Clare are delighted to be in this weekend's Guinness All-Ireland hurling final. This isn't to imply that a fairly driven team will be happy just to be there but that the county is hugely satisfied at reaching this stage four years after the decline of the great Loughnane team began. Seán Moran reports.

Being a hurling county isn't about winning sporadic titles. It's the capacity to challenge regularly for top honours - and to have the country at large saying you can never write off a Clare team, even in a final with Kilkenny.

Although the final pairing is unexpected, neither county has been a stranger to the big time in recent years. The build-up has been strangely subdued - apart from the usual ticket mayhem. This wouldn't be too surprising in Kilkenny where as well as being accustomed to this, the public mood is careful not to repeat the excesses of 1999 - and to an extent last year.

But it is a bit of a surprise in Clare where the hype took a while to get wound up. Then again the calming of public mania is one of the prices you pay for sustained success.

The teams arrive from different perspectives. Clare were not expected to benefit to this extent from the qualifier series, but they have efficiently knocked down every obstacle since losing to Tipperary back in May. Kilkenny have swept through the usual route, winning Leinster - albeit with a greatly decreased majority - and deposing the champions as firmly as they themselves were deposed a year previously.

This might appear the danger for Kilkenny. Nothing exposes a team like losing and so far their progress has been smooth. Overwhelming favourites at 8 to 13, Kilkenny know that this isn't a status that has suited them in the past.

But it would be as well not to get carried away with this. Apart from 1999, complacency hasn't been a major factor in Kilkenny's problems. In 1998 they were simply not as good as Offaly and last year the effects of defending an All-Ireland proved beyond them as it has every other champion for nine years.

Take two scenarios: the malign one from a Kilkenny point of view sees Clare hit the ground running. A tight, claustrophobic game ensues with little decent ball getting into the forwards. Clare get a grip in all areas and start to squeeze the life from Kilkenny.

Henry Shefflin and maybe DJ Carey get their share, but otherwise it's low scoring and tight. Slightly unhappy replacements fail to make an impact for Kilkenny and Clare draw strength from the attrition. In the end they edge out Kilkenny because the game suits them better and Kilkenny expecting - even subconsciously - things to run more their way, have become frustrated.

Clare's malign scenario sees them start as wretchedly as they have in the past two matches. As their defence struggles to tighten, Kilkenny exploit the gaps far more ruthlessly than Waterford or Galway managed. The loose environment suits Eddie Brennan and Carey down to the ground and a couple of goals fly in and kill off the final as surely as it was two years ago when Offaly made a similarly disastrous start.

Forced to throw caution to the wind - an unfamiliar game-plan for Clare - Cyril Lyons's team become desperate and Kilkenny pick them off.

The middle ground between these two hypotheses is considerable but it favours Kilkenny more than Clare. Here are the areas in which Kilkenny will have an advantage.

Clare's defence frequently overshadows the attack but just because the reverse is the case with Kilkenny doesn't mean that the Leinster champions' backs are vulnerable. Noel Hickey at full back hasn't been convincingly pressurised either in the air or on the ground.

Clare will try him both ways and although Tony Carmody hit the jackpot against Wexford, his opponents tomorrow will be more cohesive when the pressure comes. Peter Barry will provide a shield in front and Michael Kavanagh and Phillip Larkin are good support players.

Kilkenny are also a bit under-estimated at centrefield. Both Andy Comerford and Derek Lyng have been improving and, of the four in the middle John Reddan has been the least productive, although he has had his moments. Colin Lynch may emerge as the best in the sector, but he is unlikely to dominate this match as thoroughly as he did against Waterford and Clare.

In attack, Kilkenny's superiority doesn't have to express itself in running riot, merely in scoring more than the Clare forwards manage. It's worth remembering that with Gerry Quinn in all likelihood out, Clare are missing a top defender. Henry Shefflin poses an awkward test for Seán McMahon, who is peerless at holding the middle, but has to make judgment calls on whether it's safe to let the Kilkenny centre forward off on his own and trust Lynch to pick up the tab out the field.

Carey's ability to inject pace unexpectedly makes him a constant threat and he will play well within himself, knowing that Shefflin is drawing attention in the half forwards. Brian Lohan, in exceptional form though he is, doesn't care for too much high ball.

He will read it and knock it down, but he will also find Martin Comerford hard to handle - as he did in the league last March. If Comerford can win a few that's a big plus for Kilkenny, who won't have exorbitant requirements of the full forward before deeming him a success; Lohan, on the other hand, must dominate.

A final advantage for Kilkenny is the quality of the replacements. Ollie Baker may well come on (assuming he doesn't start) to resounding cheers from Clare and will make his presence felt, but in terms of depth, Brian Cody can call on Brian McEvoy, Charlie Carter and the Dowling brothers.

There won't be much in this, but it should be on Kilkenny's side of the scoreboard.

CLARE: Davy Fitzgerald (Sixmilebridge); Brian Quinn (Tulla), Brian Lohan (Wolfe Tones,capt), Frank Lohan (Wolfe Tones); David Hoey (St Joseph's Doora-Barefield), Seán McMahon (Doora-Barefield), AN Other; John Reddan (Sixmilebridge), Colin Lynch (Kilmaley); James O'Connor (Doora-Barefield), Tony Griffin (Ballylea), Niall Gilligan (Sixmilebridge); David Forde (Ogonnnelloe), Tony Carmody (Inagh), Alan Markham (Kilmaley)

Substitutes: Ger O'Connell (Clonlara), Conor Harrison (Clooney), Kenneth Kennedy (Doora-Barefield), Diarmuid McMahon (Kilmaley), Ollie Baker (Doora-Barefield), Conor Earlie (Tubber), Gearoid Considine (Cratloe), Andrew Quinn (Tulla), Pat Vaughan (Crusheen), Joe Considine (Doora-Barefield), Ronan O'Looney (Inagh), Barry Nugent (Eire Og), Damien Kennedy (Doora-Barefield).

KILKENNY: James McGarry (Bennettsbridge); Michael Kavanagh (St Lachtain's), Noel Hickey (Dunamaggin), Philip Larkin (James Stephens); Richard Mullally (Glenmore), Peter Barry (James Stephens); JJ Delaney (Fenians); Derek Lyng (Emeralds), Andy Comerford (O'Loughlin Gaels, capt); John Hoyne (Graigue-Ballycallan), Henry Shefflin (Ballyhale Shamrocks), Jimmy Coogan (Tullaroan); Eddie Brennan (James Stephens), Martin Comerford (O'Loughlin Gaels), DJ Carey (Young Irelands).

Substitutes: PJ Ryan (Fenians), Sean Dowling (O'Loughlin Gaels), P Cahill (Dunamaggin), Walter Burke (Mullinavat), James Ryall (Graigue-Ballycallan), Pat Tennyson (Carrickshock), Brian McEvoy (James Stephens), Charlie Carter (Young Irelands), Alan Geoghegan (O'Loughlin Gaels), Stephen Grehan (Fenians), John Power (John Locke's), Brian Dowling (O'Loughlin Gaels).