Cork v Tipperary: Everything you need to about the All-Ireland hurling final
Cork, who last won the All-Ireland in 2005, are bidding for their 31st title, while Tipperary, who were last successful in 2019, are seeking their 29th title. Kilkenny lead the way with 36 titles.
HOW THEY GOT THERE
CORK (Won 4, Drew 1, Lost 1)
Munster SHC round-robin: Clare 3-21 Cork 2-24, Cork 4-27 Tipperary 0-24, Limerick 3-26 Cork 1-16, Cork 2-25 Waterford 1-22.
Munster SHC final: Cork 1-30 Limerick 2-27 (after extra time, Cork won 3-2 on pens)
All-Ireland SHC semi-final: Cork 7-26 Dublin 2-21
Top scorers: Patrick Horgan 3-50 (1-38 frees, 0-1 '65'); Brian Hayes 5-8; Alan Connolly 4-9; Declan Dalton 1-12 (0-4 frees); Darragh Fitzgibbon 0-14 (0-2 frees, 0-1 '65')
TIPPERARY (Won 5, Drew 1, Lost 1)
Munster SHC round-robin: Tipperary 2-23 Limerick 2-23, Cork 4-27 Tipperary 0-24, Tipperary 4-18 Clare 2-21, Tipperary 1-30 Waterford 1-21.
All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-final: Tipperary 3-32 Laois 0-18
All-Ireland SHC quarter-final: Tipperary 1-28 Galway 2-17
All-Ireland SHC semi-final: Tipperary 4-20 Kilkenny 0-30
Top scorers
Jason Forde 3-43 (0-25 frees, 0-4 s/l, 1 '65'); Darragh McCarthy 1-33 (0-27 frees, 1 '65'); John McGrath 5-14; Jake Morris 0-22; Andrew Ormond 2-13.
Last five Championship clashes
Munster SHC 2025: Cork 4-27 Tipperary 0-24
Munster SHC 2024: Cork 4-30 Tipperary 1-21
Munster SHC 2023: Cork 4-19 Tipperary 2-25
Munster SHC 2022: Cork 3-30 Tipperary 1-24
All-Ireland SHC qualifier 2020: Tipperary 2-18 Cork 1-17
DID YOU KNOW
*This will be their fourth meeting of the year, with Cork leading 2-1 from the previous three. Tipperary won a Division 1A Allianz League group game by four points, while Cork had ten points to spare in the League Final and won the Munster 'Round Robin' game over 14-man Tipp by 15 points.
*Cork are bidding to end a 20-year wait without an All-Ireland win, having last won in 2005 when they completed a double. Their previous longest gap was 16 years between 1903 and 1919.
*Tipperary won the last major clash with Cork, which was played in Croke Park. That in the 2014 All-Ireland semi-final, which they won by 2-18 to 1-11.
*Cork are bidding to complete and All-Ireland National League double for the first time since 1970.
JOHN FOGARTY'S MATCH PREVIEW: Cork ready to earn it
It may be a blueblood final but there are artisan strains to how both teams have progressed to this point. Cork, as phenomenal as they were last day out, have won just three of six SHC games in normal/extra time. Aiming for a sixth consecutive championship win, Tipperary have changed their midfield in the previous five (Willie Connors has had four different partners since the Waterford game).
The chances are that pattern will end in this final seeing as Conor Stakelum performed so admirably in the semi-final but the north Cork combination they face are so comfortable playing along one another. We have seen the best of Tim O'Mahony in midfield these past couple of seasons and Darragh Fitzgibbon is again in ebullient form.
As subtle as it seems, Fitzgibbon returning to midfield from centre-forward has been a key factor in Cork's recalibration following that chastening day against Limerick in May. Fitzgibbon and Shane Barrett are speed merchants but it makes sense that at least one is starting his gallops from further out the field.
When Liam Cahill's former selector Pádraic Maher said in January that Tipperary's proud record of winning an All-Ireland every decade was under threat, it was because we asked him. It wasn't something he brought up unprompted but he also pointed out being written off was a good place to be. Cahill has since spoken about how motivated he and his group are when they are told there is something they cannot do.
Here, they will be told they can't win because Cork will do most of the hurling. That premise may be true but as they showed against Kilkenny, Tipperary don't need to boss the ball to prosper providing they are efficient and they season those patches with goals.
Tipperary will show Cork respect by virtue of their preference to man-mark rather than playing zonally. Dublin went the same way and Niall Ó Ceallacháin warned it was a risk but to go the other way, he said, would only have ensured a slow if painless death. Tipperary won't stand off their men as much as Dublin. There is a chance they match-up well against Cork's attack. They will strive to keep their half-back line connected to the full-backs.
No, the question is will Cork acknowledge that Tipperary have evolved from the sides they trimmed in the Division 1 final and second round of the Munster SHC. Jake Morris deserves attention and while he might be the only forward they feel has to be tracked, how Tipperary's inside line thrived on aerial ball has to be on Pat Ryan's mind as solid as that Cork trio have been looking.
Ryan and his management team have done their due diligence. Losing but learning from last year's final, their players have too. Cork to win. Not because it's their time. Not because they deserve it. Not because they are the better team and have the better bench. Because they look ready to earn it.
Verdict: Cork
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