After the anti climax of the national hurling league campaign, all eyes were focused on the commencement of the provincial championships with the Munster campaign topping the agenda. What a list of fixtures we had to look forward to with Limerick against Tipperary and Cork versus Waterford to get the ball rolling before the serious stuff in Leinster gets off the mark. It is interesting to take a look at those games and see where these were won and lost. Limerick v. Tipperary - the drawn game After two hard fought games Limerick still came out on the losing side and this will no doubt still be on the minds of all Limerick players, mentors and selectors alike. The burning question is - what do they have to do to win a match, because on both occasions the players could have given no more. Looking back to the first day, one would have to say this was Limerick's best chance to knock the Premier County off their perch. They were five points up in the second half and hurling as if their lives depended on it. Limerick were in the driving seat but somehow seemed to lack the inner belief that they could actually win this game. Perhaps having not been in this position too often in the past was the reason they came unstuck and they certainly lacked the killer instinct to finish a team off. Winning becomes a habit and for those last ten minutes a little bit of panic seemed to set in to Limerick's play. The hurling might not have been the best but nobody could fault the commitment and effort of both sets of players over the 70 minutes. To me Limerick deserved to win this match but when John Devane pounced for what seemed to be the winning goal in injury time , most teams would have dropped their heads in despair but we must give Limerick some credit as they won possession and a brilliant effort from Paul O'Grady levelled the match. It was a score they richly deserved and Tipperary could not have had any complaints because they had just got out of jail. When the dust had finally settled I felt Tipperary would win the replay for one reason only - they would never be as bad again and Limerick might find it difficult to raise the tempo of their own game again for the replay. Also I felt that Tipp would pick a stronger team the second day and include Diarmuid Fitzgerald at wing back and the word that John Carroll was back in training meant they were also looking for more of a physical presence upfront. It was clear to see for most observers that the Tipp forwards were a bit on the light side and Limerick had outclassed them with great performances from their six defenders. When Tipp had to move one of the best corner forwards in the country to centre forward to win ball, you knew they were in trouble. The replay Expectations were high that a huge crowd would turn out for this match on Saturday evening but a combination of bad weather and timing meant a good few people stayed away. The quality of hurling on offer was much better than the previous Sunday and there was a little more bite to it also. One thing was certain though from the throw in, Tipperary showed up with a much better balanced and selected team and took the game to the opposition. Diarmuid Fitzgerald was very dominant from the outset and when you throw in the experience of Tommy Dunne, there was a much better look to this team. Limerick on the other hand were still very formidable in defence but it was up front that the problems lay with very few scores coming from the forwards. In that first half Limerick had plenty of possession and unfortunately for them wasted a lot of good scoring opportunities by either poor shooting or taking the wrong option. Tipperary were just doing enough to keep their head above water without setting the world on fire and by failing to pull away from limerick they once again showed up their weaknesses in attack . In the second half for a period of about ten minutes, Limerick played the better hurling and were rattling Tipperary so much that Ken Hogan was forced to make numerous substitutions to stem the flow. John Carroll had the chance to kill the game with a goal to put his side five points clear but failed to take the opportunity and in the process threw Limerick another lifeline. What I like about Limerick is that for a relatively new and young squad, they never threw in the towel and were rewarded by Donie Ryan scoring a late equaliser to take the game into extra time. Tipperary held on to win and must know that a huge improvement is needed if they are to get over Clare in the semi-final. If Ken Hogan picks the best 15 Tipperary have, then they are in with a shout to beat Clare. Joe McKenna and his team will be disappointed with the end result after these two games but he will be more confident of his side's chances of going forward in the qualifiers. If Limerick can get a better return up front and show the same level of desire and hunger they displayed in these two games, then there is a good chance of them making it to the quarter finals. Hurling in July will be new ground for this Limerick side but one that they certainly will welcome. Cork v Waterford - Thurles After all the excitement of the Munster final last year and the quality of scores enjoyed by everyone, hurling purists from both counties and further a field were eagerly looking forward to this clash. If both teams could reproduce this form again, everyone would leave Thurles happy. What made it different this time around was that it was only both teams first championship match and there was no trophy at stake. It certainly did not live up to the standard of last year but both teams did deliver a great deal of excitement again. After ten minutes it looked as if Cork were going to run away with it as Waterford were making a lot of basic errors, particularly in their full back line, and Joe Deane was taking full advantage of the opportunities on offer. However, a few positional changes in the Waterford team helped them make inroads into Cork's lead and all of a sudden there was very little between the teams with Waterford now dominating. One of those changes was placing Eoin Kelly on Sean Og O'hAilpin, who up to then had been playing a blinder. When leadership is required and someone needs to take the game by the scruff of the neck, Waterford's captain provided all the answers. To score six points from play from midfield and wing forward is testament to how well this guy played when others around him were struggling. He certainly deserved his RTE Man of the Match award for this performance. The other major talking points were the second half performance of Brian Corcoran, who contributed 1-2, and the goal scored by Paul Flynn in the first half. They are two players who have graced our playing fields for a long time now but still have the ability to deliver and display all that is good about hurling. Personally, I do not think we will see a better goal this summer than the ground shot of Paul Flynn. Cork will be happy they are in a Munster final again and Waterford will be comforted by knowing that there is still a long summer ahead and plenty of opportunities will arrive to land the Liam McCarthy. Tweet

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