If anything Tipperary look stronger and Clare no better than they were last year. But there has been one significant change for tomorrow's Guinness Munster hurling semi-final. Cyril Lyons' management appears to have reinvigorated Clare, with the more experienced players displaying renewed hunger.

Lyons also modified the team's attack, using James O'Connor as a play-making centre forward - a tactic that looked beautiful against Limerick but less than that in the National League final and he may switch to a more familiar role.

That encounter defused any of the wilder notions about Tipperary running away with the championship match. Clare's squandering of five goal chances drew much comment, a lot of it from Tipp's manager Nicky English.

His main theme remains necessarily anxious. Last year Tipperary won easily in the end but of their two goals, one was soft and the other not over the line. At the other end clear goal chances were missed.

They have some reason for general worry. The attack hasn't changed radically from last year. Barry Murphy has yet to prove a consistent 70-minute threat as has Forde despite his good goal-scoring record against Tipperary (although he only managed a point when one-on-one with Brendan Cummins last year).

By the end of the league Niall Gilligan had the look of a man fatigued by his exertions with Sixmilebridge. His recuperation is needed if the attack is to spark.

Changes have been made at the back but all of them forced by circumstance. Anthony Daly was exceptional in last year's match and his absence after failing to time his comeback so he could recover full fitness is a loss. Liam Doyle's injury is a particularly cruel mishap as he had regained excellent form (which he didn't have 12 months ago) but his appearance at some stage is likely.

The break-up of that half-back line has a number of consequences. It increases pressure on Sean McMahon, just back from injury himself, to adjust to the tempo with two new wing backs on either side of him.

Tipp have their own imponderables. Is whatever John Leahy has in his legs better deployed from the start? Can a subdued Tommy Dunne shake off the lethargy of his league displays? Will the full-back line pull itself together? How will teenage corner forwards go in a championship match? Is it possible that Declan Ryan can again wring 1-1 out of a currently rampant Brian Lohan?

The conclusion has to be that Tipperary are better equipped to resolve their difficulties. Their bench is stronger and their potential level of performance higher. And it's difficult to avoid the fact that once teams start to decline, they don't reverse the process without more fundamental change than Clare possess going into tomorrow's match.

Last week proved nothing's impossible but Tipp look more probable.