Tipp likely to have too much as Banner bid to get up to speed

IT WOULD be a major shock were Clare to beat Tipperary in the Gaelic Grounds tomorrow in much the same way as they caught Waterford off guard at this venue 12 months ago.

The consensus view would be that tomorrow’s game is Tipperary’s to lose if they do not play up to standard.

The difference between the two sides is that Tipp are in the ascendancy — building on what was achieved under Liam Sheedy’s guidance last year and continuing to progress — while Clare are at an earlier stage of evolution.

The retirement of Frank Lohan after last year’s All-Ireland quarter-final defeat by Cork, followed by the forced departure of Colin Lynch means that only Niall Gilligan remains from the second of their All-Ireland winning teams of 1997. And, other than him, only Alan Markham, used in attack last year and now allocated the wing-back berth that used to be the preserve of Gerry Quinn, has real mileage on the clock.

League form can’t be entirely discounted because of the reason that Tipperary achieved greater consistency, while Clare struggled to find a rhythm and were eventually relegated. In the final, Tipperary put up a tremendous display against Kilkenny and demonstrated that they are moving in the right direction. Clearly, that view would have been questioned after the difficulty they experienced in their opening championship game, but while they looked quite vulnerable when Cork came back at them in the second half, the big plus for Sheedy and his players was that they were able to finish more strongly.

Clare’s full-back line looks strange without having one of the Lohan brothers at full-back for the first time since the early 90s and it’s an area which Tipp will presumably target — and where they have undoubted potential to exploit any weaknesses, especially if Eoin Kelly has improved his sharpness after his long lay-off. Further forward, they have a lot of potential, reflected in the ability of players like team captain Brian O’Connell, Tony Griffin, Tony Carmody — and the one who offers possibly the biggest threat in attack, Niall Gilligan, but who doesn’t always deliver. Tipperary look the more solid combination, with real strength at half-back in particular and — on paper — the more formidable attack. When the counties met in the final last year, Clare inconsistency led them losing by an eight-point margin and it would be hard to oppose the view that it’s the Premier County which has made the most progress.

Verdict: Tipperary.