Tipperary 2-21 Clare 0-19: Tipperary are the kingpins of Munster hurling once again, ending a seven-year spell in the wilderness with a clinical display against Clare.
Liam Sheedy's side dismantled the Banner County at the Gaelic Grounds, blending precision and power to overwhelm their opponents.
Tipp's fluent hurling only served to highlight the lack of cohesion in Clare's early approach. And while there is little doubt that a Tipperary defence marshalled expertly by Conor O'Mahony was giving nothing away, Clare's cause was hardly helped by the profligacy of there forward line.
On no fewer than 10 occasions they fired win in the opening 35 minutes, allowing Tipperary to open an insurmountable 1-11 to 0-6 lead. Tipperary, in contrast, were ruthlessly efficient in front of the posts and were off-target only three times in that period.
Five of their six forwards tagged over points from play before the break while Seamus Callinan underscored their dominance with a superbly taken goal, his first in championship hurling.
Determined to reassert themselves, Clare at least might a fight of it after the interval and with seven unanswered points even threatened a comeback similar to Cork's in last Sunday's Munster football final.
Having found their range at last, Clare closed the lead to five points and with plenty of time on the clock looked capable of closing that gap.
But John O'Brien, one of the players introduced to Sheedy's new-look half forward line, put paid to any lingering Clare hopes with an expertly taken goal with 15 minutes remaining. As with Callianan's earlier effort, it was O'Brien's first goal in an All-Ireland campaign.