As I sat to write this piece I was not entirely sure what to focus on this week.
Should it be the season defining game in Thurles between two teams both trying to just stay in the competition and see where the road takes them?
Perhaps I should look towards Nowlan Park where a team from the capital are coming, full of confidence, full of hope that they could overturn the Cats in their own back yard and cement a place in the Leinster final by doing so.
Then I paused and thought it really can only be one place, one fixture. It's at the Gaelic Grounds where Limerick and Cork do battle. The master versus the apprentice, the king versus the prince. These are the two best teams in the country and this Sunday could potentially be part one of a trilogy like we haven't seen since The Godfather.
All will not be lost for whoever loses as their fate will still rest in their own hands on the final day, with Cork playing Waterford and Limerick welcoming their good old buddies Clare to the Gaelic Grounds, but neither team will want to depend on the final day to assure progression.
I have no doubt both teams will be going at this hammer and tongs on Sunday.
You can expect fireworks at the throw-in all around the field. Officials will need to have eyes all over the grounds to see what’s happening, but sure you can’t send everyone off and the golden rule is, don’t get caught. That's easier said than done nowadays with the linesmen right in on the pitch for the throw-in, but I’m sure someone, somewhere on the field will chance it. Watch this space.
There is a fully developed rivalry between the two but only one team has won when silverware is on the line and that is what elevates a real rivalry.
There is no doubt there have been harsh words exchanged between the teams in previous encounters and I am sure that players on both sides have memories like elephants when it comes to this.
There will be men out on that pitch waiting for the right moment to seek revenge but that revenge will be sought, most likely, with a score on the board rather than an off the ball blow. Nowadays there is just too much at risk to go down to 14, especially against the a team that will hurt you the most with that extra player.
In terms of pace you’d have to say that Cork have the edge. They went after Limerick with their speedy runners last year in Croke Park and targeted certain areas of the field with that pace.
This is where I am intrigued to see just how Limerick will set up. Cork avoided Kyle Hayes at all costs last year but that is much harder done now that he is at 6.
Hayes' ability to cover ground and read the play is top class and I cannot see Darragh Fitzgibbon going on too many lung busting runs right down the center with Kyle standing guard. If he does once, he won’t a second time I would imagine.
Limerick are also returning to full strength as I witnessed first hand in Waterford two weeks ago and they have a Barry Nash back in their ranks, a player whose loss cannot be understated in the All-Ireland semi final last year.
Nash's ability to link the play, score points and track a runner is something that he does the best and this will be a massive plus for Limerick this time around against the Rebels.
Both midfielders were withdrawn in the Waterford game, perhaps due to the fact the game was won, but also maybe to keep lads on their toes. Limerick have Darragh O'Donovan waiting in the wings to get a start and he could well make his first start of the year on Sunday back beside his partner in crime Will "The Enforcer" O'Donoghue.
Adam English has to play too and it could be in that roaming corner forward role that Limerick like to deploy.
Cian Lynch is in hurler of the year form once again and the direction to Cork simply has to be, swallow your pride and understand that certain players just have to be man marked. Tony Kelly is one and Cian Lynch is another.
It is ludicrous to watch teams allow Lynch to just wander out the field from 11 and let him have such an influence on a game without anybody tagging him or a at least trying to anyway.
For Cork the conundrum is that they have an embarrassment of riches in their attacking unit. It's a serious headache for Pat Ryan and company, albeit a welcome one.
Do they start Shane Barrett or Seamus Harnedy, or both? But then you can’t leave out the man of the match from the previous round, Deccy Dalton, or can you? Does Alan Conolly lose out despite being one of the most lethal forwards in the game? Brian Hayes has to play as does Hoggie so this will be a tight call.
The biggest issue Cork have is that their defence does not match up to their attack in terms of talent. This is where I feel Limerick will really go after Cork.
There are players on certain teams that have a spiritual connection with the fans and when they do something on the field of play this will just resonate more with the followers than many others. The biggest cheer of the night in Waterford two weeks ago was when Gearoid Hegarty flicked the ball into his hand without breaking stride and rifled it over the bar.
The Limerick supporters rose to their feet and if you had slipped out for a Brunch or Cornetto you would have presumed that a goal had been scored. Hegarty has this connection with the Limerick fans and I feel a big performance from the big man is coming this Sunday, back on home soil where he has provided so many big displays for the Treaty men when it mattered most.
Throw in a toss of coin call between Tom Morrissey or Cathal O’Neill, Gillane and The Bull O’Brien in serious form inside and you have the launch pad for victory for Limerick on Sunday. I just cannot see how Cork will contain them all.
John Kiely has made the call to arms to the Limerick people to get behind this group. The grounds will be buzzing, the atmosphere will be electric.
I hope and I pray as I sit in a farmers field in Thurles, trying to get out onto the road that I am watching this game in good form and safe in the knowledge that Tipp are through but that one is a deaf dog - too hard to call.
For me Limerick are still the best and I feel they are on a mission to prove that once again this Sunday - to the wider world but most importantly to themselves.
Watch a Munster Hurling Championship double-header, Tipperary v Waterford and Limerick v Cork, on Sunday from 1.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
