As they prepare for their \u2018bye round\u2019 in the Munster SHC, Cork can be safe in the knowledge that they will go into their last match, at home to Clare on Sunday week, May 24, top of the round-robin table.<\/p>\n
Three wins from three \u2013 the first time the county have managed such a feat \u2013 leave Cork on the verge of a second straight appearance in the provincial final.<\/p>\n
If Clare do not beat Tipperary in Thurles this Saturday night, then the Rebels\u2019 passage to the decider as table-toppers will be confirmed, as Limerick would be the only other county able to reach the six-point mark and Cork would have head-to-head advantage on the Shannonsiders in the event of a two-way tie.<\/p>\n
Should Clare triumph at FBD Semple Stadium \u2013 as they have done in their three previous visits in the round-robin era \u2013 and Limerick beat Waterford on Sunday, then the possibility of Cork not making the Munster final would remain alive heading into the last match.<\/p>\n
In such circumstances, a win or a draw would confirm Ben O\u2019Connor\u2019s side in first place \u2013 the first time since 2017 and 2018 to make consecutive deciders. <\/p>\n
Even if Clare beat Tipp and Limerick overcome Waterford and then Tipp, there is a chance that defeat to the Banner would not stop Cork reaching the final. When more than two teams are tied, scoring difference determines the order and, at present, Cork hold a +10 figure in that regard with Clare\u2019s heavy loss to Limerick leaving them on -9.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately for Waterford, hopes of reaching the final ended with Sunday\u2019s loss to Cork at Azzurri Walsh Park, but there are not yet out of the reckoning to finish third and take an All-Ireland quarter-final spot.<\/p>\n
![\"Ben](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5076540_4_articleinline_213403.jpg\" "\\"Ben")
Ben O’Connor of Cork celebrates scoring his side’s second goal past a grounded Tipperary goalkeeper Brendan Cummins in the 2006 Munster SHC final at Semple Stadium in Thurles – it’s 20 years since the counties last met in the provincial decider. Picture: Brendan Moran\/Sportsfile<\/p>\n
It is still a tall order for the D\u00e9ise, however. They need to beat Limerick in Limerick this Sunday \u2013 and that is the only fixture to have had the same outcome in every edition of the round-robin, with the Shannonsiders\u2019 six wins allied to Munster and All-Ireland final triumphs in 2020 and an All-Ireland semi-final in 2021. The last Waterford win against the Treatymen was in 2011.<\/p>\n
Were Peter Queally\u2019s men to bridge that gap, they would need Tipp to beat Clare and then lose Limerick as well as Cork beating Clare. On top of all of that, it would also be required to stay ahead of Tipp on scoring difference.<\/p>\n
For Tipp, the route to the final exists but does not allow for any further errors: if they beat Clare on Saturday and then Limerick on Sunday week, the Munster decider would be a repeat of last year\u2019s All-Ireland, with Cork hosting as the last \u2018old firm\u2019 meeting was in Thurles in 2006.<\/p>\n
A win for Tipp in Thurles against Clare \u2013 something they have yet to do in the round-robin era \u2013 would eliminate the Banner from final considerations and cast the Limerick-Tipp game as a semi-final to meet Cork.<\/p>\n
If Cork were to play Limerick or Tipp in the decider, it would be in Cork, as would a Clare-Limerick match-up; a Cork-Clare clash would be in Limerick.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As they prepare for their \u2018bye round\u2019 in the Munster SHC, Cork can be safe in the knowledge…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":446684,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1964,61,60,112],"class_list":["post-446683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-cork-gaa","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=446683"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446683\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/446684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=446683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=446683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=446683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}