IF ONLY we could judge yesterday’s All-Ireland semi-final as a game in itself.

We would be happy probably.

Satisfied. It lacked an edge, but the plot held us pretty much all the way through. Tipperary looked a better team than Waterford almost from the throw-in, when Shane McGrath shot through the entire Waterford defence.

We can’t judge it in isolation though. The game, like every game in this championship, took place in the shadow of Cody Mountain. Tipp were good yesterday and at times they were excellent, but we viewed everything they did and wondered could they do it again in the thin air of an All-Ireland final against Kilkenny.

The margin was seven points in the end, but Tipp were a little more comfortable than that.

Any periods of Waterford revival were casually punctured by Tipperary goals. For instance Noel McGrath’s performance prised Brick Walsh’s fingers (for now) off the All Star he seemed to be guaranteed. Waterford manager Davy Fitzgerald said afterwards that he knew beforehand that McGrath would be moved out to play at centre forward. He opted as he put it “not to break up the six at the back, another fella was supposed to drop back and pick him up”.

With that other fella (presumably a wing forward) failing in his escort duties, there was little a manager as astute as Davy could do. Knowing what needs to be done and having the resources to do it are different things. McGrath came to midfield looking for loose short ball and converted it into scores. Waterford’s bench is not a bottomless pit of options. Kilkenny’s is. So that’s one card that won’t be paying out quite as richly.

Ditto Tipperary’s success from playing high diagonal balls across the field. Davy Fitz had prepared his troops for that type of shellacking but forewarned isn’t always forearmed. Take Waterford’s own surprise gambit, throwing teenager Brian O’Halloran into the full-forward line. The lad was consumed and digested by the 20th minute.

And so on. Brian Cody was in the crowd yesterday and his thoughts if they could be broadcast would be more compulsive than the game.

Word from Kilkenny was that the county’s thoroughly commendable habit of playing club matches through the summer may have cost them dearly. Tommy Walsh left the field in a league game for Tullaroan with a suspected broken collarbone.

If the injury is confirmed Kilkenny could go into the final without two of the greatest players the game has seen, Walsh and Henry Shefflin.

Kilkenny would still be favourites though.

That mountain is hypnotic.

Waterford hung in there for 20 minutes yesterday and when John Mullane, their primary scoring threat throughout, popped over his side’s fifth point on 18 minutes to level things we settled down into the rich sunshine and prepared to be thrilled.

The game never delivered. Tipp scored two on the trot to put serious daylight between the teams for the first time and then in the 23rd minute Lar Corbett’s happy summer took another nice turn.

In at full forward he fielded a high one over Liam Lawlor’s head turned and scored a fine goal. Classic full forward stuff. Five points in the margin now.

By half-time Tipp were six clear and Noel McGrath had filched four from play. All Liam Sheedy’s numbers were paying out. Waterford looked strangely passive.

What went down in the dressingrooms we won’t know but Waterford scored four of the first five points after they’d had their vittles. Tipp fans looked on wondering if their heroes had been drugged, would they come to in time, was there an antidote?

There was. Eoin Kelly. He pulled on a dropped ball after 52 minutes. Tipp’s second goal of the game. 2-14 to 0-12. Somebody was sent to wake up Ken McGrath and Dan Shanahan at the old folks home.

Waterford duly produced another little spasm of liveliness with Molumphy getting a point. On the hour Tipp closed the game down however.

Lar Corbett came through the middle carrying the option of a point all the while. Knowing what a goal would do he took the extra strides, however, and fed Eoin Kelly. Goal. 3-16 to 0-15. Time for the train.

Waterford, like the old gunslingers which we know them to be, kept on fighting though. They were outnumbered and outgunned, but they stood on main street and kept shooting. A late goal from Eoin McGrath lent them some dignity and consolation but Tipp marched on.

“I’m delighted, in fairness they worked really hard out there today,” said their boss Liam Sheedy afterwards.

And his opposite number, Davy Fitzgerald, was non-committal about his future with the team and non evasive about his afternoon with them. “No complaints whatsoever. They played better, tactically they were better. They outfought us which surprised me.”

Only our finely tuned sensibilities stopped us from asking Davy that question which we yearned to ask.

Would they do that against Kilkenny do ya think? Would they?