John Horgan on Cork v Tipp: All-Ireland champions will land on Leeside with a swagger

Whether it's the league or the championship, maybe even a challenge match, when the hurlers of Cork and Tipperary collide the stakes are always that bit higher.

The desire for victory is always greater, emotions that bit stronger, given that the old foes have a long and chequered history.

The Rebel County against the Premier is just that, endless battles through the ages that have never failed to capture the imagination.

For both counties, there will be much bigger fish to fry in the next few months. In the here and now, it's all about their national league encounter on Saturday night at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, a venue that's likely to be packed to the rafters.

Their Munster championship collision in Thurles in April will be far more important but securing the early bragging rights would be an early-season bonus.

It's inevitable the All-Ireland final will be recalled among supporters and in the media, but that's consigned to history now. The manner of what transpired on that July Sunday will always be a topic of conversation, of course, and the passage of time may not erase that.

But there is no future in the past. Cork and Tipp are on a new journey now and for both they've begun positively.

Division 1A of the league is a challenging task at such an early juncture in the season and, more often than not, hard questions can be asked.

This, of course, is a repeat of last season's league decider and a repeat too of last season's All-Ireland final. The outcome in both games, a runaway victory for one team, Cork in that league final and Tipp a couple of months later in Croke Park, won't be repeated here.

It's two wins for both thus far in the secondary competition, Cork strolling to victory over Waterford and being tested to a far greater extent against Galway.

For long periods, Tipp didn't have it all their own way against Galway in the worst conditions imaginable in Thurles and a week later they trounced Offaly in Tullamore.

RUTHLESS

The latter result might be surprising to some, given how well Offaly performed against Kilkenny, so an 18-point hammering by Liam Cahill's team certainly wasn't envisaged. Offaly were down some key players because of injury but Tipp were ruthless in how they took care of business.

Cahill, similar to all the other management teams, is opening the door to a lot of fresh faces and with competition for starting places in the championship becoming more and more intense everywhere, nobody is holding back. The Tipp players certainly didn't in Tullamore.

Jason Forde, one of the county's great servants, was the standout performer with a haul of 3-10 while Noel and John McGrath got on the scoresheet after their introduction.

A look down through the Tipp team that was on duty last Sunday and there are a number of names who would not be familiar outside the county, Jack Leamy, Josh Keller and Conor Martin, to mention just three.

That illustrates that there will be no resting on their laurels, the search for new material continues and that will be relentless.

Jake Morris and Darragh McCarthy didn't feature at all last weekend but there was more than enough potency up front to construct a return of 5-24 and that's a very healthy return any day of the week.

From what we have seen in their two victories to date, Tipp hurling is in a very strong place, certainly much stronger than it was 12 months ago.

At the same time, one can never put too much store into what transpires in the league in February and results can change very quickly from one week to the next.

And that was certainly the case with Waterford, a week after being dismantled by Cork. Given the announcement of how Limerick were going to field against them in Walsh Park, 10 or 11 players whose pockets bulge with All-Ireland medals, not too many fancied Peter Queally's team.

But look what transpired, the Deise county produced the goods to bag the points on offer and Limerick could have had few excuses in the end.

As the saying goes, especially in the league, the only certainty is the uncertainty, all the more so with so much experimentation being carried out by management teams. But credit when it's due, a fine victory for Waterford and another illustration that down in Walsh Park, nothing comes easy for the opposing team.

Cork and Tipp are the big show in town this weekend, age-old rivalry and respect going hand in hand where the two counties are concerned, that's the way it is, has been and always will be.

MIXED

It's been so far, so good for both in this league campaign, two wins from two and plenty of positives.

Some negatives too, Ben O'Connor would not have been happy with the first 20 minutes in Salthill and Galway could and should have been much further than just a point ahead at the break.

Poor finishing, both from open play and from the placed ball allowed Cork to get a run on them before half-time and thereafter they became a far more assertive side.

Some half-time substitutions worked the oracle too and their riposte after their earlier indifference had to please the management.

The form of Shane Barrett was a revelation, the return of Seamie Harnedy and his four-point haul was a huge plus, and the brace of second-half goals from Brian Hayes was another positive in what was for, the most part, an enterprising performance.

Despite the results thus far, both counties will continue a policy of rotation, trying to get some game time into as many players as possible.

With the teams colliding again a bit further down the track in the far more important game at the round-robin stage of the Munster Championship, there is always the thinking that in a league game, a bit of shadow boxing might be at play, not showing the full hand to the other.

On home turf and with an anticipated huge attendance, the Cork supporters will get right behind the team and that might just be enough to get them over the line. But it's Cork and Tipp, games that are undeniably special and can often take on a life of their own.

In the current pecking order in the aftermath of their All-Ireland victory last July, Tipp are top of the pile and will want to carry on the momentum that such a victory brings.

They don't have good memories from their last two visits to Leeside, two fairly hefty beatings but that's history too.

Whatever comes to pass tomorrow night all the ingredients are there for a great occasion, maybe a Saturday night when the old rivals will strive to put down an early marker.

As league games go in February, expect that bit more from two counties already pencilled in as two of leading championship contenders.

Verdict: Cork by a couple of points.