Tipperary an old champion boxer one punch away from the canvas

The World Cup is beginning next week. There hasn’t been much talk about it since Ireland aren’t involved but there is always a natural giddiness before the carnival arrives, writes Anthony Daly.

The hype will get ramped up now over the next few days but will any of those matches really replicate the drama, passion, excitement and controversy we got in Cork and Limerick over the weekend? Call me a hurling snob but I bet my bottom dollar it won’t.

This hurling championship just has me pumped. Energised. Constantly excited. Constantly looking forward to more. Saturday evening in Cork was just one of those magical, eternal summer evenings. Yesterday in Limerick was another one of those breathless Munster championship afternoons. Both games were an absolute test of man and mind, a test of everything guys have inside them. And they all passed the challenge; 102 scores, and the four teams still couldn’t be separated. Epic stuff. Heroism in its purest form.