Tipp not finished, Cork not quite the finished article

THE table was set, best lace tablecloth, Wedgewood delft, silver cutlery, a centrepiece cut-glass vase of the most colourful, delicate and sweet-scented flowers; the hosts and guests were resplendent in their favoured colours, in good and cheerful voice.

Ah yes, all the ingredients were there, in sun-splashed and pristine Páirc Uí Chaoimh, for a veritable feast of hurling.

First course came, was promising, four points apiece after just nine minutes, almost a score a minute. Good points too, a classic over-the-shoulder shot from distance by Eoin Kelly the pick of the Tipp efforts, the flying Kieran Murphy (Sars) finishing a teamwork beauty for Cork, midfielders Paul Kelly and Jerry O’Connor swapping almost identical efforts from distance, from opposition puck-outs. So, we sat back, grinned, mouths watering in anticipation. Fillet steak? Lobster? Perhaps a combination of both, surf and turf?