IT’S a tough burden to have to carry, but Tipperary hurling supporters will have a better idea of their team’s capacity to justify the ‘champions in waiting’ tag this year after colliding with arch rivals Cork in the Munster quarter-final at Pairic Ui Chaoimh on Sunday. In reality, defeat is not an option for Liam Sheedy’s squad.

That is immense pressure to deal with so early in the season, but there is no escaping the fact that a Cork victory, even allowing for them being at home, would be a significant setback to the 2009 All-Ireland finalists. Tipperary really fronted up to Kilkenny last September and only for a magnificent goalkeeping display from PJ Ryan together with a couple of controversial refereeing calls going against them, they would have carried the day.

It’s doubtful if ever a losing team in an All-Ireland final has played better and they had Kilkenny on the rack for long periods, but the champions still survived. It was the type of heartbreaking defeat that takes players a long time to get over and though Tipperary had a reasonable National League campaign, Sunday’s showdown will be the first big test of the squad’s mental strength in 2010.

Two years ago, Tipperary recorded their first championship victory over the Rebels on Cork soil since the twenties. That was a landmark achievement, but having to do it all over again so soon makes a repetition of it all the more difficult. It’s an All-Ireland or nothing for Tipperary this year and while they are strong 4/6 favourites to continue their current championship dominance over Cork, Eoin Kelly and company are certainly not banker material down by the Lee on Sunday.

Neither team was available at the time of going to press, but there is growing speculation that rookie Brian O’Meara, who has yet to play a competitive match for the county, could be handed the number 14 jersey after impressing in a couple of challenge matches. The young Kilruane McDonagh’s player has been proving a good target man in those games, but thrusting him into the white heat of championship battle with only minimal experience of inter-county hurling behind him would represent a big gamble.

Sheedy and his management team, including the Galway-based Eamon O’Shea, have been doing an excellent job since taking over from Babs Keating in the Autumn of 2007. Two Munster championships, a National League title and a massive contribution to arguably the greatest All-Ireland final of the modern era represents a successful tenure by any standards, but the team’s mentors realise more than anyone else that the big one has still to be secured . . . and they want it badly.

It’s to their advantage, that Tipperary have a reasonably settled team. The versatile Brendan Maher is really becoming one of their bigger influences, while the likes of Shane McGrath, Eoin Kelly and Lar Corbett have all a proven pedigree at the highest level. The big question is, however, will All Star full back Padraig Maher and Noel McGrath be able to reproduce the impact of their debut seasons? The primary ball winning capacity of their half-forward line remains a concern too.

Though some observers are inclined to dismiss Cork after their league final loss at the beginning of May, you can be sure that they will be seriously motivated to avenge last year’s defeat. Already, they have beaten Tipperary in the league and with full back Eoin Cadogan set to return from injury, Denis Walsh will have no problem in rallying his troops and the Rebels are never more dangerous than when they are generally expected to lose.

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.