Cork guided by hand of Gard

IT ENDED with five points between them - 1-21 to 1-16 - though chances are neither Cork nor Tipperary know how exactly it ended up that way.

It was a Guinness Munster hurling final with all the ho-hum ingredients: passionate crowd, scorching heat, outstanding performances to guarantee some players immortality. Men scoring points with fractured shoulders. That kind of thing.

Despite a bright start, the early omens for Tipperary were generally worrying. Twice they conceded soft frees when Cork ran at them through the centre, and you would have backed the men in red to take the central highway at every opportunity, as expected.