games of the decade. In spite of failing to reach the championship decider a fifth All-Star award was quickly added to Shefflin's collection. Four-in-a-row In 2006, Shefflin added a third league medal to his collection following a victory over Limerick. He later won his seventh Leinster medal following another facile 1–23 to 1–12 victory over Wexford. On 3 September 2006 Kilkenny faced a Cork team who were presented with the opportunity to become the first side in nearly thirty years to secure three successive All-Ireland championships. Like previous encounters neither side took a considerable lead, however, Kilkenny had a vital goal from Aidan Fogarty. Cork were in arrears coming into the final few minutes, however, Ben O'Connor scored a late goal for Cork. It was too little too late as the Cats denied Cork on a score line of 1–16 to 1–13. Shefflin collected his fourth All-Ireland medal. He rounded off the year once again by claiming a fifth successive All-Star award, his sixth overall, as well as making a clean sweep of the Hurler of the Year awards. Shefflin collected an eighth Leinster medal in 2007, as Kilkenny asserted their provincial dominance and defeated Wexford by 2–24 to 1–12. On 2 September 2007 Kilkenny faced defeated Munster finalists and surprise All-Ireland semi-final winners Limerick in the championship decider. Kilkenny got off to a flying start with Eddie Brennan Shefflin scoring two goals within the first ten minutes to set the tone. Shefflin later sustained an injury during the game and had to retire at half-time. In spite of losing their captain and star player, Kilkenny still went on to win the game by 2–19 to 1–15 and Shefflin had the honour of collecting a fifth All-Ireland medal and receiving the Liam MacCarthy Cup. It was later revealed that he ruptured a cruciate knee ligament which kept him out of action for his club until the following summer. Shefflin later captured a seventh All-Star award, a record-breaking sixth in succession. After sitting out the league campaign in 2008, Shefflin later collected a ninth Leinster medal following a 5–21 to 0–17 defeat of Wexford. On 8 September 2008 Kilkenny faced Waterford in the All-Ireland decider for the first time in forty-five years. In a disappointingly one-sided final, Kilkenny produced a near perfect seventy minutes as Waterford endured a nightmare afternoon. A 23-point winning margin, 3–24 from play, only two wides in