Cork hurling fans well aware league and championship are very different animals

Thankfully we will no longer have to reference Cork's last league victory as going all the way back to 1998 thanks to Sunday’s fabulous victory over Tipperary at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday.

We were getting rather weary of that particular stat.

The first half on Sunday from Cork was shock and awe stuff. Tipp looked right in the game until Alan Connolly's brilliant 21st-minute goal saw Cork leap into a quickfire six-point lead and they really went for the jugular to go in 3-16 to 0-12 up at half-time. To go from level to 13 up in the space of a quarter of an hour was exceptional hurling.

The second half was a bit of a damp squib after as Tipp never threatened to close the gap and Cork seemed happy to just keep chipping away to keep the Premier at arm's length.

There were real similarities to last year's match between the two counties in Thurles as that game had been tight until a Connolly goal just before half-time. The goal saw a complete shift in the momentum and the very same occurred on Sunday, which will be a huge worry for Liam Cahill. It is back to the drawing board for Tipp in that respect.

When you win so comfortably every player invariably goes well. Each Cork player and each line performed and dominated. It is often easy to criticise the work-rate of Cork but on Sunday there was no issue whatsoever.

The brilliant hook by Cormac O’Brien in the opening minute of the second half was a testament to Cork's reluctance to not let this opportunity to secure national honours on home soil slip by. He also robbed Alan Tynan in midfield for a Darragh Fitzgibbon point in the 46th minute, in a demonstration that his standards weren't going to drop despite the gap in the scoreline.

The Newtownshandrum wing-back has really grabbed his opportunity to such an extent that a player of the calibre of Mark Coleman is struggling to win the number seven jersey back. The kind of selection problem that managers dream of.

Seamus Harnedy showed similar desire in the 50th minute, upon his introduction off the bench, to chase down a lost cause. It is so refreshing to watch the Cork hurlers actually outwork their opposition.

Springing Coleman, Harnedy, Tommy O’Connell, Declan Dalton, Luke Meade and Shane Kingston from the pine is a clear illustration of how strong Cork are. Of course, the worry amongst all Cork supporters is that they are going too well for this time of year and that it might be difficult to maintain such a standard for the whole year.

After 20 years without an All-Ireland, it is easy to be pessimistic. 

Winning leagues and playing this well is a positive though and Cork supporters should just enjoy the journey.

If anything Pat Ryan might be critical that Cork left a number of scores behind. They could have been even more ruthless.

Two weeks will be very different though. League and championship are different animals. Playing All-Ireland champions Clare in their own backyard in Ennis will mean that Cork will meet a side at a very different level to Tipp.

BOX TICKED

There was good news with the big ball this weekend too as the Cork footballers ticked all the right boxes on Saturday evening with their 11-point victory over Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds.

Life was made extremely comfortable with the 24th-minute sending-off of Limerick wing forward Sean Clancy, which allowed Cork to ease to victory in second gear.

Cork outscored their hosts by 0-6 to 0-1 between the sending-off and half-time, which meant they were nine up at that juncture.

Cork were always likely to have too much for a Division 4 side but the extra man meant the last 45 minutes was a procession, with little learned. The small matter of a meeting with Kerry in two weeks at SuperValu Pairc Ui Chaoimh will certainly be a much sterner test.