Plenty for Premier to ponder

MAKE sense of that. Beyond the pageantry and the pitch invasions, four Tipperary goals should have copper-fastened victory over Waterford yesterday in Semple Stadium’s Munster SHC final, but the Premier county were, surprisingly, only four ahead at the close.

Should we disregard that points difference? Are there now lies, damned lies and scoreboards? Tipp should have had plenty to spare over the Déise yesterday, and once they managed that fourth goal just after half-time the difference should have been expressed in stark black and white, but Waterford were a live option into the closing minutes.

The game wasn’t a classic. A Munster hurling final is usually a steak that doesn’t need the sizzle, but the razzmatazz of the GAA’s 125th anniversary celebrations were a major ingredient yesterday. The Munster championship-winning captains of the last 25 years were introduced at half-time in the senior game, the Artane Band provided the entertainment and Jimmy Doyle of Tipperary brought a lit torch into the stadium to culminate the triumphant procession from Hayes’ Hotel.