Summer comes alive as Munster takes centre stage

NOTHING says summer quite like the first round of the Munster Hurling Championship, with two absolute belters in store tomorrow to kick off the most competitive renewal of the competition in living memory. Liam MacCarthy Cup favourites Tipperary will head to the Gaelic Grounds in high spirits after a strong League campaign that saw them reach the final. They finished top of the table, as well as uncovering a new star forward in Jason Forde. But they will have to be on their toes against a Limerick team on the up and up after finally shrugging a decade-long monkey off their back in securing promotion back to Division 1A in the spring. That achievement was all the more impressive considering it came with victory over All-Ireland champions Galway and without their club-tied Na Piarsaigh contingent, but the Treaty men will face their biggest test to date in Tipperary, a fact borne out in their 9/4 underdog price tag. Down the road in the newly-renovated Páirc Uí Chaoimh, holders Cork will begin the defence of their provincial title with a tricky clash against a largely unheralded Clare side. The Banner men finished their Division 1A campaign on the same points total as Tipperary, Kilkenny and Wexford, and although they are the outsider of the five to taste eventual provincial success (5/1 along with Limerick) they will fancy their chances of bringing an upset having come close in last season’s Munster final. Cork’s provincial win last year was all the more impressive considering they had to beat Tipperary, Waterford and Clare to claim it, but they faded away badly after the exertions of that campaign to fall in the All-Ireland semi-final to a Waterford them they had already beaten. Their League campaign wasn’t much to write home about either, their solitary win leaving them rooted to the bottom of the table. But they finished with a flourish when beating Waterford in a relegation playoff and can now look to the summer with genuine optimism. In Leinster, Dublin will bid to get over the heartbreak of last weekend’s near-miss against Kilkenny when they travel to face Wexford. One of the toughest places to play for a visiting team, they are 3/1 outsiders to bounce right back and keep their hopes of a Leinster title and an All-Ireland place alive with a win today against a Model County side littered with young talent. Lee Chin, Rory O’Connor and Conor McDonald are three of the brightest young talents in the game today, and without the exertion of a game last weekend they look about right as 1/3 favourites to get the job done at home today. Kilkenny, meanwhile will be quietly pleased with their opening fortnight’s work if they can see off Offaly at Nolan Park tomorrow where they are massive 1/25 favourites. They failed to match their League-wining form when stuttering past Dublin with a minimal scoring return from play, but a win tomorrow should be enough to see them secure their place in the last eight of the Liam MacCarthy Cup at the very least. Especially with their main man TJ Reid, who bagged 12 points against the Dubs, unlikely to be as quiet as he was last weekend in Parnell Park.