TIPPERARY'S main concern was trying to damp down some of the hype following their 7-19 to 0-19 annihilation of Waterford in last Sunday's Munster Senior Hurling Championship final at Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
The reigning All-Ireland champions victory had much in common with Rory McIlroy's success in the US Open. They pulverised the opposition early, built up a huge lead, and then coasted home in impressive style.
The truth is that it is hard to blame the public for getting a bit carried away. Tipperary, after all, won this final by the biggest margin in 29 years and you have to go back to Limerick in 1936 to find a team scoring more goals in a Munster final.
What's more, Tipp's deadly duo, Lar Corbett and Eoin Kelly scored an astonishing 6-10 between them. Corbett finished with 4-4, all from play, while Kelly weighed in with 2-6.
It's as if Tipperary wanted to send out a message to Kilkenny, so impressive the previous weekend in beating Dublin in the Leinster decider. The competition is shaping up for a third straight All-Ireland shoot-out between these two great rivals, although a rejuvenated Galway are now back on the scene.
Much will be made of the fact that Waterford were poor, but it must also be acknowledged that Tipperary were quite brilliant at times. And no one was better than master goal-poacher Corbett.
His ability to drift into the right space and then finish in clinical fashion is second to none. Poor Waterford didn't know what hit them as Tipperary built up a 5-10 to 0-8 half-time lead.
In reality, this final was probably over from the moment Corlett ran on to Padraic Maher's pass in the fourth minute to score his first goal. One goal was better than the next as Tipp simply cut Waterford to pieces.
Clinton Hennessy in the Waterford goal could do nothing such was the accuracy of Tipperary's finishing. Indeed, it could have been worse had Hennessy not managed three good saves.
The goals came from Corbett (3), Kelly and Seamus Callanan in the first half, with Corbett and Kelly add two more after the interval. The only slight drawback was that Tipperary conceded too many frees for their own likening.
But that's really being picky. Manager Declan Ryan quite rightly didn't hold back in his praise for his team, describing it as "a super performance."
He added: "Everything seemed to go right on the day. I'm delighted with the way they went about their business."
On the subject of Lar Corbett, Ryan replied: "He's an incredible player once he gets the right sort of ball. We know the scoring potential in our forward line and, if we get them enough ball, we can do some damage."
Corbett agreed, adding: "It was a forwards dream out there. We got quality ball and we took our chances."
But Corbett, sensibly, also took the opportunity to play down the hype: "Look, we're under no illusions, Waterford weren't up to the pace today -- they'll admit it themselves.
"We can't let the minds soften. There's a huge hole for us to fall into if we're going to get complacent and think we will have a soft match the next day."
That next day will not come until the All-Ireland semi-final on August 14. that's quite a while without a competitive fixture but it's hard to visualize Tipperary falling far away from their recent high standards.
Although Corbett and Kelly grabbed the headlines, this was an oustanding team performance, one that saw goalkeeper Brendan Cummins equaled Christy Ring's 65 championship appearances.
Waterford left Pairc Ui Chaoimh devastated. "We're not as bad as that." argued manager Davy Fitzgerald. "It's very hard to take. We're all gutted. If Tipperary get two or three goals on you and smell blood, then they will finish you."
Galway come back to life
LIFE won't exactly be easy for Waterford as they try to re-establish their reputation against Galway in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship quarter-final on July 24.
Galway, themselves written off following their Leinster semi-final defeat by Dublin, have responed in the best possible fashion. Saturday's 2-23 to 1-14 Phase Three qualifying success over Cork at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick again demonstrated just how quickly they have moved on.
It's hard to believe that this was the side which performed so dismally against Dublin. They have now scored 6-48 in beating Clare and Cork, a statistic that suggests that they could well be the one team capable of upsetting the Tipperary-Kilkenny domination.
What made the victory all the more impressive is that they got away to a disastrous start, gifting Cork and early goal and then trailing by 1-3 to no score after 10 minutes. But once the likes of Joe Canning and Damien Hayes got into their stride, there was no stopping Galway.
It could have been worse for Cork, had Canning not had a penalty saved and then seen a perfectly good second half goal ruled out. Never mind, he finished with 0-10, four of which came from frees.
The trio of Canning, Damien Hayes and Ger Ferragher took Cork apart, scoring 1-12 from open play between them. The impressive Hayes finished with 1-3, with Farragher getting 0-4.
Needless to say, Galway manager John McIntyre was well pleased, all the more so after the flak he received following the Dublin defeat. He was particularly pleased with the character show when his side went six points down early on.
The pressure is now on his opposite number in the Cork camp Denis Walsh. Unfortunately for Walsh, many of the great players who brought Cork glory in the past now appear to be over the top.
The manager is open-minded about his own future, stating: "There would be no reason for me to stay on if the overall mood among players, supporters and the County Board is for me to go. I'd have no problem with that."
Limerick ease into last 8
A straight red card for Antrim's Karl Stewart in the 28th minute made life a lot easier for Limerick in the second Phase Three of the All-Ireland Hurling qualifiers.
Stewart stupidly kicked out at Limerick's Brian Geary at Parnell Park and effectively ended his team's chances of causing an upset. Prior to that, Antrim had performed well, and were level at 0-7 each when Stewart got his marching orders.
But Limerick eventually settled and made good use of the extra man to win the Parnell Park encounter by 3-22 to 0-12. Teenager Declan Hannon was the star of the show, finishing with eight points.
Next up for Limerick is a quarter-final clash with Dublin on July 23/24. The match is likely to go ahead in Thurles.
Dubs get another break
FOR a second successive match, Dublin's footballers have come away thankful that things had gone their way.
Against Kildare, it was a controversial late free that gave them victory. More was expected then they took on Wexford in the Leinster Senior Football Championship final before nearly 44,000 at Croke Park on Sunday.
But Dublin struggled to a 2-12 to 1-12 win, grateful for a freak own goal that ultimately proved to be the difference between the sides. Not exactly the form of potential All-Ireland champions.
At the finish, Dublin were just happy to get over the line after performing well below their best. Much of the credit for that must go to a determined Wexford side whose tactics of getting men behind the ball frustrated the Dublin attack.
Many of Dublin's forwards just didn't operate at their normal level, including Bernard Brogan. Remarkably, he was taken off 11 minutes from time after missing many chances he would normally have put away.
Diarmuid Connolly lasted just 31 minutes before he was substituted. It was that sort of day. Thankfully, however, Alan Brogan continued to play at his top level, and he was once again Dublin's best performer.
Defender James McCarthy also made a big contribution, scoring an outstanding second half goal. But, overall, this was a case of Dublin struggling over the line.
A relieved manager Pat Gilroy paid Wexford credit. "The Wexford presure was severe but many of our options weren't right. You don't expect Bernard to miss the ones he did today but he's human and is allowed the odd day off."
For the record, Bernard Brogan finished with 0-3, one of them coming from a free. This was some way behind the contribution of Wexford's Ben Brosnan who finished with 0-9.
Unfortunately for Brosnan, Wexford were to concede that own goal in the 51st minute. Wexford goalkeeper Anthony Masterson, instead of catching the ball tried to palm it away but only succeeded in pushing it against his own defender Graeme Molloy.
The unlucky Molloy then saw the ball rebound back into his own net. Otherwise, Wexford matched Dublin in a match they could quite easily have won.
Their manager Jason Ryan didn't blame anyone but admitted to being "absolutely gutted." He added: "It's happened and we now have to put it behind us and move on for the fourth round of the qualifiers."
