Cork on course for three in a row

CAMOGIE/All-Ireland senior championship final/Cork v Wexford:Tomorrow's Gala All-Ireland camogie final has broken up the extraordinary duopoly of Cork and Tipperary, who had contested the last five finals and six of the last seven.

That Wexford are the interlopers isn't much of surprise, as the county has been on the screen for the past couple of years, pushing Tipperary in a couple of semi-finals. This season they have stepped up and actually have defeated the champions during the pool stages of both National League and championship.

It's probably significant, however, that when the counties met in the league final in May it was Cork who came out on top albeit by the tightest of margins, an injury-time free from Jennifer O'Leary.

It's a tight enough history between the teams but experience and the quality of the display against old rivals Tipperary combine to put the champions at short odds to win a third successive title for the first time since the early 1970s.

Una O'Dwyer, Tipperary's outstanding full back, will be having her first idle All-Ireland final since 1998 after the semi-final defeat by Cork. She believes that experience of the big day is a vital advantage for the champions.

"It's a big attendance compared to what camogie players are used to and you'll only play in front of it once a year. As long as we were playing there, it was still the biggest factor. The game can pass you by."

Cork are also chasing a three-in-a-row in football in the big-ball final at the end of the month with four players likely to start both matches with others on the bench. O'Dwyer sees the dual commitment as a severe demand but also as an influence on how the champions are playing.

"Cork were very impressive. There's no question about that. I think they've got better and they've added a physicality to their game, which I'd say partly comes from the football influence of the dual players. It was something we didn't have in the semi-final. But every one of them is a super hurler."

She also believes that Wexford's in-form midfielder Kate Kelly carries a big responsibility to hold the middle. "If Cork get on top there the short passing and movement from centrefield with the half forwards also running off them will be hard to stop."

CORK: A Murray; J O'Callaghan, C Foley, A O'Regan; R Buckley, M O'Connor, A Geary; B Corkery, G O'Connor (capt); U O'Donoghue, A Walsh, J O'Leary; E Dillon, O Cotter, S Burns. Subs: E Clifford, R Holland, S Hayes, J Duffy, R Moloney, S O'Donovan, E Watson, E Farrell, M O'Neill, E Burke.

WEXFORD: M D'Arcy; N Lambert, C O'Loughlin, A Nolan; A Codd, M Leacy (capt), D Codd; K Kelly, C Murphy; B Furlong, RM Breen, M O'Leary; U Leacy, M Hearne, U Jacob. Subs: H Jacob, B Curran, A O'Connor, L Holohan, K Parrock, C O'Connor, L Codd, S Nolan, B Holohan, C Atkinson.

Referee: John Morrissey (Tipperary).