Clare's hunger is big question

Nobody needs to be reminded of the intense rivalry which exists between Clare and Tipperary and, unlike other counties preparing for championship meetings, there is no psychological warfare involved with these two teams: all preparation is geared to what actually happens for 70 minutes on the pitch tomorrow.

I remember last year's first game and the different reactions afterwards. One team felt they had lost a match that was drawn, the other felt they had won a match that was drawn. Clare, who just hung in that first day, were the ones who went away as if the match had been won and that impression was confirmed by their subsequent performance in the replay.

This year, however, Tipperary have the match with Waterford under their belts and, as a team, they are also a year older and wiser. Whether they can win or not is a different matter. They didn't play for the first half-hour of that Waterford match and it was only in the five minutes before halftime that they upped the tempo sufficiently while, in the second half, there was a tremendous performance from John Leahy to maintain that momentum. Tomorrow they will need to perform like that for the entire match if they are to edge victory.

The other day, I was looking at a photo in the Nenagh Guardian of four survivors from the 1991 side: Leahy, Michael Ryan, Declan Ryan and Conal Bonnar. Tomorrow, Leahy will have to be to the fore again for Tipperary and can expect a tough afternoon from either Colin Lynch or Ollie Baker, whichever player marks him. However, Declan Ryan probably has the biggest task of all, and that is to take on Seanie McMahon. It's a vital job, one that will require him to cut off McMahon's influence at source.

Clare's situation isn't as clear as in previous years. Okay, they didn't make the semi-finals of the National League, but that won't worry them unduly. However, their performances in challenge games - against the likes of Cork and Kilkenny - has varied and the real question is: do they have the hunger? There can be no doubt that they are up for a match with Tipperary, and fitness won't be a problem, but you would have to wonder about their appetite.

The one constant in Clare hurling this past few years is that the backs, as a unit, and the two centrefielders have been through thick and thin together. In the modern game, as we saw from Cork, it is vital for backs to prevent the opposing forwards from scoring - and Clare, too, are good at this.

Also, a number of the Tipperary forwards are still relatively young. The two older guys, Declan Ryan and Paul Shelly, will work extremely hard, and the younger players have plenty of ability: Mark O'Leary is very fast; Brian O'Meara will win plenty of ball, but doesn't always score as much as you would expect, while Eugene O'Neill and Paddy O'Brien are good at picking up the loose ball and putting it over the bar.

But they won't have much time on the ball tomorrow because the Clare backs will close them down very quickly. It's a game that could be decided by the team that makes the fewer mistakes and, from that point of view, Clare's experience - if they have the appetite - could be what gives them the edge.

The one constant in Clare hurling this past few years is that the backs, as a unit, and the two centrefielders have been through thick and thin together.

I expect a close, hard and physical game. I don't expect any spectacular hurling. I don't think it will be a dirty game, but I do expect Pat O'Connor to let the players know from a very early stage who is the boss. Too often in the modern game, referees just pull players up for over-running the four steps or for chopping and let nearly everything else go. But Pat is one of the best referees around and he won't take any nonsense.

In the end, I believe that it will be very tight. The small things could end up deciding the outcome and Clare's greater experience throughout the team could just be enough to ensure that they make fewer errors than a Tipperary team with some relative newcomers.

In an interview with Philip Reid