Tipperary legend Nicky English has given a hesitant vote to Waterford ahead of today's Munster SHC semi-final showdown with Cork.

Writing in The Irish Times, English reveals that he expects a close encounter but believes the Deise are a 'more proven' outfit at this stage in their development.

"Although they looked like a scoring machine against Tipp, Cork's attack got loads of good ball and to be fair to them, Luke Meade, Darragh Fitzgibbon and Shane Kingston have brought more pace and a bit of magic back to Cork and although they could be shut down, they could also take off.

"Waterford are more proven but only up to a certain level where they have stalled the past two years. Cork aren't proven at all yet but they aren't disproven either.

"It's extremely hard to call but the injury question about Conor Lehane can have a huge impact on this. He emerged as a real leader against Tipperary and even if he plays we have to bear in mind what happened Kilkenny a week ago after gambling on players recovering.

"So it's Waterford for me - but with reservations."

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