PREVIEW: Cashel King Cormac's date with destiny awaits on Munster final day this Saturday

AIB Munster Intermediate Hurling Championship Final - Preview

Cashel King Cormacs vs Watergrasshill 

TUS Gaelic Grounds, Saturday, Nov 30th @ 18.00

Tipperary had a highly fruitful weekend in provincial competitions with Aherlow and Loughmore Castleiney booking places in their respective Munster Championship finals, but it will be Cashel King Cormacs who make the first fist at attaining Munster honours this coming Saturday.

The Minster Intermediate Hurling Championship final will see the Tipperary champions face off against Cork counterparts Watergrasshill in the final in TUS Gaelic Grounds on Saturday evening, and it will be a massive occasion for everyone associated with the town club as they look to repeat the trick from their last appearance in a Munster club final, all the way back in 1991 - funnily enough against Cork opposition in Midleton and they will be hoping that is a positive omen.

Watergrasshill will provide a stern test for Cashel King Cormacs in this game, as there are plenty of players with experience of winning titles this year in their ranks.

They had four players involved in the senior championship winning divisional side Imokilly back in October in Daire O’Leary, Adam Murphy, Sean Desmond, and Kevin O’Neill.

Murphy and Desmond in particular impressed in that heavy final beating of Sarsfields, combining for 1-3 in that decider, and they returned to their parent clubs to good effect in the recent semi-final win over Clare champions Wolfe Tones, this time the pair combining for 1-14 of their 2-20 total.

It is probably fair to say that Cashel King Cormacs have not produced the complete performance in their run to this final, with patches of good hurling in both the quarter-final and semi-final giving them the wins.

They have plenty of room for improvement considering the likes of Ross Bonnar has yet to produce close to the form he was in during the county championship, and his withdrawal early in the second half of the win over Abbeydorney will tell you that TJ Connolly has full faith in the players coming in off the bench.

That has been a feature of Cashel’s games in the last four weeks with Adrian Cummins and Ger Browne having a massive influence when introduced; the pair combined for 1-3 from play in Kerry a fortnight ago.

It will be interesting to see if Connolly and his management team will be tempted to go with Ger Browne from the throw-in here.

This is a Munster final and with the bookies installing the Tipperary champions as favourites for the All-Ireland in recent weeks, they could have a halcyon year, and with the talent Browne possesses and his fitness surely back up to speed given his sparing use this year, it could be a consideration.

Whatever happens, the attitude, resilience, and workmanlike nature of the players efforts in Munster the games so far has been immense, with tough conditions in Newcastle West and Abbeydorney hardly suiting the profile of players Cashel has, but they have knuckled down every time and have shown a grittiness to see out games despite not being at their best.

This is a huge occasion for Cashel on Saturday, and if they put their best on show they have a real chance.