What you have here are two teams that badly want this victory, a game of huge importance to both Waterford and Tipperary. It's the first major clash of this intriguing Munster championship and has certainly caused great interest.

One of the odd things in terms of the teams' current form is that both sides made the National League semi-finals but didn't impress from there on. Tipperary beat Limerick but never really caught fire, and it was the same in the final itself. Waterford lost to Galway but likewise were probably a little short of their best.

That comes down to a couple of things. Both managers had their eye on the championship and by all means didn't want to meet again before that. They didn't want to disclose too much and they certainly didn't want to peak. And no one wants to win a league on May 14th and then be knocked out of the championship on May 28th. I've said it before that the two competitions run far too close together.

In many ways, the selections for both sides have come about by trial and error, a case of picking horses for courses. You can see straight away where some of the crucial match-ups will be. Brian Flannery on Liam Cahill should be some struggle as they know each other so well. And it's the same with Sean Cullinane and Paul Shelly, which I expect to be another tight battle.

But the game is most likely to hinge on the performances of each half-back line. I always believe that to be the backbone of any team and I expect that whichever side dominates here will certainly have a great chance of winning. The problem here is that they both look so even.

Tipperary have juggled their line a bit. It is somewhat unproven and they'll be under attack from big men like Dan Shanahan and Johnny Brenner. I can see why Paul Ormonde was moved to corner back because he has great mobility and speed to mark Paul Flynn, and that will be his main function. As a result, John Carroll now starts on the wing in what will be another championship debut.

After that, a lot will depend on the performance of Tipperary's Declan Ryan at centre forward. He has speedy men around him and they can all be dangerous, particularly the likes of Paddy O'Brien and Cahill.

In the Waterford half backs, James Murray will be playing in his first Munster championship match and that will always be nerve-racking. Then you have Stephen Frampton who is just back from a couple of months in Australia. You have to question whether he will be sharp enough. Of course, John Leahy will be no stranger to him as they've matched up many times before but the Tipperary man does drift around a lot and is a hard one to mark.

So I suspect that the Waterford half-back line is not as strong as it could be. I think Declan Ryan will get the better of Fergal Hartley, but Gerald McCarthy obviously believes that it will work as a group.

The main objective of the Waterford half-forward line will be to get the ball in at speed. Up front, Michael White and Paul Flynn both have plenty of pace and may just have the upper hand on the Tipperary fullback line, although I can't see an intelligent and mobile player like Ken McGrath staying at full forward for too long. Leahy had been left off the Tipperary side for much of the league and you'd have to wonder what Nicky English was getting at. But on paper, Mark O'Leary, Ryan and Leahy certainly look a strong trio.

In fact, the forwards of both sides look dangerous and the only difference there will depend on who wants to win the most ball, and who puts his head in first. The ground will be hard and the ball will be moving fast so every player must be on top of his game.

At midfield, I expect things to be fairly even. In many ways, this is not the crucial position that it used to be in the past because with such long puck-outs these days the ball is very often flying over centrefield and straight to the half forwards and half backs of each team.

Tony Browne of Waterford does have the potential to have a major influence on the game, but he hasn't sparked for some time now, and I wonder can he ever reach the old heights. However, his fellow midfielder Peter Queally is a little more forceful and should provide a good balance.

I expect it to be a hard, tough game but probably not a classic. Whenever there is this much tension in the air it's difficult to produce a stunning game. It's not easy to know which team will be the more mobile but you have to say that more Waterford players have been through it before. Of course, Waterford have nothing to show for all the hard work of the last three years. They're under a bit of pressure as well but that can work both ways.

Tipperary do have more untried players involved although that doesn't always account for much. I know Nicky English learned a lot from his first championship last year and I'd be very surprised if they under-perform here. It's a very difficult game to call but I'd probably be less surprised if Tipperary edge the victory by half a point.

In an interview with Ian O'Riordan