An Moltóir was out of the country for the Clare-Tipperary match, and only got to see the video this past weekend. While the margin of the Banner victory was a bit of a surprise, the result was not, as far as An Moltóir was concerned. The hype which has surrounded this Tipperary team over the last three or four years has been quite unwarranted. They won a handy All-Ireland in 2001 because they played the steadiest hurling in the competition, but there was nothing outstanding about them. Since then, they have lost every game that really mattered.

There has been a lot of talk about the marvellous games between Tipperary and Kilkenny in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final and this year’s League final. However, these were both very open games which allowed Tipp’s flashy players to show off their skills. Even then, this was not enough to win either game. Last week in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, when push came to shove, these players collectively disappeared. There has been endless reference to Tipperary’s strong panel of players. But when it comes to it, how strong can the panel be if Liam Cahill can get in the first team? And where are the outstanding players who can take a game by the scruff of the neck and turn it around? In other words, where are the Nicky Englishes and Pat Foxes, or the Henry Sheflins or DJ Careys?

Of the current Tipperary team, Eoin Kelly is the only forward who always looks dangerous when in possession. And even his contribution was reduced to modest proportions when the normal supply line from Conor Gleeson failed to materialise. At midfield, Tommy Dunne, so often the team’s real leader on the pitch, was so anonymous that An Moltóir wondered at one stage if he was playing at all. In fact, he got on the ball for the first time in the 40th minute. It was amazing that Michael Doyle left him there – or even on the pitch – for so long, although in truth most of the Tipp players were substitution candidates. Further back, Eamon Corcoran was obviously a huge loss, but then Clare lost their right half back after only a few minutes and it made no difference to the result. It is easy to be critical of the inexperienced Tipperary fullback line, but there was little they could do, given the sheer volume of ball that was coming in, much of it of high quality.

There is all sorts of talk these days about "game plans". Of course, in order to put such a plan into effect, you have to have possession. And this Clare had plenty of last week. The next thing is to use your possession well. This requires some skill, an ability to keep a cool head and, preferably, not having the opposition harassing you as you try to strike. Last week, while Clare were blocking, hooking and generally getting in the way all over the place, Tipp abjectly failed to return the compliment. And for once, Clare generally used their possession well, with good ball going into a forward line which, for the most part, made good use of it.

Key elements of the Clare game plan worked extremely well. Bringing Alan Markham out around the middle of the field brought him into the game, while disorienting his marker Paul Kelly. Cyril Lyons also obviously learned from the league final, where the switch of big Martin Comerford out to the half line essentially turned the game for Kilkenny. This time, Anthony Carmody did an enormous amount of good work, with plenty of assistance from Tony Griffin. In his book, Ger Loughnane wrote about the importance of having big men in your half forward line, to prevent the opposition half backs from getting clean possession. Last week’s game was another outstanding example of this. Clare also focused on pulling on the ball rather than trying to catch it in the middle third of the field, and again this worked a treat for them. Griffin and Colin Lynch used the ball well, playing good long ball deep into space in front of the Tipp goal. Gerry Quinn, for all his good work, uses a weak push action when forced onto his right side, and the resultant balls tend to be too short to put the opposing defence under pressure.

The big extra plusses for Clare last week were the performances of Diarmuid McMahon at midfield and Andew Whelan in the forwards. McMahon in particular played some great ball at a time in the second half when Colin Lynch seemed to flag a little and Tipp looked as if they might be able to mount a fighback. And Whelan, despite a couple of injudicious choices, looked like a player who could get on the ball and who knew where the posts were. However, Clare have produced too many one-hit wonders over the years to allow a final judgements to be made yet.

If Clare can produce the same kind of pressure game, it is hard to see Cork, with their lightweight forwards and non-existent midfield, standing up to it. Cork, of course, have the skill to destroy a team if given the space, so Cyril Lyons will be concentrating on getting another high-intensity game out of his charges. In the meantime, we have the small matter of the other semi-final in Thurles next Sunday. As An Moltóir sees it, the main ingredient in Limerick’s three under-21 All-Irelands has been their ability to smother more skillful teams, a la Clare. Apart possibly from Andrew Shaughnessy, these teams do not appear to have thrown up outstanding individual talents. But they certainly have a high work rate, and will need it to stop what is potentially the most lethal forward division in the country.

There is a view around the place – most recently voiced by Peter Finnerty on the Sunday Game last week – that the Waterford panel lacks depth. Yet next Sunday they are likely to have Brian Flannery, Peter Queally, Dan Shanahan and either Dave Bennett or John Mullane on the sideline. These are all very capable and experienced players to be able to draw on. Eoin Murphy and James Murray are both playing better than last year. Eoin Kelly looks a stronger player this year, and will likely be joined by two other big men – Andy Moloney and Ken McGrath – in the half forward line (Ger Loughnane will like that). And with Paul Flynn apparently determined to nail down that elusive All-Star award this year, An Moltóir can only see one result next Sunday.

Finally, one wonders does anyone in RTE ever listen to Ger Canning’s match commentaries. Not only does he go wittering on like Marion Finucane on a bad day, but much of the time he hasn’t a clue what is going on down on the pitch. His narrow stock of phrases is wearing, lack of genuine enthusiasm obvious, and repeated errors in interpeting refereeing decisions downright annoying. And the biggest problem of all is that, when watching a game recorded on video, you don’t have the option of turning on the radio and listening to Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh instead.