Things going along nicely, says a confident Gardiner

JOHN GARDINER is brisk in his appraisal of Cork's season so far. It's what you expect from a man whose wristy, accurate clearances provide the basis for many of his teammates' attacks - a quick delivery, sharp and to the point.

"We were happy with the win against Waterford, though we weren't as pleased with the performance in the first-half. Still, for a first championship outing, we were happy enough. We'd certainly have taken that result before the game.

"The game didn't go our way in the 10 or 15 minutes before half-time. We probably over-elaborated at times, but we've worked on that in the last couple of weeks in training and things are going well."

Over-elaboration; it's the downside of the Cork running style. There's always the danger that some side will work out the antidote to the fluent game plan Cork hit on last season, and Gardiner knows it as well as anyone.

"I know if I were in the opposition camp, I'd be doing everything I could to stop that. People know the style we play but it's worked very well for us and if it keeps working we'll keep using it. We have the players to adopt to any style of play, though, and we're well geared up for the Munster final."

And what a final it promises to be. For the first time since 2000 the two old rivals, Cork and Tipperary, clash in a Munster decider. A keen student of hurling, Gardiner has paid close attention to Sunday's opponents.

"You could see the improvement in Tipperary from the first day against Limerick. I suppose the first day out is always a bit of a feeler, you don't know how it's going to go. They changed their team around for the next game and you saw what they did to Clare.

"Don't forget, Clare were a lot of people's dark horses for the championship after the way they played in the league. They got some great results. After what Tipperary did in that game you couldn't underestimate them."

Gardiner is going to be in the thick of the action and he nods when it's suggested he's in for a busy day.

"We know it'll be backs against the wall. Their forwards are well able to take scores and they also combine well with each other. It'll be difficult for all our backs but we're happy with our preparations so far; I think it'll be a very good contest.

"Then there's the fact that it's in Cork. We played Kerry but this is the first big championship game in Cork for a lot of us - and a traditional Munster final, Cork and Tipperary on top of that. It's a change for us to play at home and it's probably a bit strange - we like travelling to Tipp and they like coming to Cork. It's going to be a good Munster final, I can't see it as anything other than a good game of hurling - we're very much a hurling team, and so are Tipperary, they probably don't have as much of a physical side as other counties."

Sunday's a big day for everyone involved, fans, players and management but, as is typical of Gardiner, he's keen to talk of what the day means for a certain club on the north side of the city - and what it means to have his clubmate leading Cork out in a Munster SHC final.

"Up in Na Piarsaigh, going back a few years we wouldn't have seen that too often, a captain of the Cork seniors from the club. Now we have the captain it's unbelievable. On top of that, Sean Óg is probably the most famous amateur sportsman in the country, and he deserves to be Cork captain. No disrespect to other captains, but the man is a leader and it's fitting that he's the captain. We all look up to him, it's great for the club as a whole and we're all proud to have him as captain. Hopefully he can bring back some silverware and we'll see a Na Piarsaigh man lift the cup."