John Horgan on hurling: Cork have enough experience to hold off very dangerous Galway threat

Cork and Limerick will enter this weekend's All-Ireland hurling semi-finals as clear favourites to advance to the mother and father of a showdown a fortnight later.

That viewpoint is widely held among pundits and supporters alike and that forecast has been signposted from a long way out, the last two Munster championship-winning teams destined to face each other on one of the biggest occasions in Irish sport.

And maybe that will prove to be the case but be certain sure that Galway and Clare are not turning up in the big house just to make up the numbers.

The only concern right now here on Leeside is negotiating the penultimate hurdle on the way to the final.

Galway are that hurdle and whilst the Leinster campaign does not contain the type of jeopardy that exists in Munster, it still is not a stroll in the park either along that journey, five round-robin games and a final.

Yes, the standard might be inferior to what transpires in Munster but one can never be sure what's around the corner and if somebody had predicted at the outset that Kilkenny would not emerge into the All-Ireland series they would have been laughed at.

Micheál Donoughue, in his second coming as Galway boss following on from leading the county to the ultimate prize in 2017, has assembled what could be said is a new county team, a mix of vast experience and youthful exuberance.

Winning the MacCarthy Cup was not at the height of their agenda at the outset this season, putting an end to Kilkenny's dominance in the province was first and foremost. And that was achieved, defeating the Cats along the road and subsequently putting 4-19 past Dublin in the final.

ROLLING

There were a few dodgy days at a few points on that road, losing to Dublin in the round-robin and a win over Kildare that didn't exactly set the world alight. But they have arrived now on the much bigger stage, just 70 minutes from a final appearance and having a good chunk of momentum in their closet.

On All-Ireland final days, Cork have been the superior force but it's been a different story in semi-finals going back to the '70s and '80s.

That might be irrelevant now but it's a fact at the same time.

Galway have had a month to prepare for this game, were able to have a good look at Cork in the quarter-final against Offaly although such was the one-sided nature of that game it's open to debate what they learned.

Newcomers, Jason Rabbitte and Aaron Niland have caused plenty of bother for opposing defences and against the Dubs in the Leinster final, Tom Monaghan was simply majestic in his seven-point haul.

Cathal Mannion and Conor Whelan have looked very good in some of their recent outings and players like Daithí Burke and Padraig Mannion have bags full of experience and overall there is a fine balance throughout the team.

Going in as underdogs will suit them just fine and their initial objective will be to put down an early marker and subsequently stay in the game for a lengthy spell which will enhance their confidence as it moves into the closing sequences.

Rabbitte's aerial ability inside will have to be counteracted but as a unit, not too much fault can be found with the Cork six in front of Patrick Collins whose season continues on a very positive note.

TUNED IN

There is a school of thought that Cork might have wanted to receive a far sterner test than Offaly provided. Offaly's capitulation was somewhat surprising given how well they had done in emerging from the Leinster pile but from the off, Cork were fully tuned in to ensure that the game was effectively over as a contest after 20 minutes.

The counties are not overly familiar with each other but back in January, Cork exhibited a steely resolve in Salthill to come away with the two league points on offer with Brian Hayes banging in a brace of goals and Shane Barrett notching six points as well as a quartet from Seamie Harnedy.

Both teams are much changed now but in the league scheme of things, it was a solid victory for Ben O'Connor's men.

And here's an interesting snippet from another league encounter between the counties 14 years ago when Galway triumphed by four points.

Full-back for Cork on that occasion was Damien Cahalane, who is still putting in the hard yards in the number three jersey. That longevity represents everything about the vast contribution that he continues to make.

Last weekend the football championship produced three epic games, Kerry and Tyrone, Louth and Monaghan and the Dubs against Galway.

Now the hope is, particularly for neutrals, that the hurling championship that's now in the home straight can replicate what those encounters produced.

Right now, the only concern for Cork is Galway tomorrow at HQ.

However, we will still be keeping close tabs on the Sunday showdown between Limerick and Clare when John Kiely's team will be heavily favoured to progress.

Clare were very much a Jekyll and Hyde side in getting through Munster, defeating Waterford and Tipperary and getting clobbered by Limerick and Cork.

They got back on the horse in hammering Dublin in the quarter-final and they are probably now in a situation of everything to gain and not that much to lose. However, it's difficult to imagine anything other than a Limerick victory but it's been a strange season in both codes.

Who would have predicted that Louth and Mayo would end up in one of the two football semi-finals with one of them going through to the final?

The re-emergence of Dublin has been a surprise too and their display against Galway last Sunday has set up a semi-final clash with Kerry, a throwback to other times and a game loaded with potential.

Kilkenny and Tipp failed to get out of their provinces in the hurling championship so the message has to be very simple: the unexpected is never that far away.

But with their squad depth and potential in attack where Hayes is the big danger man, Cork are in a decent place.

Alan Connolly is due to be a more impactful presence alongside him and the competition for places in the attack is more intense than this scribe can remember for a long time.

In Croke Park, the loss of Ciarán Joyce could be felt more but as stated, the defence has done very well to close down their opponents thus far.

Rob Downey has been a leader in every way and the half-back sector is now very assertive with Mark Coleman hugely influential.

Curbing the threat of Niland, Whelan and Rabbitte in the Galway full-forward line will be prioritised by the Cork management and having come out of Leinster as champions will have raised their confidence levels.

However, at this stage of the championship, Cork have the experience, the athleticism and pace to ensure another final appearance.

Our thinking is that on Sunday evening, there will be another instalment in the Limerick and Cork saga to look forward to.

Verdict: Cork-Limerick decider