With a mouthwatering Munster Senior Hurling Championship opener between Clare and Cork looming incrementally larger on the horizon on Easter Sunday, the timing of Sunday’s dress rehearsal at the same venue is far from ideal.
Fundamentally however, it’s still a case of needs must for both sides as it would be easy to write this match off and engage in shadowboxing in an effort to not show even a single card of their respective championship hands. That would seem rather foolhardy though in an era where there are no hiding places for game footage and scrutiny of players.
Regardless, Brian Lohan and Pat Ryan also crave the league points for contrasting reasons. While Clare are the defending champions, they will find themselves falling through the relegation trapdoor with another defeat in their remaining ties against Cork and Tipperary and even then there’s no guarantee that the Banner will consolidate their top flight status.