From cliff's edge to edge of glory, Cork and Clare meet in unique circumstances

Before Clare and Cork met in round 2 in Munster in late April, both knew that they were dangling dangerously close to the cliff-edge. 

IN HOT PURSUIT: Cork's Ciaran Joyce under pressure from David Reidy, David Fitzgerald and Cathal Malone. Pic: Ray McManus/Sportsfile

Long before the seemingly endless winter finally ended in mid-April, months before the rain ceased and the mist and haze cleared, the cliffs in the distance were visible for Clare and Cork, so clear on the horizon that they both knew exactly where the cliff edge was.

At the outset of every championship, every team is only focused on what’s in front of them, on that first climb up the mountain.