New Premier belief could tip balance

This was merely a clash of two teams who might meet in September, but nothing more than that.

It’s not the convention in this line of work to quote other journalists, but a tweet during the week from one of the press box regulars summed up Semple Stadium last Sunday so nicely that the only sensible course of action was to do a magpie on it (for the record, I asked him if I could. Fire away, he said).

Although he loved being in Croke Park last September for Clare and Cork, our friend made sure to acknowledge “there’s something Old Testament about Kilkenny/Tipp that stirs the soul”. Exactly. Six national finals in six seasons, two of them ending in extra-time, three more of them still alive as the 70th minute arrived. The only thing that will prevent nine-volume literary masterpieces being devoted to the subject is, of course, the win/loss split. And lo, once more the tribe of the Tippites were smitten by the host of Brian, and great was the weeping and gnashing of teeth.