The Ciotóg Side: He did have that cameo, did young Richie Hogan. The hunch in this space proved correct in that respect at least. A scoring forward is hard to ignore, whatever his age. Not so good a tip on the result, though, which was a bit slack on your columnist's part. Mea culpa.

It was eminently foreseeable the Kilkenny Under-21s would find the intensity of their seniors' endeavours hard to replicate. A savage effort, as Brian Cody would have it, is a draining experience, even when it is successful. The reverberations travel all through a hurling culture. Playing the Premier County is no time to have focus at a bit of a premium.

Still, last Sunday's under-21 final will become an important co-ordinate in both hurling cultures. For Tipperary, it will be a touchstone for what can be achieved through unremitting determination and heart. With a quarter of the game gone, it seemed Noreside, with 0-5 to 0-2 of a lead, would win going away. Almost nonchalant, Cha Fitzpatrick, Richie Power and TJ Reid were spraying around low ball. Frees were being slotted by Fitzpatrick.

Then Blue and Gold picked it up, particularly at midfield. A better tempo yielded, as grace-notes, tremendous long-range points by James Woodlock and David Young. It is precisely such determination in the face of adversity that the colours are held to have been lacking in recent times. Mat the Thresher of Knocknagow had become Matt the Leisure of 2003's global village. Have a look at the urgency with which Tommy Dunne, playing at centre-back, tracks in the run-up to Tommy Walsh's famous goal in that season's semi-final.

This supposed dearth has drawn the most severe criticism within Tipperary. The manner in which Damien Hayes, not a tall man, threw Hugh Moloney aside before the decisive goal in 2005's quarter-final ignited much inflammatory comment. Said score's dubious legality was neither here nor there. For natives, the real scald was watching the collapse of a hot tradition.

Noting their team's drive last Sunday, Premier support must have felt like a lookout in the crow's nest of a galleon, seeing land heave into view on the basis of a long-lost map. Their minors' well-deserved win against Kilkenny in the semi-final, especially in recovering from goals against the run of play, issued from the same cartography.

For Kilkenny, there should be mood for thought. Plenty of it. The nature of their good fortune in achieving a rematch will long be a coach's boon. Slacken off an inch and fall a mile: just watch that tape, lads. What was possible against Cork a week before, and why it was possible, will make a neat moral, juxtaposed with events seven days later.

There's no point in strolling on deck, admiring the view, if all oars loll in the galley. Perhaps, from a Marble perspective, the most satisfying aspect of Sunday's meeting will be its status as a further item in the rebalancing of tradition's books. A time might come when the 2003 league final between the two counties will be viewed as a contest important beyond its overt occasion. One time, it was Tipperary who did brusque winning surges, trouncings and taking contests against the head. The last five seasons have made quite an alteration in those stakes.

Richie Hogan's appearance is a notable factor in the present's brine and ozone. His stature, far from a tall man, and his skill, a joy to behold, endears him to Noreside, a sphere that likes to sentimentalise itself and its devotions. This factor is why the county continues to lose contests it should easily take, far more so than Cork or Tipperary. The Danesfort prodigy is felt to embody Kilkenny hurling in a way Derek Lyng or John Sutton of 1950s' fame does not.

The analogy is obvious. A cutlass is only for pirates, chancing the arm of legality amongst the heat of flames. A dagger is far keener, if you can get up close, as Hogan did. The truth is that all types sail together on any successful vessel. Fifteen Richie Hogans (or 15 Pa Bourkes) would not win an All-Ireland.

But replays have their own dynamic. Often enough, the second bite delivers a sweeter morsel for sides adjudged lucky in the first place. Tomorrow afternoon in Semple Stadium, Black and Amber should make fewer mistakes and gain a higher contribution from the key men. Blue and Gold, even with home advantage, will do well to maintain their standard, with no mystery about their potential. These factors should leave the Noresiders with a 10th under-21 title after an engaging tussle.