Kelly plays it down but Tipp make a case

THE importance of Tipperary’s narrow win over Kilkenny in Sunday’s twice-postponed first round National Hurling League match cannot be overstated.

It wasn’t just that Tipp were coming off a hammering against Dublin the previous Sunday and needed the two points on offer in a hotly-contested top flight. There was more to it that than, a lot more.

This year, Kilkenny are going for an unprecedented five-in-a-row in the All-Ireland senior hurling championship and based on events of last year, the most dangerous threat to that historic aspiration is Tipperary.