Time for Cork to stand up against unknown Limerick

Over the course of the last week or two there has been much debate in relation to the start time of the championship, the end time, and the bit of a rush in the middle.

But what is factual for now is, while kids wake up on Sunday morning to see has the Easter Bunny landed with the order they put in, hurling fans will wake up with a spring in their step getting ready to head for the Páirc, to Walsh Park, or 'park' themselves on the couch for the day to watch the games, or head to the boozer with the excitement of what's in store.

It's Easter Sunday for the kids, and Christmas Day for hurling fans. The buzz and excitement of the crowds, the roar in the stadium, and the craic in the pubs... it's all back.

Regardless of the date, things remain unchanged for the most important people - the players. They will wake up realising it is championship morning, real championship. What they grew up watching, and what they were used to playing in.

But the routine won't change. The only exception may be the Garda escorts into stadiums, which wouldn’t have been there for the last two years. There is no better feeling then waking up, showering, sticking on the gear, having the breakfast, high-fiving the family on the way out the door. It's what it's all about.

When I think back to it. What a buzz. A privilege and an honour.

For the Tipp boys, they will come to Waterford and with one agenda, silencing the doubters. For Waterford, they will be focusing on ensuring they protect their home patch, and make it a fortress, while also wanting to ensure consistency and bring the league form into championship.

For the Limerick boys, they will want to show that they are as hungry as ever and somewhat close to being back to the form that they were in last year.

Cork. Well if them players don’t want to show how hurt they were after last year's All-Ireland I'll throw my hat at it. They should be coming frothing at the mouth, ready for war.

Go back 24 hours, when Galway take on Wexford. Galway have been so quiet in the last three weeks that neither man nor dog has an iota what's going on up there, and isn’t that how Henry would exactly want it.

So what are they going to bring?

Well, the reality is, nobody knows. After Waterford demolished Wexford three weeks ago, I would imagine there was a fair bit of head scratching to be done. but all fixable, and time to fix it. Down in Wexford Park, Darragh Egan will obviously be going foot to the floor to ensure a win, and they could very well do that.

I'll be lucky enough to head for Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday. Dalo, in the middle of myself and Donal Óg no doubt, live for the double-header on RTÉ television.

It will be my first time experiencing something like that with such a big crowd, and I can't wait for 4pm. Before that, Tipp head for Waterford. Like most, I expect a Waterford win. I mean, it's hard to see anything else, right?

Colm Bonnar trialled a lot of bodies in the league, and fair play to him, it had to be done. But that also comes with problems. Year One, you are trying to find your best players, in the best positions, and the best team.

Not an easy thing to do. The question has to be asked, does he really know? I think until you throw lads into the middle of championship, you don’t really know. Only then will you see how the cope, and how they perform.

So for Tipp, it’s a bit of an unknown. Well, Waterford are the total opposite. Year Three of the Liam Cahill project. He for sure knows his best players, and his best team. He also has something this year that he didn’t have the previous year. No Injuries. Well, at least only minor niggles anyway.

He has his boys flying, and if they continue their league form, which I suspect they will at home, they should get off to a winning start.

Then, all eyes will turn to Cork. From the outside looking in, what's the perception? Limerick are All-Ireland champions, beat Cork in the Munster Championship last year, hammered them in the All-Ireland final, so much so that it surely hit a nerve.

If I am a Cork player, my biggest issue this week should be not playing the game before Sunday, I would be so wound up. And that’s Gary Keegan's job.

I expect nothing else from Cork on Sunday but to throw the kitchen sink at Limerick. OK, it's not their form, but they brought it against Limerick in the league. And they will have to do the same again. Ferocious effort, tackling, and hitting. As old fashioned as this may sound, I would be surprised if we don’t see a big melee on Sunday. Cork simply have to stand up.

Limerick on the other hand. Well, I just hope that the last four weeks has got them to where they needed to get to. And I have no doubt that it has. Although I think this is the first year Limerick come into championship a bit interrupted.

Between lack of form, injuries and red cards, lads have missed a lot of game time. And when some did get game time, they underperformed. So really it has the making of some game.

Who will win? Well I'll try not to be a politician. So, if Limerick are close to their best they will win, but any chink in their armour, and Cork will exploit it.

There are so many unknowns on Saturday evening. Are Wexford as bad as they showed against Waterford? I don’t think so. I actually think they will win on Saturday evening. They are at home, and they have a very good side. Whatever went wrong three weeks ago has surely been highlighted, and dealt with.

They were having a very strong league, winning five out of five and a lot of people had built them up, but a great phrase I was once told, 'a pat on the back is only three feet away from a kick in the a**e'. And they would have seen that now.

Galway had a great win against Limerick, but from then on, it really is hard to judge them on anything. This would have been a big four weeks for Henry Shefflin. He has also tried a lot of bodies in the league, and what team he goes with will be very interesting.

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