Tipperary's forwards just too good to back against
YOU couldn't but marvel at the movement and cohesion of the Tipperary forwards against Limerick.
'Bonner' Maher comes short, collects and all five of his attacking colleagues drift right.
Suddenly, a patch of space opens up on the left and Shane McGrath zooms in, takes the ball and has an easy shot at the Limerick posts.
Clinical.
You also couldn't help but think "Waterford won't allow them to do that".
Because to go man-to-man with any team in any sports is to allow the movement of your defence to be dictated by the movement of the opposition's attackers.
Waterford's deep-lying members will ensure that any room prized open by the tendancies of the Tipperary forwards won't be particularly ample.
fluidity
Here, we have the meeting of an unbeaten team, in Waterford, and a team that look like they don't believe they can be beaten.
But while Waterford's charm is not confined to the claustrophobic conditions they create at the back, neither is Tipp's to the set-piece fluidity of their front six.
The skill with which 'Bubbles' O'Dwyer and Seamus Callanan dispatched scores against Limerick was something to behold.
Similarly, Tipperary will be buoyed by the return to club action of Noel McGrath this week. Indeed, it look as though all their planets are aligning.
And after Eamon O'Shea finally secured a first win in the Munster Championship of his tenure against Limerick, it looks highly likely he'll take a first provincial crown as manager here too.
ODDS: Tipperary 2/5, Draw 12/1, Waterford 12/5 VERDICT: Tipperary
munster shc final: tipperary v waterford, thurles, tom, 4.0 (live rté2)