Stand-in captain, stand-out player

A THROW-AWAY line from Benny Dunne — that Limerick are ‘standing in their way’ — could be interpreted as their neighbours being viewed as an unnecessary obstruction barring their path to the Munster hurling final.

But placed in its proper context, Tipp’s stand-in captain was merely alluding to the fact that just one victory would see them through to the decider.

It’s not as if he is dismissive of the challenge confronting them. The way he sees it, Cork and Kilkenny have been raising the bar for all pretenders to the throne and it’s up to these counties — Tipp included — to come up to their standard.