Kilkenny boss Brian Cody has backed Clare, the team which defeated his side in the semi, to win Sunday's Allianz League final against Tipperary. "We drew with Tipperary a few weeks ago in the league at Nolan Park while short of quite a few players. Clare looked the more impressive team against us, and I think I would go with Clare, very slightly," he said.
The two sides meet again in the Championship on June 3, but the All-Ireland Champions' manager believes that both teams will be going flat out to win on Sunday. "Speaking to some of the Clare players after the match last Sunday, they weren't concerned about the Championship, but concerned about keeping their good run going. They beat Limerick very well a couple of weeks ago, ourselves last Sunday, and I think they are more intent on keeping things going and having everything right for June 3. Likewise, Tipperary aren't going to want to give any advantage to Clare at this stage," he said.
Clare ran out 2-21 to 3-08 winners against the Cats on Sunday, while Tipperary defeated Galway by 2-19 to 1-15 in Saturday's semi. "We all watched the game on Saturday night between Tipp and Galway and we thought Tipp were absolutely flying. Galway are always a very good league team and it's always very important for them to do well in the league, because of the lack of Championship clashes. We looked at the game and thought that Tipp would be very difficult to beat in the league, then Clare came along last Sunday and wiped us away," said Cody.
In a separate development, Limerick have won the McGrath Cup. Their three points victory over Tipperary led them to lift their first football trophy in ten years. Carlow won the Leinster Under 21 Special Final with a four point win over Westmeath.
Filed by Greg McKevitt
