The term 'special' is hard to quantify. It may be fine in terms of interpersonal relations but what does it mean in terms of events? It's a word that's often used in terms of the day of the Munster senior hurling final. That annual GAA fixture is one of the key reasons that championship change is not going to be that simple. Its a match that reflects the tradition of the ancient art of hurling. Tradition isn't necessarily something that is an argument for no change but when its present its obvious. And shiny new things aren't always all they are cracked up to be either. So for the moment and the foreseeable future the Munster senior hurling final is here to stay. Stats show that the winning sequence is with Tipp ahead of the meeting with Waterford in Thurles on Sunday. The Premier have won the past 3 provincial final meetings of the counties. However this Waterford team has shown its capacity to deal with anything thrown at it in recent weeks. There are no handy League Final wins.
In fact if Tipp want to consider the type of Waterford challenge they are likely to face I think you have to go back to 2002.
With their '01 medals in their back pocket the big blue and gold names came out the wrong side of a 3-23 to 3-12 scoreline as Justin McCarthy guided the Deise to their first provincial crown in 29 years. Derek McGrath has the suirsiders motoring similarly well. Make no mistake there will be no collapse like in 2011 when Lar Corbett ran riot and Tipp went in at the break leading 5-10 to 8 points. Game over. No, this year the collision will be more like this piece of nostalgia. How long to throw in? Puck of a ball in it. Can't wait.
