'An early kick up the hole never hurt anyone'

So I've this friend. Sean Drummond is his name. Actually he's a friend of a friend. A man not too dissimilar to my good self. The ancient games are what float his boat. He'd have little or no interest in the Euros. At least I don't think he would. No, his scene centres around the fortunes of the capital's hurlers and footballers. He posted on my Facebook Timeline this morning. 'Lucky boys against Limerick yesterday,' he said. 'Huge improvement needed after that performance.' I agreed and added that Tipperary 'showed great composure' and that the experience 'will do them no harm at all' in the long run. 

Sean Drummond knows what he's talking about. He knows that custard is no use to anyone without jelly. He knows that one swallow never made a summer. 'An early kick up the hole never hurt anyone'... He knows that, along with everyone else.

For the majority of the league Tipperary looked flat and lifeless. They looked like a team without a leader. Like a team lacking in spirit. A team going backwards. For the majority of Sunday's pulsating Munster hurling opener against Limerick the same applied. Limerick hit the ground running. They looked like a team with a cause. Zippy forwards, hugely committed defenders.

Minus the services of the much-talked about Lar Corbett goals were going to be hard to come by. Yet, Tipperary found the net on two occasions. Corbett's clubmate Pa Bourke netting his first championship goal and Brian 'Buggy' O'Meara bundling home after 65 minutes. O'Meara's goal turned the game in Tipperary's favour. His effort put them in front for the first time. 

I've not spoken kindly of either Bourke or O'Meara in the past but to their credit they kept Tipperary in touch when scores were hard to come by on Sunday and their joint tally came to 2-9 in the end - not to be sniffed at! 

Declan Ryan 1 John Allen 0

However, it's Tipperary's substitutes that caught the eye most of all. Of the five introduced by Declan Ryan, three of them scored a point each while Seamus Callanan helped himself to a brace of points, one from a free. In contrast, Declan Hannon is the only Limerick substitute that made an impact. If proof were needed that hurling is now a 20-man game, Sunday's fare at the home of hurling was it. 

Patrick 'Bonner' Maher was the only Tipperary substitute not to split the posts, or rattle the net. No stars. I don't think so. The returning Lorrha man is the key to Tipperary's progression in this year's championship. Every time he gets the ball he creates havoc. It's like releasing a sugar-filled child (one with ice-cream all over its face and dirty curls) into a crowd of park pigeons. Pandemonium ensues. Defenders don't know whether to foul him or let him hold on to possession. If you're decked out in the blue and gold it matters little, Maher is what has been missing for Tipperary over the past few months. 

Someone else is missing but what impact he is going to have on the Munster championship is not yet known?!? Corbett's role was limited to rehydrating his teammates on Sunday but surely he'll play some part against Cork on the last Sunday in June. 

If Ryan starts the same team that finished against Limerick the Premier County should have enough in the tank to see off the resurgent Rebels but if things are not going according to plan Corbett is quite a substitute to have. Will it pan out this way? Perhaps he'll start? Can Tipperary continue to get goals in his absence? Many questions. 

That's what championship hurling is all about. The questions. The uncertainty. The anticipation. The buzz. The sun (sometimes). The rough and tumble. Bring it on. 

Maybe I'll see if Sean Drummond is interested in making the trip down Leeside. Now there's a man who'd eat a sandwich out of the boot of a car! I'll bring the tae.