Cork v Tipperary: Although this is the traditional final, you wouldn't have had many takers for it going into the Munster campaign. Tipperary had an indifferent league and showed few signs going into the championship of a team that would make an impact.

Suddenly Tipp are looking forward to a Munster final with a bit of enthusiasm and getting ready to give Cork socks.

It's a big turnaround.

Before the championship they showed all the signs of a struggling team, unsure of themselves and their positions. They've gradually found their feet and know better the players they have, and what stands to them is that they've three championship matches under their belt.

Philip Maher coming back is a big boost, because their goals were opened up in the early stages - three clear-cut goal chances that weren't taken.

Maher will tighten that up a lot. But they've struggled at centre back. David Kennedy is tried and tested, but he's been coming up short. He's a battler, a gutsy performer, and doesn't lack for effort, but when he gets on the ball his delivery's not there, and he had to be taken off shortly into the second half against Clare.

Tony Griffin exploited the difficulty when he went out there in the first half of the match. It's something that has to be addressed if Tipp are going to progress.

Tipp have improved at midfield and Benny Dunne had one of his better games on Colin Lynch.

For Cork, Tom Kenny and Jerry O'Connor were not up to scratch against Waterford and were totally overshadowed by Eoin Kelly on the day.

For the first 20 minutes against Waterford they looked awesome, until their opponents started to get in among them and stopped the running game the midfielders like to play. Once Waterford got into their stride, Cork's intelligent placing of attacking ball for Joe Deane stopped.

It put pressure on Cork at midfield. O'Connor's not used to that game; he's used to running free and feeding off his half-forward line and tipping the ball over the bar. That's what he does. Instead, he was having to compete for his own position.

For Tipp to win they just cannot afford to give Cork the chances they gave Clare. Joe Deane won't miss like that.

I think Maher will work out okay with Brian Corcoran, but Deane is going to be a big challenge for Eamonn Corcoran. He has a sense of goal that's going to be a problem for a converted wing back, a position that's a little bit freer.

It's a small bit of a worry, because if a corner back loses his man for even a couple of seconds it can end in disaster. Corcoran's a good hurler - it's just that the adjustment that needs to be made can be important.

Tipp would also need to be on top at midfield and centre back to stop Cork's midfielders and Niall McCarthy, who has come on in leaps and bounds in the past couple of years.

He was very raw at the start and I thought he lacked the finesse of a Cork senior hurler. He's very tricky for a centre back because he comes so deep for possession a defender doesn't know whether to back off. If the centre back gets drawn, he opens up the whole defence. The other thing about McCarthy is that he has great pace and is very direct when he gets on the ball.

His scoring has also improved immensely over the past two years, even if he's still prone to miss the odd easy chance. But his shooting has improved and he gets into good positions.

Cork's half backs are the strongest in the country and will win the battle in the air, so Tipperary will need to move the ball quickly on the ground and into Eoin Kelly, who's a marksman of the highest quality, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him in full forward from an early stage.

Cork have improvements of their own to make. They were in trouble at midfield and Diarmuid O'Sullivan was very shaky, but with Wayne Sherlock ready to come in they have options.

They are also better balanced; they know one another's game and how each one ticks.

I still think Cork are the number one team in the country, the team that will go through the season undefeated. I could be proved wrong tomorrow, but I don't think so.