Anthony Daly: Cork and Limerick sharpen their teeth for savagery 

When Clare and Tipperary weren’t ready for that attack, they were like fresh pieces of raw meat.

Cork and Limerick are certainly the top-dogs in this championship and the mother-and-father of all dogfights is coming.

Munster championship hurling has always been so dog-eat-dog that if you’re not ready for the fight, the hungrier dog will just eat you alive, chew you up into small pieces, and spit you straight back out.

There was always a risk of yesterday’s two matches being bloodbaths when the terms and conditions had been set beforehand. The big dogs, Cork and Limerick, were effectively already in a Munster final, so they saw this as an opportunity to sharpen their teeth for the savagery coming in two weeks. And when Clare and Tipp weren’t ready for that attack, they were like fresh pieces of raw meat.

Tipp were already gone but they haven’t been in a good place throughout this championship and just weren’t conditioned for Limerick’s bark and bite. Clare’s energy levels looked low after last week’s win against Tipp but you’d wonder too how much they really wanted to go into the pit again against that Limerick pit-bull in a final? That’s not making any excuses for Clare but unless you’re mentally ready you’ll just get savaged. And Clare were.

Some Clare supporters may feel aggrieved at going down to Cork to see such a lame performance but there is loyalty to this group, and an acceptance too that their main goal of qualification from Munster had already been achieved.

Clare still have soul-searching to do because you could pick out on one hand the players who came away with credit; Diarmuid Ryan, Niall O’Farrell, Shane Meehan when he came on, while Shane O’Donnell hinted at the form that may be coming.

There’s no point making this about Clare because this was all about Cork. They may have struggled to put away teams in the championship but that ruthlessness was back in spades. The game was over after Brian Hayes’ goal just before half-time.

Hayes was outstanding again while Shane Barrett and William Buckley were unmarkable. Barrett cut loose from the throw-in, nearly having the ball in the net within seconds only for a brave block from Adam Hogan, but Clare didn’t exactly help themselves again by how they set up. John Conlon was brilliant against Tipp but Tipp played into Clare’s hands and Cork were never going to be as predictable in exploiting that space John gives up when he sits back to protect the full-back line.

Conlon can’t play his role effectively unless someone else takes responsibility for Barrett when he drifts out from the number 11 pocket.

It was a very satisfying performance for Cork because they wanted to make a statement going into the Munster final. Cork shot 1-30 at their ease. They showed impressive depth in their bench again, while they still have their captain and best player – Darragh Fitzgibbon – to return.

Clare now have four weeks to prepare for the defeated Leinster finalists and they badly need that time to recover, recuperate and go again. It wouldn’t surprise me if Brian Lohan gave the players a full week off, like he did after the Munster final defeat in 2024. And Clare only had one week remaining before that year’s All-Ireland quarter-final against Wexford, whereas they’d still have three weeks to a quarter-final after a one week break now.

Limerick also showed how primed and hungry they are for that Munster final. The five goals were clinically taken. Aaron Gillane’s two green flags were trademarks but they were even more important in the context of Gillane having missed the first two games and been taken off last week against Waterford on his return. Cork didn’t have to deal with Gillane in the first round in April but they’ll have to find a way to stop him in two weeks.

Limerick were always going to win against a team that haven’t been able to beat Limerick in championship but that was far less likely in the circumstances. It’s been a nightmare of a campaign for Tipp as All-Ireland champions but this was very possibly a key turning point in the future direction of this team. It’s always easy to make projections in defeat but I can’t see some of those great Tipp servants returning in 2027, some of whom have three All-Irelands, with Noel McGrath having four Celtic Crosses. It’s probably time anyway to regenerate the side with the raft of talented U20s from the last three years.

Their concession rate has been a real worry in this championship and yesterday was another illustration of how porous Tipp have been, shipping 5-27. That will definitely be Liam Cahill’s starting point for next season.

It's going to be another long winter in Tipp but it’s going to be an even longer and bleaker one across the border in Kilkenny. It’s a shock but it’s also a serious reality check – because Kilkenny just haven’t been good enough.

What is even more worrying is that the conveyor belt is nowhere near as flush as it needs to be to get Kilkenny back to where they expect to be. That was obvious from the display of their U20s in last week’s Leinster final against Galway. Their U20s did reach last year’s All-Ireland final but were hammered by Tipp.

Dublin set the tone from the get-go and Kilkenny were always chasing the match. Donal Burke and John Hetherton were outstanding, while the Dubs were able to override the loss of Liam Rushe, who has been their defensive talisman since his return.

I was fearful when I heard Rushey wasn’t playing but Dublin very cleverly restructured the team by sitting Brian Hayes right back into the pocket, playing with five forwards, which is very doable in Parnell Park. Dublin did get a bit aimless for a while but the penalty that Donal Burke converted really steadied them down and got them back on track. I don’t know why it wasn’t a black card because it was a blatant foul on Ronan Hayes just as he was about to bat the ball into the net.

Kilkenny just huffed and puffed afterwards to try and get back into the game but their race was ran as soon as Burke’s penalty hit the net. It’s a tough defeat to stomach but Kilkenny have to take a good long look at themselves, and how they are coaching their players, to find a more progressive way forward.

Whatever happens, it’s unlikely that TJ Reid will be a part of that future. If yesterday was the last we’ve seen of TJ, what a privilege it has been for all of us to witness one of the greatest talents the game has ever seen.

Galway got the job done but their first half performances in their last three games has to be a concern for Micheál Donoghue. They’ve been leaving themselves with a lot to do. At one stage, they were trailing Wexford by 3-9 to 0-5. They got it done in the second half, but that won’t be good enough in the final against the Dubs, just as it wasn’t good enough in Salthill last week.

We have a great Leinster final now to look forward to but I think all hurling people are genuinely delighted that Offaly are finally back in the big-time.

The future of this side is built on the talented minor and U20 teams between 2022-’24, but some of their more experienced players have been outstanding in guiding this odyssey. Lads like Ben Conneely, Killian Sampson and Brian Duignan have been brilliant while Eoghan Cahill’s story has been remarkable since he returned to the team, consistently notching up huge scores, clocking up 0-13 here, 0-4 from play.

It has been a very entertaining Leinster championship but the two outstanding teams in the country are still down south and they’re already eyeing up each other in 13 days-time. Cork and Limerick are certainly the top-dogs in this championship and the mother-and-father of all dogfights is coming.

And it’s going to be absolutely savage.