Midfielder Tomas Dunne had a field day as Tipperary trounced a weak Down side at Ballycran. Dunne shot a goal and eight points, his goal coming from a penalty, as the visitors waltzed to a 1-7 to 0-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Nothing went right for Down: they squandered their only real chance of a goal in the first half, a 25th-minute penalty taken by goalkeeper Graham Clarke, who otherwise had a flawless game with a string of excellent saves.

Leading 2-12 to 0-2 at half-time, Tipperary had increased this to 417 to 0-2 by the 40th minute, with further goals from Paul Ormond and Liam Cahill.

There was no respite for Down even when Cahill retired injured midway through the half. His replacement, John Enright, came on to shoot four more points in the final quarter, and it wasn't until the last 10 minutes that Down made any real impact on the scoreboard.

Down: G Clarke; J Brown, M Mallon, S Wilson; S Murray (0-1), P McCabe, P Coulter; N Sands (0-1), J McCarthy (0-2); E Traynor, J McCrickard (0-3), G Gordon; A Tinnelly, M Branniff (0-1), B Coulter. Subs: M Pucci for P McCabe; R McGrattan for A Tinnelly; P Monan for S Wilson.

Tipperary: K O'Brien; H Flannery, E Corcoran, S Wilson; G Frend, D Kennedy, J Leahy (0- 1); E Enright, T Dunne (1-8); P Ormond (1-2), E Tucker (1-0), W Maher (0-3); L Cahill (1-1), B O'Meara (0-2), D Browne (0-2). Subs: J Enright (0-4) for Cahill; P Shelly for Leahy.

Referee: E Morris (Dublin).