Quietly, they Tipp-toe into Cork

IT WAS League weather, and until late in the afternoon a League crowd, so nobody should be surprised that for long stretches yesterday, Tipperary’s Munster SHC semi-final victory over Clare looked a contest more suited to March.

Limerick's Gaelic Grounds wasn't full, Clare came out to a muted reception and even the now-obligatory canine pitch invasion looked half-hearted. The game bubbled, but it never quite boiled.

Those who predicted that Tipperary's tutorials with Limerick would prove significant can feel smug this morning. Yesterday, they carried on where they left off, settling quickly against old enemies Clare. Tipperary's touch was sharper, and significantly enough, that was often shown in defensive flicking and blocking up front by their forwards. Clare, without a championship warm-up, had enough on their plate controlling a greasy sliotar without having determined and legitimate interference from Tipperary to contend with.