John Horgan on Clare v Tipp: Home advantage means Banner will get back on track

For the second weekend in a row there is just one game in the round-robin stage of the Munster SHC, but it’s one of huge significance for both Clare and Tipperary.

In fact, if there is a winner it would be fair to say that the losers’ interest in the provincial championship will be as good as over.

The stakes could not be higher for both counties, with each having just one point from two games. Failure for either would ensure that the best that they could end up with would be three points, and no county has gone into the All-Ireland series with that total since the format of the competition was changed in 2018.

A draw in Cusack Park tomorrow night would give both a lifeline going into their final game, Clare against Limerick and Tipperary against Waterford.

As things stand, All-Ireland champions Clare and Tipperary find themselves in a very precarious position. A loss for Clare, in particular, would almost certainly end their term as the country’s best team.

Cork, Limerick, and Waterford will be keenly observing on what transpires tomorrow night; maybe Cork not as much, for now anyway, as their dealings with both counties at the round-robin stage has concluded with Pat Ryan’s team bagging three points from those two games.

GREATEST

It’s never easy to defend a title at provincial and All-Ireland level, although Limerick have been making a habit of it in Munster, winning six in a row from 2019 onwards. They have backed that up with four All-Irelands on the trot which gives them the right to be considered the greatest team of all time.

There will always be debate on that issue, but what John Kiely’s men have achieved is remarkable; all the more so in the modern era when the competitive nature of the championship is greater than it has ever been.

Because of their status as MacCarthy Cup holders, and because of the position that they find themselves in, the spotlight will be on Clare tomorrow night.

However, on home turf, they are carrying the tag of favouritism and also because of the heavy defeat Tipperary took from Cork in their last outing.

Of course, losing a man before the ball had been thrown in did not help Tipp’s cause that night, but they would have been second-best anyway, although the margin at the end might not have been as great as it was. And that player, Darragh McCarthy will be marked absent in Cusack Park and that has to be factored in given his effectiveness in attack.

Clare produced a stirring comeback against Cork but couldn’t back it up a week later against Waterford, and as a result, they find themselves in the position that they are in.

The absence of Tony Kelly in that game and the continuing absence of Shane O’Donnell had an impact in the defeat in Walsh Park, a defeat that could ultimately end their involvement in the championship.

Even a victory might not be enough considering that their final group game is against Limerick in the Gaelic Grounds. 

But where there is life there is hope and we will all be that bit more knowledgeable after the events in Cusack Park.

If Cork get past Limerick on Sunday week and if Clare defeat Tipp tomorrow night imagine how high the stakes would be for the meeting of the close neighbours, a game that would effectively be a knockout championship game of hurling.

Imagine too what a cauldron the Gaelic Grounds would be for that potentially almighty collision.

But as we have already stated in a recent column, it’s still all conjecture right now, but that’s the great beauty of this Munster campaign, the great uncertainty.

In advance of their meeting on Sunday week, both Cork and Limerick will be happy enough with their lot up to now, one victory and a draw putting both at the head of affairs in the group.

FADEOUTS

Cork are, no doubt, addressing their second-half fadeouts in games on the training pitch and the need to avoid allowing their opponents back into the equation which has been happening that bit too often. In simple terms, Ryan and his management team will demand more consistency over the 70 minutes.

At the same time there has to be an appreciation that, in all Munster Championship games, one team rarely dominates for a game’s entirety.

Limerick did most things right at against Waterford in Walsh Park, but they didn’t trouble goalkeeper Billy Nolan to any great extent and John Kiely will be only too well aware of how important goals can be, and are likely to be going forward. The subs that he introduced all impacted, illustrating again how deep this Limerick panel is and its importance.

Cork, of course, have that depth too and it may well turn out to be the case that it will be that depth on both sides that will decide the issue next Sunday week.

Supporters down south might not be as gripped with how things are moving along at the round-robin stage in Leinster but it’s worth keeping a close eye on proceedings up there for what might be coming down the tracks further on.

The main focus of attention this weekend will be on the Salthill meeting of Galway and Wexford. Both are on two points from two games played, behind Kilkenny and Dublin who are on four apiece, so the importance of the game in Pearse Stadium needs no explaining.

Kilkenny, in all probability, are going to be one of the three teams emerging into the All-Ireland series with two from Dublin, Wexford, and Galway accompanying them. One expects Dublin to bag two more points against Antrim tomorrow and Kilkenny to be too strong for Offaly.

So that leaves it up to Galway and Wexford to try and enhance their prospects of being very much in the mix of extending their summer.

On home turf, the smart money will be on Micheál O’Donoughe’s team to secure the spoils.

As in the situation in Munster, there’s a lot of hurling to be played yet, more so in Leinster because there are six counties vying for the three big spots.

So, to conclude, we are predicting a Clare victory in Ennis tomorrow night and for them to keep the pot boiling while at the same time all but end, Tipp’s championship year.

And in the big one in Leinster, Galway get the nod to remain on the road to redemption after their desperately poor show against Kilkenny in Nowlan Park. But across the sporting landscape nothing is ever certain and a couple of draws in both provinces could change everything.