MOSTLY HURLING:Clare look like a force once more but against an improved Tipperary may find they are not yet the finished article

IT'S MUNSTER final time again. It will be good to see the Clare flags, the bodhráns and the banners in the Gaelic Grounds and of course to hear the Clare shout. The highs of the mid-to-late 90s were replaced with a fair few lows since the turn of the century. What a turbulent 12 months it's been in Clare! But peace has been restored and there's a new impetus evident in their hurling team. Mike McNamara and his backroom deserve huge credit for this turnaround. But, as they well know "they've won nothing yet".

Tipperary arrive at the Limerick arena with form and stability this time. In the build-up to the 2005 and 2006 finals against Cork I always felt the Leesiders had the upper hand going into these games. I thought we were ahead of them in terms of quality of player, experience and fitness.

That was the truth as I saw it then. I believed it and, more importantly, the players believed it too. We also felt Brian Murphy would keep Eoin Kelly's scores to a minimum, as he had done in the past at college and in underage games. And since the turn of the century, if Kelly was held Tipp were beatable.

Things are different this time though from the Tipp perspective. The 2008 team is impressive in that they are playing with a very admirable honesty. It's hard to beat that. They have the belief and a work-rate to match. They were impressive in the National League final, are playing as a team and are not overly dependent this time on Eoin Kelly, even though Kelly is still the star player.

Im not convinced they have the complete team yet though. Then again, what team is the complete item? Is every team not a work in progress?

While I don't think Tipp were overly impressive against Cork I do believe their success on that occasion had much to do with them getting the breaks at the right times, and even more to do with taking those breaks.

What was impressive though was that when they edged ahead in the final 10 minutes they had the ability to inflict the killer blows with a series of well-taken points. This was something they couldn't do against Limerick last year or even in the league final this year.

The concern though for manager Liam Sheedy might be that with 10 minutes remaining he had replaced three of his forwards and James Woodlock at midfield.

On the credit side the backs are probably the best unit in the business at present, with Paul Curran and Conor O'Mahony very impressive in the central roles and an understanding between the defenders that comes only with time and with the lessons that are learned while operating under pressure against quality opposition.

Cork replaced five forwards in the same game but will have looked at the video since and realised they could just as easily have won. But Tipperary made the telling changes, pushed ahead and, in those final minutes, played like a team that genuinely believed they would win.

Clare, it has to be said, have been a revelation so far this season. Pre-season they were at number five out of five in the Munster order of merit. Last year was so awful for them, on and off the field, that it seemed it would take a while before they would be considered a force again in the short term. Indeed with their lack of success at underage level it is a bit of a miracle that they remain so competitive. But their championship performances have been highly impressive thus far in terms of work-rate, honesty and goals scored.

But how good are they? Well, they certainly were impressive against Waterford, but maybe they caught the Déise on the hop, so to speak. We'll have to wait until next weekend to see if rumours of Waterford's demise are premature.

The wind had a big bearing on the game against Limerick. It could be argued three of the Clare goals were low on quality (even though they still were worth three points). Pat Vaughans goal, from so far out, was fortunate in the extreme. Jonathan Clancys one on the ground should also have been saved. The third one came from a collision between Limerick defenders Damien Reale and Stephen Lucey.

Niall Gilligan, though he played well, didn't score from play until the last minute of normal time, while Mark Flaherty wasn't able to replicate the form he showed against Waterford and didn't score a point from play.

Tony Carmody's shooting was fairly wayward even though he did win a good share of possession. Clancy did well though and will be a handful for any marker. But overall they are playing well as a team and deserve much respect.

There will be little between the teams in terms of physical fitness. I hear people talking about Tipp possibly having peaked and maybe being tired at this stage, given that they began training in November. But I can assure all concerned that if their minds are focused on the bigger picture (September) and the smaller picture (Sunday) fatigue won't enter into the equation.

I think, however, the Clare forward unit is better than the Cork unit that played the last day out and will be a sterner test for the Tipp men. The ability of the Tipp players to cope with the size, physicality and industry of their opponents will have no little bearing on the result.

Midfield will also be fairly evenly balanced. Colin Lynch is as effective as ever but Shane McGrath is having a great year and should ensure a slight advantage for the Tipp men.

The winning of the game will probably hinge on how the Clare full-back line cope with their opponents, particularly Kelly and Lar Corbett, and on how Tipp use their substitutes.

I think Sheedy has the stronger panel, and if he's forced to makes changes and if those changes are as effective as they were against Cork they might shade it.