English test for longevity doubts

At present the hurling world seems split between two extremes. One says that Clare will blow out of the county like a righteous hurricane and atone for two disappointing years; the other says that Clare are gone, as happens all great champions at some stage. This dichotomy is central to tomorrow's Guinness Munster hurling semi-final.

If Tipperary weren't such an unproven side, the question would be more easily defined, but the one consensus to be found is that if Clare play well, they will win.

It would be easier to share the bullishness about Clare's prospects if the team showed any signs of fresh blood. Instead, it is a vastly experienced side with no one making a championship debut and with Enda Flannery the only player introduced last year. Only two of the other players, Brian Quinn and Alan Markham, came in the year before, leaving 12 who played in the All-Ireland winning season of 1997.

None of the players are particularly old but there's an awful lot of mileage up amongst the longest-serving.

With increasing personal and career commitments, Clare players let their monastic devotion slip a little bit each year and, as All-Ireland medals and All Star awards eroded the hunger, they were unable to consistently maintain the power surges which had propelled them to the top of the game. From 1997 on, the slippage has been gradual but unmistakable.

Now we are asked to believe that the players have managed to reverse the trend of those years and reset the ratchet at the tension of three and five years ago. The team is made up of exceptional personalities, but there has to be a doubt over its ability to turn the clock back so comprehensively.

The story of last year was a failure, both to dispose of inferior teams without replays and to match better-quality teams. There were injuries and some misfortune, but the team has been so uncommonly fortunate (or else so well prepared) that injuries hadn't played a major role until 1999.

Tipperary are radically changed since last year and the changes have been for the better, but there will be pressure points.

In last year's replay, Flannery thoroughly disrupted the grip David Kennedy had exercised at centre back in the drawn match. On paper, they meet again and from Clare's perspective, why not? Any disorientation John Carroll may feel at wing back will surely be exploited by Alan Markham. In the Waterford game, Philip Maher at full back recovered well, but was troubled by a fully-fit Ken McGrath. Clare will try to disrupt him and he is likely to face Niall Gilligan as well as Eamonn Taaffe at some stage of the game.

Nicky English appears to have given up on Liam Cahill in the right corner, but he led Frank Lohan a merry dance for much of the drawn match and wasn't noticeably worse than the rest in the replay. Presumably, he will see some action during the afternoon, but Eugene O'Neill starts after a league campaign where he was frequently used at centrefield. The plus points from the Waterford win included a good defensive display and a vintage performance from John Leahy. Whether Leahy can reproduce that quality and whether Tommy Dunne can improve will also be critical issues.

Whatever the answers, the view here is that Clare are nearer the end of the book than the beginning of a new chapter.