Clash of styles for club kingpins

THEY could finally relax in Newtownshandrum and Ballyhale yesterday, their respective provincial titles won, hurling season over for 2009.

Ballyhale Shamrocks completed a fantastic four-in-a-row in Kilkenny, while Newtownshandrum have also enjoyed unprecedented success for their own little parish, four Cork senior titles this decade.

In their four years as Kilkenny champions Ballyhale have gone on to win Leinster three times, Tullamore their latest victims last Sunday. That achievement was matched by Newtownshandrum, who survived a late scare to see off Ballygunner in Thurles to win their third Munster.