well,” said Wilson.

“Our hurling has improved as the year went on. You can well understand when we’re changing codes week-on-week that it’s very hard to get really sharp on hurling. So, we’ve built on it and built on it.

“I have to compliment Niall McIntyre, our physical trainer, and he also does an awful lot of sharpness work. Sean Twomey does some coaching, I do coaching myself, Brian Moloney and Niall O’Sullivan, we all put in a huge amount of work this year.

“But it’s the players. It’s all about the players. It always has been. They walk out over the white line, they’re the fellas who make the decisions really. They’re the fellas who are under pressure to make it happen. And in fairness to them, they made it happen. There’s a real cutting about them at the moment. There’s a unity about them, and it’s great.” 

Blarney hit three goals in their semi-final refixture and another in the drawn final. Keeping the green flag rooted in the Páirc Uí Chaoimh sod was crucial to keeping Blarney out of the winner's enclosure.

“Blarney are a quality team. Give them any time and space and they will score at their ease,” Wilson continued.

“We were under utmost pressure as the second half went on, absolutely. You’re putting out fires everywhere.

“Our priority leaving the dressing room at half time was to concede no goals. And we most definitely got that priority.

“A goal would be a killer and would really bring them back into the game in a flow. It would be floodgates, almost. They were trickling away at us, coming at us, but I think we were resolute and tough, and we can ask no more of our players.”