Tomorrow's Guinness Munster hurling final will be Clare's sixth in seven years. Cork have to go back to before the first of those finals to locate their most recent final. If tradition has any real role in these occasions anymore, this will be the weekend to prove it. Otherwise this match is a heavily-weighted contest between a formidable and well-drilled team and a promising but still emerging Cork.
Cork are so promising that a good few hurling people see them winning an All-Ireland within the next couple of years, but at the moment it would be hard to find too many advocates of their chances in Thurles. There are a number of strong reasons for this consensus.
Firstly, the performance Clare gave when they dismantled Tipperary at the second time of asking was one of their best. Secondly, although Cork played well throughout the field in the other semi-final, Waterford's challenge wasn't as substantial as it might have been given the now-known extent of Tony Browne's ankle injury.
Clare have proved fairly unsympathetic to rising teams in Munster: they skinned Cork and Waterford last year and Tipperary last month. That two of those performances took place in replays can be advanced as a cause for Cork optimism, but also as evidence of Clare complacency - certainly when taken in conjunction with the replay outcomes.
There are grounds for believing that Clare won't commit the same errors of omission this time. The experience of nearly being beaten by Tipp left a lot of drawn faces around the dressing-room, even in the aftermath of their convincing replay victory.
Yet chipping around the edges of the clear preference for the champions, chasing the county's first three-in-a-row tomorrow, are a number of considerations. Cork have been through the auto da fe before and have experience of what playing Clare in the championship entails. Last year, as bright-eyed league champions, they were subjected to the physical rigours of the champions in full flight.
In essence this meant their centrefield was closed down, their attack suffocated and, most significantly, their half back line disrupted. Brian Corcoran's frequently immense influence was stifled by PJ O'Connell switching onto the 40, and both Corcoran and Sean O hAilpin struggled to impose themselves, let alone play a more wide-ranging role.
Enda Flannery may fulfill a similar role tomorrow, while PJ O'Connell may spend some time on the edge of the square to try to inhibit the booming clearances of Diarmuid O'Sullivan.
There are two imponderables which will have a major bearing on the outcome. Cork's new midfield pairing of Mark Landers and Micky O'Connell had a great afternoon against Waterford, but they will find the physique of Ollie Baker and Colin Lynch oppressive, and the mobility of Lynch will make more defensive demands than Waterford managed on the Cork duo.
Whereas it's hard to see them delivering six points from play, the tally against Waterford, it's not impossible, however, that O'Connell and Landers can contribute at another level. As long as they avoid any inclination to get involved on a physical level - a choice no one should make against Clare - Cork can snipe around the middle and O'Connell has shown his accuracy from out the field. Space will, however, be at a premium.
The other consideration is the difference the absence of Jamesie O'Connor will make to Clare's attack. The loss of pace, penetration and accuracy leaves a void. That the team managed so well in his absence during the Tipperary replay should not be over-emphasised because the match was effectively over by the time he had to go off.
Cork's defence is good, particularly down the middle, but they can expect a battle. Clare should win because they look to have the answer to too many of Cork's strengths: a tight defence, powerful centrefield and an attack balanced between the ability to spoil and the ability to play ball.
The Teams
CLARE: D Fitzgerald; B Quinn, B Lohan, F Lohan; L Doyle, S McMahon, A Daly (capt); O Baker, C Lynch; PJ O'Connell, E Flannery, A Markham; N Gilligan, B Murphy, D Forde.
CORK: D Og Cusack; F Ryan, D O'Sullivan, J Browne; W Sherlock, B Corcoran, S O hAilpin; M O'Connell, M Landers (capt); T McCarthy, F McCormack, S McGrath; B O'Connor, J Deane, N Ronan.
