ONE day after beating Kilkenny, Tipperary hurling received another lift with the news that captain John O’Brien is a month ahead of schedule in his battle to return from injury.

Babs Keating has made six changes to his Tipperary team for Sunday's NHL Division 1B encounter with Kilkenny (Nowlan Park, throw-in 2.30pm).

HOW OFTEN do you see a top-class hurling match in which every starting forward on both sides scores from play?

THIRTEEN years on from the All-Ireland semi-final of 1993, when they failed to Galway after storming through Munster, Babs Keating returns to Croke Park as manager of the Tipperary hurling team.

Toomevara attacker Francis Devanney has been drafted into the Tipperary side for Sunday's All-Ireland SHC quarter-final against Waterford at Croke Park (throw-in 4pm).

TIPPERARY U21 hurling selector, Len Gaynor, insists his side are not feeling the pressure to deliver three-in-a-row against Cork in tomorrow’s Erin Munster U21 HC final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh (7:15pm).

CORK have made one change from the team which defeated Clare in the semi-final for tomorrow night’s Munster U21 hurling championship final against Tipperary at Páirc Uí Chaoimh (7.15pm).

TIPPERARY have named five members of last year’s Munster U21 HC winning side for tonight’s provincial semi-final against Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds.

KEN HOGAN wasn’t quite bursting with pride after yesterday’s Munster final, alluding on more than one occasion to the obvious fact that his team hadn’t won anything!

Tipperary manager Ken Hogan will give corner forward Lar Corbett until the last possible moment to prove his fitness for Sunday's Munster SHC final.

JOE O’LEARY was enjoying his spell as a Cork selector even before Tipperary arrived as Cork’s opponents in this year’s Munster final.

ROLL out the barricades, the Tippmen are coming, and this time, they mean business.

Cork are through to this year’s Munster SHC final on June 26, and the All-Ireland champions will discover today who they will face in the decider as Clare and Tipperary go head-to-head in the semi-final at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick.

Tipperary manager Ken Hogan has made two changes from the side that narrowly overcame Limerick for Sunday's Munster SHC semi-final clash against Clare at the Gaelic Grounds.

Michael Ellard and Brendan Larkin

THE Tipperary Senior hurling team to play Limerick in tonight’s Munster SHC replay shows three changes from the drawn match.

Kilkenny 3-18 Tipperary 2-16

The final round of the top tier of the National Hurling League gets underway today, but barring some huge upsets, Kilkenny and Clare are set to advance to the decider next month.

Tipperary boss Ken Hogan has made two changes and a number of switches from the side which defeated Galway last time out for Sunday's National Hurling League clash with Kilkenny at Nowlan Park.

JOE DEANE, Niall McCarthy and Neil Ronan, all missing for Cork’s defeat by Clare last weekend because of hamstring problems, return to the side for Sunday’s Allianz National Hurling League clash with Galway at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

Cork and Kilkenny face off today in the second phase of the National Hurling League – and Cork are without several key players as they host the Cats in a repeat of last year’s All-Ireland final at Páirc Ui Chaoimh.

Tipperary boss Ken Hogan has made three changes from the side that lost narrowly to Cork a fortnight ago for Sunday's National Hurling League second phase clash against in-form Clare in Thurles.

LIMERICK football boss Liam Kearns has released Stephen Lucey and Conor Fitzgerald from his panel to line out for the county hurlers in their NHL phase two clash with Waterford at the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday.

Limerick 3-11 Tipperary 4-14

Tipperary have made two changes to the side that narrowly overcame Down last weekend for their visit to Limerick this weekend.

LAST SEASON’S ‘Young Player of the Year’, Brian Murphy, returns to the Cork team for Sunday’s Allianz National Hurling League tie with Wexford at Wexford Park.

Tipperary 3-17 Down 2-12

TOMMY DUNNE has seen some glory days. Captaining Tipperary to the All-Ireland SHC final in 2001 surely ranks high on the list.

Tipperary take on defending champions Kilkenny in today's Erin All-Ireland U21 hurling final in Nowlan Park, desperate to take a title back to the Premier County this year.

SETANTA Ó hAILPÍN has been passed fit for next month’s International Compromise Rules Series against Australia.

Munster champions Tipperary have made two changes from the side that scored a facile semi-final win over Down for Saturday's All-Ireland U21 final against Kilkenny at Nowlan Park.

GAA President Sean Kelly has voiced his backing for the historic new Belfast stadium proposal.

MIKE FRANK RUSSELL has paid the price for indifferent form of late by dropping to the Kerry substitute’s bench for Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final against Derry.

The Tipperary Under-21 hurling team to play Limerick in the Gaelic Grounds on Wednesday evening in the Munster semi-final has been announced with senior stars Diarmuid Fitzgerald, Shane Sweeney and Tony Scroope included in the line-up.

THE Cork team to play Tipperary in the Munster U-21 Hurling Championship final at Thurles tomorrow night has two changes from the side that beat Limerick in the semi-final.

UL 2-21 LIT 0-10

Kilkenny 3-15, Tipperary 1-7