PREVIEW: Tipperary are ready for dress rehearsal with All-Ireland champions Limerick

The past few weeks have felt like somewhat of an intermission for the Tipperary senior hurlers with a week break either side of an uninspiring clash with Westmeath, but the action ramps up considerably this week ahead of a tie against rivals Limerick this coming Saturday.

The long-awaited cull of the senior panel has taken place behind the scenes and while there have been names bandied about as to who has been warranted to be surplus to requirements, there has been no official panel named and so we will be left to speculate about personnel a little bit longer, with this game given us the first indication as to who Liam Cahill will be taking forward for the remainder of the league and onto the championship and beyond.

This was expected to be a nice dry run for Tipperary in the Gaelic Grounds ahead of the opening game of the Munster championship for the Premier in April, but the recent works being carried out on the Limerick venue has scuppered that chance, and with Semple Stadium falling foul of the recent heavy rain, the decision was made to move the game to Cork.

Despite that, a big crowd will surely find its way down south to the banks of the River Lee with both teams putting their one hundred percent records on the line and it will be interesting to see the make-up of the starting line-ups when the teams are announced on Thursday night.

Liam Cahill has experimented hugely to date in the three league games up to this point, but with the thinning out of his squad and players being brought back up to full match sharpness, there should be a more settled look to the team as Tipperary look to end a streak of almost five years without a competitive win against John Kiely’s charges - the 2019 Munster round robin game in Thurles being the last time Tipperary beat the Treaty.

Therefore, the benefits will surely outweigh any other considerations from management and they might be thinking about going strong in this one, and a win would inject massive confidence back into the group after suffering greatly at the hands of the five-in-a-row chasing champions in recent years.

Limerick, for their part, will surely be looking to keep their foot down firmly on the Tipperary necks and they have been slowly building back up to full strength in their league games, with a fair cluster of regulars playing in the round three win over Dublin after being spared in the first two rounds against Antrim and Westmeath.

For Tipperary, the only players you could see as regulars in recent years yet to feature are Cathal Barrett and Paddy Cadell. Speaking after the Westmeath game, Cahill hinted that Barrett is close to a return to action and could return here, while Cadell will be hoping to shrug off a hamstring injury in time to see action in the league campaign to fight for his spot.

Whatever the case, one would imagine neither team will want to give up the upper hand and it should give Liam Cahill and his management a better idea of where they are at before the championship gets underway.