Brian Cody believes his side were much better on Saturday evening against Waterford and needed to be in order to beat a brilliant team of hurlers who matched them for every stride over the course of two games.

His side came out on the other end of a tight contest that was played over 140 minutes and the Kilkenny manager gave Oisin Langan insight into why he moved TJ Reid further out the field for the replay.

"Don't know to be honest, we just freshened things up a bit I suppose," he responded 

"TJ is a terrific hurler so he can play hurling so it's not a big deal for him to play out around there and anywhere in the forwards."

"There's no big mad thinking about it, you look at things and you toss things around in your head, myself and the lads and we just come up with whatever we come up with."

While it sounds easier than it surely is, Cody believes his opponents over the last week are not just a defensive system as they have been often portrayed as.

Having visited the Waterford dressing room, Cody payed homage to his opponents and while he refused to answer questions on the referee, stating he had moved far beyond the game that had just been played, he said of Derek McGrath's side, "When I look at Waterford, I don't see systems, I see brilliant hurlers. Absolutely brilliant hurlers and they proved that again tonight."

They will play the winners of Tipperary and Galway, who play tomorrow in Croke Park in the other All-Ireland hurling semi-final.