On the up Rebels
debut, and they were minus the entire fullback line from last year, with Stephen McDonnell, Shane O'Neill and Conor O'Sullivan unavailable for one reason or another.
In the circumstances, Cork's performance was most encouraging, as, despite getting off to a horrendous start which saw them fall 2-4 adrift inside the first ten minutes, they managed to push Tipp all the way, going under by just three points, 3-25 to 419, in the end.
That it took Cork so long to get up to the pace of the game was probably down to the fact that operating in Division 1B had dulled their edge to a certain extent, but in coming back so strongly, they displayed all the courage and character, which got them to within an ace of garnering All-Ireland glory last year.
There is no disputing that the Rebels surprised a lot of people with their progress in 2013, as qualification for an All-Ireland final wouldn't have been viewed as a realistic target this time 12 months ago.
The big question now of course is whether Cork are equipped to mount another strong bid for championship silverware in the summer ahead. Next Sunday's clash with Waterford at Thurles will go a long way towards revealing in terms of what the immediate future has in store for Jimmy-Barry Murphy's men. And it would have to be regarded as a significant setback should they come a cropper at the hands of a Waterford side that hasn't wintered well by any means.
Based on their championship form last year and their display in the backdoor clash with Kilkenny, which they lost by just