John Horgan: Limerick and Cork look the part but there are no guarantees in Munster hurling
Cork’s Brian Hayes celebrates after Darragh Fitzgibbon scored his side's second goal against Tipp. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie
Given how close they went last season and how well they have performed in the past couple of months in lifting the national league title, the question is now being posed, has Cork's time arrived to be a major hurling force again?
Too many barren years in the wilderness without an All-Ireland had led people to believe that the rest of the field of challengers had overtaken the blood and bandage and adding to the list of their Liam MacCarthy cup wins was going to be very difficult.
We have seen other counties dominate in those grades, Limerick back in the early 2000s at U21 when they won three All-Irelands on the trot and Galway too were performing well at underage without ever being a consistent force on the big stage and not yielding the dividend many had expected.
The days of the big three of Kilkenny, Tipperary and Cork dominating the landscape are long past, the playing field is much leveller now and the emergence of a great Limerick team and Clare becoming a far more formidable force too which has seen them lift the All-Ireland twice since Cork's last victory in 2005.
The new and it must be said hugely successful round-robin format in the two provinces has changed things significantly and if you are not in the first three there will be no All-Ireland series.
That scenario applies particularly here in Munster with all five counties capable of defeating each other on any given day.
There is no doubt that the current credentials of Cork stand up well to any type of scrutiny when it comes to the conversation about who will be top dogs at season's end in July.
They were so desperately close in 2024, they have built on the momentum gained from that run to the final and just a few inches from a last-gasp equalising point.
The competition for starting places was intense last season, it's far greater now and some players' form that might have dipped a little has been regained.
The balance of the side looks to be much better, down the spine of the team there is added stability and the movement of some players from one position to another has been working the oracle too.
The combination of Tim O'Mahony and Ethan Twomey in the middle of the field is starting to gell very well while Darragh Fitzgibbon's directness and pace on the 40 is asking more questions of opposing defenders.
Rob Downey is lording it at centre-back, a captain leading by example while Ciarán Joyce and newcomer Cormac O'Brien alongside, have constructed a very tenacious half-back sector.
The options up front are greater than they have been for a long time and it could now be stated that there is more than adequate cover in every position.
And to be successful that just has to be the way and wasn't it Limerick's great strength in depth that was responsible in a big way in their very recent four-in-a-row and still looks like making them one of the much bigger fancies again this time?
Of course, what transpired during the national league belongs to a different country now and the far more difficult questions and the answers that will be provided await us now next weekend when Clare and Cork are set for a mother and father of all battles in Cusack Park. And Tipperary must show a lot more than they did in the league final when they host Limerick in Thurles.
Waterford have the luxury of being able to look on at their four provincial opponents and learn the few bits and pieces that might benefit them when they enter the arena.
The general consensus seems to be that it will be Cork, Limerick and Clare coming out to tackle Leinster's best but assuming anything in Munster can leave one with egg on their face when the round-robin stage is concluded.
League form and being outright winners has proved to be a reliable guideline in recent times but it can be misleading too as it was three years ago when Waterford flopped after winning the secondary competition.
We have been stressing that the margin for error is minimal but that would not be altogether correct and as Cork illustrated last season, you can lose two games, Cork's two openers against Waterford and Clare and still emerge.
But that's a very dangerous scenario and is certainly not recommended.
Just a couple of days out from when the provincial gun is fired Cork are certainly the form team, the confidence is high, the goals are arriving in significant numbers and the space that was being afforded far too much at times to opposition attackers has been closed down.
As one sees it right now, the team for Sunday's trip to the Banner is more or less settled with minimal or no change at all envisaged from the league final win.
From one to eight do we expect no change and Cormac O'Brien at number seven has done enough to be given his first championship start.
In the front six the only poser might be at number 10, do you go with the vastly experienced Seamie Harnedy, the strong physical presence of Deccie Dalton or the vibrancy of the youthful Diarmuid Healy? Whoever the nod it will still leave you with two huge options when the need arises and the likelihood is that all three will get game time over the 70 minutes.
The fierceness of championship hurling now means that long gone are the days when the starting team might still be in place at the end.
But great caution must be urged too and be certain that Pat Ryan is impressing upon his players that the only games that count are beginning now, four big Munster tests with uncertainty attached to all four.
There is always talk of peaking too soon, too much hype among pundits and supporters and all that sometimes ridiculous stuff.
Let's be honest, Cork haven't won an All-Ireland for 20 years, did we ever think back in 2005 that we'd be making that statement in 2025...
But that's the way it is and whilst the portents are very good, there is a strong management, a quality panel has been constructed, a unified approach on all fronts but absolutely no guarantees.
But first things first over the next few weeks, ensure that you are in the top three in Munster and all five counties have experience of how difficult a task that can be.
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