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Tipperary's Brian O'Meara and Shane O'Neill of Cork will clash in Sunday's Munster tie. INPHO/James Crombie
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Match Guide: Munster SHC - Cork v Tipperary

Both managers have been ruthless in their team selections for Sunday’s Munster semi-final. Who will be rewarded for making the tough decisions?

MUNSTER SHC SEMI-FINAL

Sunday: Cork v Tipperary, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 4pm, (B Gavin, Offaly)

Latest from the medics and the management…Both managers have taken the scalpel to their teams and displayed serious ruthlessness as illustrated by the fact that marquee names like Sean Óg Ó hAilpín, John Gardiner and Eoin Kelly have been replaced.

There are six changes in the Cork team from the side that lost heavily to Kilkenny in the league final as goalkeeper Martin Coleman, omitted from the panel entirely, defensive duo Stephen McDonnell and Ó hAilpín, midfielder Gardiner, and attacking pair Luke O’Farrell and Niall McCarthy, who is out injured, all make way.

Jimmy Barry-Murphy brings in goalkeeper Anthony Nash, defenders Conor O’Sullivan and Tom Kenny, midfielder Darren Sweetnam who makes his championship debut, and attacking duo from Newtownshandrum Cathal Naughton and Jamie Coughlan, to replace them. Declan Ryan has drafted in Conor O’Brien, Shane McGrath and Patrick ‘Bonner’ Maher instead of Donagh Maher, James Woodlock and Kelly.

CORK SH: A Nash (Kanturk); S O’Neill (Bishopstown), B Murphy (Bride Rovers), C O’Sullivan (Sarsfields); T Kenny (Grenagh), E Cadogan (Douglas), W Egan (Kilbrin); D Sweetnam (Dohenys), L McLoughlin (Kanturk); C Lehane (Midleton), P Cronin (Bishopstown), C Naughton (Newtownshandrum); J Coughlan (Newtownshandrum), P O’Sullivan (Cloyne), P Horgan (Glen Rovers).

TIPPERARY SH: B Cummins (Ballybacon-Grange); C O’Brien (Éire Óg-Annacarty), P Curran (Mullinahone), M Cahill (Thurles Sarsfields); T Stapleton (Templederry), C O’Mahony (Newport), P Maher (Thurles Sarsfields); B Maher (Borrisoleigh), S McGrath (Ballinahinch); G Ryan (Templederry), P Maher (Lorrha-Dorrha), P Bourke (Thurles Sarsfields); B O’Meara (Kilruane McDonagh’s), J O’Brien (Toomevara), N McGrath (Loughmore-Castleiney).

Checking the odds…Tipperary are favoured to triumph at 8-11 with Cork at 11-8. The draw cannot be discounted at 10-1 while the handicap has Tipperary -1 at odds of 10-11. The favourites for first goalscorer are Patrick Horgan (Cork) and Brian O’Meara (Tipperary) at 13-2.

Clues from the form guide… Cork enter the match unsure of themselves. The league contained many bright spots but the question is to what extent has the league final humbling against Kilkenny set them back? They have had seven weeks to pore over the remnants of that loss and there has been extensive surgery performed in the interim. But that reversal against the Cats was a lesson in the importance of starting at a high tempo.

Tipperary exited the league with question marks over them after their semi-final loss to Cork and those issues surfaced again for a large chunk of their Munster quarter-final tie against Limerick. However the rousing and heartening manner in which they turned that game around with a powerful finale should have them in good stead.

The game breakers are… The introduction of Shane McGrath should be of major assistance to Tipperary’s midfield drive and the strength of their half-back line is undoubted with Conor O’Mahony and Padraic Maher on board. The make-up of their attack is interesting  given how their bench is loaded with forward threats. Of the starting sextet, Brian O’Meara is a far more experienced and formidable figure to the youngster that was thrown into the bearpit when these counties met two years ago and Bonner Maher’s brand of hurling honesty will be invaluable. The reserve options of Kelly, Corbett, Callanan and Bourke is a handy safety net for Declan Ryan but it will be a tricky task deciding when to employ them.

For Cork, their team selection is bold, brave and imaginative. The positioning of one of the game’s specialist corner-backs Brian Murphy at the edge of the square is a major call and Cork will need a good understanding to develop between himself and Anthony Nash. There is excitement in the fact that youngsters Darren Sweetnam, Conor Lehane and Jamie Coughlan are all in from the start. But Cork will need them to settle quickly, hope Patrick Horgan has a freescoring day like he did two years ago against Tipperary, hope Patrick Cronin ensures they disrupt Tipperary’s aerial superiority at the back and that Cathal Naughton gets to roam in free spaces.

Gazing into the crystal ball… There is an undeniable link to 1999 with the fact that Barry-Murphy has made youth the cornerstone of his Cork starting fifteen. Whether he will be rewarded like he was in that Munster semi-final against Waterford thirteen years ago is the pressing question. The bunch of players picked represent the future for Cork but there is a suspicion that it may take another couple of seasons before that talent formulates. Having McGrath and Maher in from the start is crucial from a Tipperary viewpoint and if this game is tight in the last quarter they have the scoring power on the bench, just like they did against Limerick, to prevail. In a battle between a team that is developing and a team that is developed, the latter has an edge.

Verdict: Tipperary

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