GAELIC GAMES: Tipperary's full-back position for Sunday's Munster hurling clash with Clare has been handed to Paul Curran, who only recently rejoined the panel and has no previous championship experience. Injury had ruled out regular full-back Philip Maher.
Curran's introduction doesn't come as a total surprise as he has delivered several exceptional performances in the position for his club Mullinahone. The 22-year-old had also been called into the panel at the start of last year's championship only for his season to be cut short by injury.
One further Tipperary player will make his championship debut on Sunday, corner back Martin Maher. Wing back Brian Horgan also comes in for the suspended Eamonn Corcoran, a move that had been anticipated on the basis on his league form, although he has appeared in previous championship seasons.
There are some further positional alterations, however, with team captain Brian O'Meara resuming duties at wing forward in place of Mark O'Leary and John Carroll moving to full forward, and with Liam Cahill starting on the wing, it means there is no place for young forward Ger O'Grady.
Parallels have been suggested between Tipperary's current situation and that of 1994, when they had come off a similarly successful league campaign (which they won by beating Galway in the final) but were surprisingly beaten by Clare in the first round of the championship just a couple of weeks later.
Injury also weakened the team on that occasion, with forward John Leahy the main absentee after an injury picked up while playing football. Former All-Ireland winner John O'Donoghue was Tipperary selector at the time, although he views the setbacks ahead of Sunday's game in a slightly different light.
"I think in 1994 the Tipperary team was far more settled," he says, "and even if we were missing some players through injury we were weakened from the front, rather than from the back, which is the case here. But we still had great depth.
"Right now the team doesn't have a ready-made full back to step in for Maher, and have also lost a player like Corcoran, who in my opinion is the best wing back in the country. So I don't know if any team can do without two players like that."
In football, Derry's Anthony Tohill will start at full forward for Sunday's Ulster championship meeting with Tyrone in Clones. There will also be championship debuts for defender Kevin McGuckin and wing forward Mark O'Neill.
Team captain Enda Muldoon will be partnered at midfield by Fergal Doherty, while Paddy Bradley and Dermot Dougan complete the full forward line along with Tohill.
TIPPERARY (SH v Clare): B Cummins; M Maher, P Curran, B Dunne; B Horgan, D Kennedy, P Kelly; T Dunne, N Morris; B O'Meara, C Gleeson, L Cahill; E Kelly, J Carroll, L Corbett.
DERRY (SF v Tyrone): M Conlon; S M Lockhart, N McCusker, K McGuckin; P McFlynn, K McCloy, K Doherty; E Muldoon, F Doherty; G Diamond, C Gilligan, M O'Neill; P Bradley, A Tohill, D Dougan.
