Tony Considine on Cork's big calls for Munster final: Pat Ryan has options now

Cork and Waterford was a very lacklustre game for a long time. 

I know the wind may have had a lot to do with that. But no matter, you would like to see a better standard of hurling.

Cork were suffering a bit from their poor performance against Limerick. It took them a while to get going. 

But Waterford gave them a lot of help, especially when they were playing with the breeze in the first half. Playing one man in their forward line on three Cork defenders seemed an outrageous decision when they were trying to get as many scores on the board as possible. 

Surely they should have forgotten about that tactic as they made life very easy for Sean O'Donoghue, Eoin Downey and especially Ger Millerick. 

Tactically, Waterford were all wrong. They didn't put any pressure whatsoever on Patrick Collins in that first half. 

Cork did the opposite. They stuck with Patrick Horgan, Brian Hayes and Alan Connolly in their full-forward line, and they got a return, especially from Connolly in that first half. Waterford depended a lot on the running game, a very bad option and it showed when Cork went in leading by a point.

Cork started really well in the second half getting scores at ease and dominating. Seamus Harnedy, Shane Barrett and Hayes showed the way. 

Hayes does not get too excited when he sees a chance, he always seems to have a cool head when going for the jugular. That first goal for Cork got the crowd going and they were on their way then. 

The pressure was off and the crowd were buzzing but then they took their eye off the ball. Concentration levels dropped and they allowed Waterford back in. Stephen Bennett's goal put them right back into it and he was unlucky to hit the post. 

A few good subs for Cork helped. Young Diarmuid Healy came on and Shane Kingston. 

Darragh Fitzgibbon was buzzing around the field. Ciarán Joyce cleaned up at centre-back, along with some great play by Millerick, so Cork got a grip again. 

The big question I would ask of Cork now is whether this a good performance. You would have to say it was way better than the Limerick effort, but then again it wouldn't be hard to be better than that.

HUGE

Cork are in the Munster final. This is a huge game now. 

A lot of the Cork players have not played in the Munster final, their first in seven years. Pat Ryan now has a huge job ahead of him, bringing his team to the Gaelic Grounds again, to face the old enemy. He will have headaches thinking about it, but he is in a very good position now.

But Pat is a realist and he knows well that a performance like this will not be anywhere near good enough. As we all know every game is different. 

Cork must be still hurting. Hurt is a great thing if it is used properly. They know what they will be facing now and they can prepare accordingly.

You can be sure Limerick are. I said last week that you are only ever as good or as bad as your next game. 

A win does a lot for a team. Cork training will be very interesting. You will have a lot of fellas fighting for places, and there are a few up for grabs.

There is no worry about the hype now, that is well dampened after the last visit to Shannonside, Pat Ryan's concern is what team to pick. He has a lot of choices and Cork must get their match-ups spot on.

Will Millerick start at corner-back instead of Niall O'Leary if fit? Will Cormac O'Brian stay in the half-back line instead of the captain Rob Downey? 

Fitzgibbon at midfield again? What about Kingston and Healy coming into their attack? Or Declan Dalton if he's fit? 

All huge questions. It's a great way to be going into a major final though. It will make their training very competitive. 

About the hype... I think the only thing that is hyped too much, especially this year, is the Munster championship. 

It's definitely not been as good as other years, and I would say that there are a couple of teams in Leinster waiting in the long grass...