OPINION/Eamonn Cregan: This is difficult to call. It now appears that winning the provincial titles is more of a hindrance than a boost. Waterford have had a six-week wait for this weekend while Clare have had a lot of match practice.

Waterford played well against Cork and Tipperary because they played to the particular plan that Justin McCarthy prepared. That is to move the ball wide. Forwards knew where it was coming and had those few steps ahead of the defence. Other teams tend to crowd the field or play to one side, but Waterford have been keeping the play spread.

They have good players, hurlers with good stickwork. The backs move the ball quickly. Ken McGrath's the target. They've fast, confident young forwards who keep their positions, playing it very wide, and are able to score. If they're not in a position to take the point they can run at the defence because their pace gives them the beating of the backs, or they lay it off to someone better placed.

Clare on the other hand must look back at half-time in the match with Galway and wonder how they were still in it considering the forwards weren't scoring. They were depending on backs and midfielders for scores. Neither Niall Gilligan nor Alan Markham was in the game, although Gilligan's goal was clever and well taken.

Galway were beaten because they didn't stick to their game plan and persisted with long, high ball, which wasn't suitable for their forwards, once their midfield went out of it in the second half. Clare came up with a simple tactic. They crowded midfield and stopped Galway getting good, low ball into the forwards.

But Clare won even though their forwards hadn't played well. A wing back scored their first point, Seán McMahon hit a couple of 65s and Colin Lynch was also on the mark. Jamesie O'Connor was the only forward doing it the last day and that was in the second half. So the forwards aren't doing their job.

Justin McCarthy's really done a good job with Waterford. He brought his ideas to the county and the players believed in them and what he said. Before that they were like ourselves in Limerick. They might play well in one match and go flat in the next.

Everyone has their own way of doing things and Justin has his. The team may not line out as selected one to 15, but he will also have two or three fall-back plans.

Naming misleading XVs is a matter for the indivdual manager; it can work but it can also backfire.

There's no doubt that Waterford have the players. Ken McGrath's always impressed and John Mullane's a really good player. Eoin Kelly has shown great confidence so far and Peter Queally's still there fighting his corner. As a team they've impressed me.

Fergal Hartley surprised me in the Munster final in the directness of his play. He got the ball, caught it and moved it on. There was nothing fancy, just the ball moving quickly.

The attitude is also good. I saw Tom Feeney quoted after the Munster final, saying that there were things that they didn't do right. Every team will do good things and bad things and hope the good overcomes the bad. It's been refreshing to see Waterford come along so well but obviously they're not losing sight of the job in hand.

I think whoever wins this can win the All-Ireland, but the favourites will probably come from next week's Kilkenny-Tipperary semi-final. I think this can be a good game.

Because of the additional matches they have played I think Clare might sneak this. Waterford have been reduced to challenge matches and unless these are exceptionally competitive, they're no preparation for championship. There's a certain amount of work hurlers can do without playing matches, but it still leaves Clare at an advantage.

From my point of view in Limerick one of the reasons I think we suffered so badly against Tipperary is that it was our first game and their second.

Their forwards would need to score more easily but I believe that their experience and the exceptional form of Colin Lynch - the difference between winning and losing against Galway - can pull Clare through.