A near second-string Cork side pulled away in the second half to earn a deserved McGrath Cup victory against a plucky Tipperary team in driving wind and rain at Fermoy yesterday.

Cork, who were playing their first game under the new experimental rules, trailed 0-6 to 0-2 at the break after facing the elements - but they dominated the second half.

Their first goal came after 38 minutes when Brendan Walsh converted a penalty and a second goal 10 minutes from the end and sealed their win.

Corner back Owen Sexton had the satisfaction of scoring a rare goal, his booming drive from long range deceiving the Tipperary defence and finishing in the net.

Tipperary began well enough and the accuracy of Brendan Cummins helped them to a 0-4 to 0-0 lead after 15 minutes; but they missed a number of other chances as well. Points by Alan O'Regan and Fachtna Collins helped Cork stay in touch until they turned around to play with the wind.

Cork: K O'Dwyer; Michael O'Donovan, D Wiseman, O Sexton (1-0); M O'Donovan, M Hayes, J O'Connell; N Murphy, M Monaghan; B Walsh (1-3), F Collins (0-4), M Harrington (0- 1); A Aherne, P Hegarty, A O'Regan (0-1).

Tipperary: P Ryan; F Clifford, N Kelly, C Cronin; M Leonard, M Sheehan, M Cummins; D Foley, S Maher; B Burke, J Costello (0-2), B Cummins (0-4); D Hogan, D O'Connor (0-1), C O'Shea. Sub: D Browne (0-1) for Hogan.