All we can hope is that this Clare-Tipperary game is as good as what we saw last Sunday. That was a typical Munster championship affair, a great match with neither side willing to give or take anything. They just got on with the game, suffered whatever blows they got, and kept playing away.
If one were to go on the performances of both teams last Sunday, this should be close as well. I think for most of the second half we saw Tipperary dominate, even though some of their forwards were not performing as well as they could. The backs did extremely well in closing down the Clare attack and sending their forwards in motion with some excellent distribution. I felt that Paul Shelly was particularly good and probably should have put over a few more scores but he had no problem getting through the Clare defence and putting a certain amount of doubt into their full-back line. That meant some changes were necessary, and we saw this when Brian Lohan moved from full back to the corner.
Overall, though, it was a strong display by both teams. Clare were in real trouble for much of the second half until Jamesie O'Connor managed to pop up and stick the ball in the the net. That seemed to lift the whole team and the appearance of both Ollie Baker and Conor Clancy added strength to the Clare forwards and seemed to unsettle the Tipperary backs.
For this game, Baker is due to start at centrefield but whether he'll stay there remains to be seen because if he's been out of training he may need to move further forward. Either way, he's a big man that can hold on to the ball and that caused problems for Tipperary and was just what Clare needed.
One concern about the Clare forwards last time was the number of wides they shot. There was something like 12 wides, where at least half of those should have gone over the bar and put the game beyond Tipperary's reach.
Clare are going to have to lift their game that bit more if they want to win this one. Tipperary tried new things, such as the quick puck out, which worked, although Clare will be ready for that. As well as that Tipperary didn't capitalise fully on the excellent supply of ball into their full-forward line and too many of them ended up in Davy Fitzgerald's hands, putting Clare back on the attack.
Tipperary knew all along that if they could stop the Clare halfback line from dominating then there would a good chance of winning. Declan Ryan did not have one of his better games but Sean McMahon did not command the centre back role the way he normally does and I think the two cancelled each other out.
You must give tremendous credit to Clare for making it back at the end, because they were labouring.
The minimal change in the Tipperary line-out doesn't surprise me. They had to start John Leahy and Brian O'Meara because they are the experienced players and they need to be there for all the tension that comes at the start of the game. You cannot throw in completely raw young players at this level and hope that they will set the game alight.
As a young side they did play superbly together last Sunday and by the end of regular time were a goal up. In some ways it was as if they had lost the match. So in order to win this one, they need to retain that level of form, which will be a difficult thing to do.
If Clare are still fresh and show the willingness to raise their game by something like 15 per cent and Tipperary drop even slightly, then I think Clare can come through.
It's another game Clare don't want, with the questions over how fresh some players are and that may well come against them. If they do come through then the tiredness factor may come become a bigger problem in the later stages of the championship.
I think Dicky Murphy did an excellent job last week and we all hope the game can be played in a similar spirit. It was a strong, physical game and yet there were no bookings and that's the way the game should be played.
Elsewhere, we see six new Cork players starting out for their game with Waterford tomorrow and it should make for interesting viewing. It's certainly a lot of changes for a Munster championship but it tells a lot about the confidence Cork now have in themselves to win this game.
The main advantage in Waterford's favour is that they have a championship match behind them and will have sharpened up a good bit, but if they want to win this one they can't be thinking about the trouble Cork usually cause them. For years that would have been the story, although now they have to think that they can beat them and go out to play their own game.
This is a young and inexperienced Cork side with new players in all the key areas from goalkeeper to full forward. They're all good hurlers but you do need some balance there as well. You need big men to break up the play, and looking at the forwards, most of those are ball-playing men so that should be interesting.
Among the new faces in the Cork side, Donal Og Cusack is the first that jumps out. He is a very good goalkeeper but he still has to earn his spurs at senior level. Before, you would look at Ger Cunningham and wonder how to get the ball past him, so this is a gamble. In fact, six new players for any game is taking a big chance.
The youth factor can work both ways and if you look at last Sunday, it was the experienced Tipperary players like Declan Ryan and John Leahy that were always in the thick of it. It's an intriguing match and from Cork's point of view they've been keeping very quiet about it. That usually means they are very dangerous. Normally you would have to favour them but there is certainly more experience in this Waterford side and with the game already behind them, I think they might just shade it.
Tony Browne looks like starting again which is always a boost but if you go back to the Limerick game, only five of the side scored and that average may not be enough. They can't rely on Ken McGrath and Paul Flynn alone and that is something I would be worried about. It won't be the same sort of physical game that Clare and Tipperary will be, but with the good pitch in Thurles, it will certainly be fast.
(In an interview with Ian O'Riordan)
