It's all so interchangeable. The joy and no joy. Jimmy Barry Murphy stops for a word and doesn't try to hide his relief. Tipperary had chased them for their title all the way to the line and the last 60 seconds had felt like an eternity.

"I really did think we were in trouble," he says. "Even the breeze we faced seemed to step up in the second half. But some of our scores were brilliant towards the end. The strength of our second-half display is definitely what I'm most pleased about."

Once the nerve-riddled opening half-hour was finally put to bed, the Cork manager was quite satisfied by what he saw. "Our first-half display was quite poor," he said, "and we were disappointed about that. But it's such a huge occasion in these games that nerves will always play a part.

"But I thought Derek Barrett's performance at midfield was certainly outstanding for his championship debut. And Pat Ryan's introduction was unbelievable as well. He was very disappointed to be left out, gutted, and he ended up playing so well."

There was no hiding his relief either when he saw the scores were level at half-time: "It's fair to say that Tipperary had a number of wides that they shouldn't have had, and we were lucky in that respect. They could easily have been four or five points ahead.

"But that was the best game I've ever seen Joe Deane play. When the need was greatest he was unbelievable and you couldn't have asked for any more from him today. Ben O'Connor was magic in the second half as well and then you had Sean O hAilpin playing unbelievable stuff the whole game."

So then, plenty to be relieved and happy about. But as the game continued to press towards new heights, Barry Murphy could read the signs. "Of course, you're thinking then about a draw, but thank God we had Seanie McGrath respond with a magnificent point. He had a bad wide just before that, but was able put us safe again.

"But in full fairness to Tipp, they put it up to us in a huge way and the atmosphere was unbelievable out there. It's impossible to say how the draw will go now.

"They have made great strides but there is still Offaly, Galway and Kilkenny to think about who are going to be huge opponents for anyone."

So for Nicky English, the Tipperary manager, the joy is exchanged with the no joy. "To call it a classic game of hurling is no good to the loser," he says. "Two teams go out to win and we're disappointed that we didn't. It's a re-test of the character of our team now to try and come back and recover from this."

And they can learn from this, he said: "We did make it very difficult for ourselves in the first half. We hit 12 wides too many.

"Now we play on the 23rd of July and that immediately becomes the focus. That determines where we go from here. With the teams that are left there are no easy draws anywhere, but that's the test of the team."

There is always the fear that the pressure of an occasion like this will get to the younger players. "We were a bit nervy and we didn't settle very well,' admits English. "Our first touch was a little jumpy, but you have to expect a bit of that. It was the first really big occasion for a lot of these players.

"But that's part of the experience and the learning game. When they get into that situation again you can hope they'll be better."

For the Cork players though, not even the joys of last year can diminish the achievement. "Oh yeah, Tipperary, on a day like this in Thurles," says Seanie McGrath. "It's a fantastic feeling. A childhood dream come true from the days of watching these games in the terraces.

"But we had been going well in training and we felt good coming into this. They got two super goals that only Tommy Dunne could get, but we still picked off the points. Like a lot of games last year, we didn't manage a goal. But 23 points isn't bad scoring."

They are, says McGrath, the greatest rivals, but greatest friends behind it all. "If we do come through I wouldn't be surprised if we meet Tipperary again. So it could be a Cork and Tipp final and what a final that would be if we got another day like this."

Brian Corcoran, as calm as ever after another mammoth display, echoes the sentiment. "That's the beauty of Cork-Tipp championship hurling. They're always going to be close and today was no different.

"Two great teams fought their hearts out today and we were lucky to get out the couple of points ahead. For me, it was one of the more hectic games, and the atmosphere was certainly something. It was hot out there, and up and down all afternoon. So a great game to win.

"They got a couple of great goals but had two penalties saved as well. It really could have gone either way. When Tipperary look back they won't enjoy it, but they're still in there with a chance and I think we'll see them there at the end of the day. It will take a good team to beat them."

Last word to Paul Shelley, who quietly offers his view after a slow day in the stadium. "It's always disappointing to get beaten of course, but it took us so long to get going," he says.

"Sure, it was a great occasion and a good clean game. But they are Munster champions again and they're going to be hard to beat. But all is not lost. We're still in championship and we'll give it another lash."