I got some real heat for my column here Saturday, and for fancying Limerick as strongly as I did, but much of that was based around the question of whether Cork could bring the heat required to topple Limerick?

Cork should be coming into this match ravenous, especially when so many of their players haven’t even played in a Munster final.

Kilkenny are just not producing X-factor players any more, wizards that would dazzle you with skill and genius.

The Cats will be ravenous and desperate to make sure the county doesn't lose a second All-Ireland final to their arch rivals in Nowlan Park within the space of 12 months.

I never felt Cork would lose the match but they still had to fight hard to hold off Waterford and make sure they took care of business.

The Rebels have had just a week to get over a beatdown but All-Ireland hopes remain realistic.

The personnel is the same but there is a different structure to this Limerick team now to the one that couldn’t beat Cork last year

Despite the intensity of the Cork-Limerick rivalry, there are other factors at play here too.

Effectively missing four of the defenders from last year’s All-Ireland final is a blow no team could recover from.

Everybody knows what’s at stake, of how much is on the line.