"I don't think there'll be any shadow-boxing, these two will go at it"
February 06, 2026
Cork's Eoin Downey and Jason Forde of Tipperary during the Allianz Hurling League Division 1 final at Pairc Ui Chaoimh ©INPHO/James Crombie
Clare legend Anthony Daly says he doesn’t expect any “shadow-boxing” when Cork and Tipperary collide tomorrow evening at Pairc Ui Chaoimh (7.30pm)
In what will be their first meeting since last July’s All-Ireland SHC final, both teams are looking for their third consecutive win in Division 1A
Speaking on the RTE GAA podcast this week in the build-up to the third round of the Allianz Hurling League games, Daly said he can’t see either team holding anything back when they cross swords on Saturday.
"This one is mouthwatering. I don't think there’ll be any shadow-boxing, these two will go at it,” said the former Clare and Dublin manager.
"I know they meet in the first round in Munster and you might think that they might pull back a bit.
"Ben [O’Connor] has made no secret of the fact that they’re going to give everyone on the panel a chance, so you might see a bit of experimentation and Liam [Cahill] has done that already. But, for this one, no one is going to want to take a backward step.
"[O'Connor] left William Buckley out in Galway but he was Man of the Match down in Páirc Uí Chaoimh [against Waterford]. It’s fairly likely he’ll come back in.
"Darragh O’Leary at number three, he’s got two 70 minutes under his belt now, reasonably good I think. Jason Rabbitte caused him a problem or two but he was fairly steady. Does Ben think he’s the long-term solution to number three?
"Number three is a bit of an issue for them, Eoin Downey could play in the half-back line very easily – would Robert [Downey] revert to three? There’s a bit of talk about Ciarán Joyce even being a possible three, so that full-back line has to be settled a bit more and three is the crucial one there.
"Will Liam Cahill now start John McGrath on the edge of the square? We know the damage he done there in the All-Ireland, so it’s fascinating. So many of the young Tipp players have been putting up their hands saying 'I want a piece of this’… it’s fascinating, we’ll all be waiting to see what ways the managers go when the teams come out."
Tweet
