"I think we showed that we learned something from last year." Nicky English, Tipperary's manager, is philosophical. A year ago, his first championship season flickered a glimpse of a sensational victory before Clare put Tipperary back in their box. Now the counties will meet again after a match which has validated his team's progress. English reflects on a result which was effectively won by a scoring burst in the five minutes before half-time - creating a five-point breaker against the strong wind.

"I didn't mind the wind," he says. "The way hurling is at the moment, you're less closed up and less bunched against the wind. What you're trying to do is open up space. Waterford were dangerous and I was happy to get to half-time without conceding a goal."

Chief architect of the win was John Leahy, now in his 13th championship. In last month's league final against Galway, Leahy struggled to make an impact. English lends a little perspective.

"John and Tommy Dunne. There's a lot of mileage in those legs. They don't have to battle through the league. Maybe our team is mature enough to recognise the difference between the championship and the league. There were 13,000 at the league final and 35,000 out there today and certainly more Tipperary people. We learned from the league but this is what it's about.

"Everyone's championship game is huge. Next Sunday it's Limerick and Cork and that will be no different. At the end of the day Clare and Cork are up there and the rest of us are trying to battle our way up." Man-of-the-hour John Leahy treads gently around his latest big game. "Yes, I'm very happy. Clare will be different. When we wake up in the morning, this will be nice to look back on. But there's a job to be done the next day."

Down the corridor, Gerald McCarthy's vista is particularly bleak. His four-year stint with Waterford has brought the county back into the ranks of contenders but no further. Two years ago they played championship in Croke Park for the first time since 1963. This defeat is, however, poisonous - a season stillborn before the end of May in a match when Ken McGrath, his best player, shipped a debilitating injury.

"Ken went over on his ankle and fought through with a terrible injury. Tipperary were better on the day, hungrier. It was a dangerous wind, a wind you could have a lot of wides with like Tipperary did in the first half. It disrupted patterns of play."

Four years is a long time. A manager who reaches the end of such a tenure with agonising regrets instead of silverware is always asked the reluctant question. The future? "There are no excuses today and no scapegoats. I know you're anxious to know about the future of Waterford hurling but I'll be first communicating with the people that matter most, the chairman of the county board."