THE DIFFERENCE between the two teams yesterday was hunger - the hunger Tipperary had and the hunger that Limerick didn't have. You could see Tipp's hunger, it was evident. Yet there was only a goal between the two teams at halftime and it was all to play for. But, the second half came and Limerick faded out of the game altogether.

This Limerick team has always been recognised for its spirit, so it is hard to know why they had so little of it yesterday. But they looked a tired team. They have been on the go almost nonstop for the last four or five years and they seemed jaded.

It always looks worse when you're losing and struggling to get into the game and at times the Limerick lads played like a tired team. They had a few half chances for goal in the second half and of one of them had gone in, it would have lifted every body. But their spirit were ebbing away slowly and everything they tried wasn't working.

Instead were getting the breaks and the reason they were getting the breaks was because they were hungry enough and wanted to win badly enough to get them.

It's possible that the situation with Mike Galligan last week didn't help Limerick's spirit either. I don't think he should have spoken to the newspapers. He should have taken his medicine and if he wanted to pull out of the panel, then pull out of the panel, but it's not good for morale if a player is talking to newspapers saying he is being hard done by. Selectors are there to pick the team to the best of their ability and it is their prerogative.

Limerick played a slow type of game. Tipperary's game was fast and fluid, with plenty of movement and everybody running for each other, playing for each other. Limerick's game was ponderous, slow motion stuff. That was another big difference between the sides. Tipperary looked dangerous almost every time they got the ball. They took their points very well. Limerick were too laborious and two out of every three shots were going wide. They had seven wides in the first half, some of them bad misses.

When you are dominating from play and you have seven wides in a closely contested Munster championship match, you are going to suffer and from early on their shooting certainly didn't augur well.

And then to double their difficulties, Tipperary came down the field and scored a goal against the run of play. John Leahy had been anonymous until then; but the way he charged through the middle gave us a glimpse of his power and class.

Limerick also seemed to be preoccupied with goals on occasions. I couldn't understand Gary Kirby's decision to go for a goal from that 21 yard free in the first half. Likewise Barry Foley, when he came through the middle. All it needed was a little wristy stroke and the ball was over the bar. Yet he opted to pass it inside. The golden rule is to keep taking your points, no matter what.

Tom Ryan used nine forwards and five of them didn't score. That is obviously a very telling statistic; but full credit to the Tipperary defence who worked very hard as a unit. The full back line showed a lot of aggression and determination, the way they attacked the ball and closed down their men.

I still feel that Shane O'Neill (Limerick full forward) was a little hard done by when he was taken off. I checked my watch and for 15 minutes O'Neill hadn't been supplied with one ball. Why play a man of 6 ft 4 in at full forward and then not play the proper ball into him? Mike Houlihan sent a fabulous ball into him midway through the first half, a low ball that favoured him, and that was the type of ball that should have been going in all the time. But it wasn't.

The Tipperary forwards by comparison got some lovely balls fast and low, and they always seemed to be in front of their men. Steve McDonagh at corner back did a good containing job on Philip O'Dwyer; but the Nash brothers struggled a lot with the pace of Michael Cleary and Liam Cahill. Cleary did a great job at full forward. Time and again he showed really well for the incoming ball and was first out to it nearly every time.

Declan Ryan had a very influential game at centre half forward. He won a lot of possession, distributed well and used his power to offset the Limerick defenders when they were trying to clear their lines. Kevin Tucker flitted in and out of the game. But he picked up three nice points and that's a decent tally for a half forward in any championship game. Leahy came into it more and more in the second half and ended up playing an important role.

I thought Tipp's defence was top class after a shaky enough start. Limerick had a lot of possession in the first 20 minutes and drove a lot of ball into their full forward line.

I was interested in the way that Tipperary positioned themselves for the puckouts and one of the things that struck me was that when Tipperary was taking their puckouts, the two midfielders went out to the sidelines.

That meant that there was a huge gap between Ciaran Carey at centre half back and Gary Kirby at centre half forward. They created this space for their forwards and when the ball broke, it was flicked crossfield into space and there always seemed to be a Tipperary man coming to it.

So they were playing with a particular type of plan. They were going to move the ball very fast, they were going to play crisscross balls, and their first touch was excellent.

That space was available to John Leahy when he took possession for the goal. Carey had been dragged away from centre half back and Leahy just cut through the middle, untouched by any defender, and got his shot in. Cleary followed it up like any good forward should.

Tipp are looking good now. They seem to have got their timing right. They were very impressive against Kllkenny in their last league game and they looked very impressive yesterday.

The bottom line for Limerick is that they are out of the championship. It's a bitter pill to swallow but they need to recover and regroup. Most of all, I think they need a rest. Players like Kirby, Carey, Houlihan and the Nash brothers, they're all going a long time and they need a break. I don't think this Limerick team has gone; but maybe they need to get away from hurling for a while.