The war becomes a rout as Cats cut loose

At half-time in this All-Ireland SHC semi-final in Croke Park yesterday everything seemed set up for Tipperary.

In a torrid opening quarter they had gone toe-to-toe with Kilkenny and survived, the teams tied at 0-5 apiece by the 14th minute.

Then, despite being dominated by Brian Cody’s chargers for much of the remainder of the half they had somehow managed to head for the dressing-room with a one-point ahead, 1-10 to 1-9, having outscored their Leinster neighbours 1-3 to nil in the final five minutes.