Nicky English: Tipperary-Cork matches can go any way

It’s not just Tipperary fans who tend to get ahead of themselves.

True, Nicky English came across plenty of Premier supporters for whom the prospect of a second successive All-Ireland hurling title was deemed probable rather than possible when he took in Munster’s Champions Cup semi-final loss to Saracens in Dublin last month.

But if that was in keeping with the county’s famed ability to lose their heads at the first sighting of Liam MacCarthy then it should be noted the vast majority of folk he met from elsewhere in the province that day at the Aviva Stadium felt pretty much the same.