Tipperary’s Munster Senior Hurling Championship campaign is already approaching a pivotal stretch after an up-and-down start has left them with little room for manoeuvre in the weeks ahead.
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Liam Cahill’s side have taken one win and one defeat from their opening two games, leaving them on the fringes of the top three as the round-robin begins to take shape.
The defeat to Cork in Thurles was followed by a much-needed response away to Waterford, but even at this early stage, the table is beginning to tighten in a way that leaves very little margin for error.
Clare’s defeat to Limerick last Sunday has given a clearer picture of what needs to happen for Tipperary to progress. With only the top three progressing from Munster, the stakes are high.
Waterford Hosts the Rebels
Tipperary will be able to sit back again this weekend as Cork and Waterford is the only game in the Munster Championship, taking place on Saturday evening in Walsh Park. The satisfactory outcome here would be for Waterford to get something off the Rebels.
The big fear for Tipperary supporters will be that if Cork reach the six point mark, they will be able to relax in the final round game against Clare, and a win for the Banner there, would make life a whole lot harder for Liam Cahill’s team.
However, Waterford are not out of the mix by any means and they will have confidence that they can rattle Cork this Saturday, having downed the Rebels the last time they visited Walsh Park in the round robin in 2024.
Clare Clash Already Feels Like Knockout Hurling
Their next outing, at home to Clare, already has the feel of a knockout game. Clare sit just ahead in the standings (2 points) and a win for Tipp (1 point) would see them leapfrog Clare into third place with a round to go.
However, with a rampant Limerick to come in the final round for Tipperary in the Gaelic Grounds, a loss coupled with a Clare win in Cork would send Tipp crashing out, if results elsewhere are to go along expected lines.
What do Tipperary Need to Happen?
Scenario 1: Wins versus Clare and Limerick
The best-case scenario for Tipperary, of course, will be to take control by winning their final two games against Clare and Limerick, which would put them through and into a Munster final. No fluffing about with permutations and needing other results to go their way here.
Scenario 2: Win versus Clare, loss versus Limerick
Possibly the best chance for Tipperary, and the most likely route to the top three is here. First, Tipperary would need to do the job in Thurles in two weekends’ time by besting Clare for the second successive year.
However, other results in the final round would need to be considered. Should Tipperary lose out to Limerick on the final day, they would need Cork to stop Clare from winning in their final group game clash in Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
This sequence would likely see Tipperary qualifying should Waterford fail to pick up any further points in their final games against All-Ireland favourites Cork and Limerick.
There are still plenty of bumps to come in the road, but based on recent history of results between teams, and what has happened thus far, one of these two scenarios is likeliest to occur.
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