Semple crowd-puller

DESPITE pre-match reports of poor ticket sales last week, Tipperary and Cork still managed to draw the biggest crowd of the 2011 championship so far in Semple Stadium yesterday, with 31,231 paying in to witness the clash of the Munster rivals.

The attendance was down noticeably on the crowds that this fixture has drawn in recent years. Last year there were 36,827 present in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, with 35,102 in Thurles in 2009 when the teams clashed at the same stage.

The 2008 Munster semi-final in Páirc Uí Chaoimh managed to draw 42,823, yet regardless of a drop of more than 11,000 in three years, Munster GAA chiefs were pleased to break the 30,000 attendance barrier.