This is the game that Tipperary have been looking forward to ever since the championship draw was made last November. The rivalry between these two sides has always been intense, but this is one that they will both badly want to win.

First of all, there is something to prove in both cases. Tipperary are coming in fresh from their league win, but want to show that they are once again a big force in the championship. Clare want to prove that last year's experience with Offaly was unfortunate and that there will be no such problems this time around.

Since Nicky English has taken over at Tipperary, he has adopted a different approach to previous managers by concentrating more on physical training, as well as bringing in a lot of young players. Having come through the league winning more or less everything they should, this Tipperary team have a new-found confidence. Taking the league title, even if they weren't that impressive in doing it, has put them in the winning mode and that is important. A win is a win no matter what and that has given them tremendous confidence.

There may, however, be some problems with experience. When you look at the full-back line, for example, the only experienced player is Liam Sheedy. At half back, the only experienced man is Conal Bonnar. So from centrefield back, you really only have the goalkeeper, one full back, one half back and one at centrefield (Conor Gleeson) who have had experience at this level. That is a worry for them. It doesn't matter if a player is young as long as he is good enough, but this will be a real test for them.

In the forwards you see the opposite, with a huge amount of experience between the six of them. They have moved Paul Shelly up front to add a bit of beef in that area and looking at this team on paper, the forwards will be one of their main strengths. Their big problem could be in defence, and we saw that in their opening match with Kerry.

The best two goals that I have seen this year were scored by Kerry and in both cases they came through the middle very easily. When that happens there is something wrong somewhere. That was inexperience on Tipperary's part and if they do that against Clare they will be in serious trouble.

Looking at Clare, you see a lot of the same old faces. They have brought in Enda Flannery at corner back and he is playing very well, but otherwise everyone from the goalkeeper to centrefield are seasoned campaigners who have been through it all. It's a younger forward line, but still very experienced and mobile as well.

A lot will depend on how fresh Seanie McMahon, Ollie Baker and Jamesie O'Connor will come into this game. With Doora-Barefield winning the club All-Ireland, they've been involved now with almost continuous hurling this year and that's hard. But if they are mentally and physically fresh, I think they will be that little bit too good for Tipperary this year.

There's been doubts over Baker's fitness, but no matter what there will be 15 players on the field and whether players are missing or not, it's up to the others to make up for it. Whether this is all part of Ger Loughnane's mind games I don't know.

On the day everybody will have their job to do. Stephen McNamara at full forward is very much in form and Niall Gilligan and David Forde are flexible enough, so even if they start out differently they may move around again. Either way it won't matter a great deal how Clare line out, although I can't see them changing their backs too much.

Still, I think people are getting fed up with these mind games about team selections and hopefully we won't see much more of it.

It's hard to know why exactly Tipperary decided not to select Declan Carr, but it's always hard to come back from five years out of inter-county level and walk into the championship.

One big factor in this game will be the battle between McMahon and Declan Ryan. That will be vital as McMahon has been the lynchpin of the half-back line and has two very good wing backs in Liam Doyle and Anthony Daly - the backbone of this great Clare revival in the last five years.

Ryan on form can be a very hard man to mark and again the freshness of McMahon will play a big part. Still, Ryan has got to beat McMahon to have Tipperary motoring in the right direction. John Leahy and Doyle will be an equally hard battle, as well as Tommy Dunne and Daly, so the Tipperary half-forward line against the Clare half-back line is going to be some spectacle.

At centrefield, if the Clare fellows are on form, then they will cause major problems. Baker and Colin Lynch are well able to provide to their half forwards, and Eamonn Corcoran will have to be on his game to stay with Jamesie O'Connor, but again we'll see how fresh he is upstairs.

It will be interesting as well to see how the discipline factor affects the game. I believe the GAA are inflicting discipline rules on hurling because of what we've seen in football, but I don't think there is any reason for that.

Hopefully the pitch will be in better condition than last Sunday as well. Whatever the gravel was doing there I don't know, but we are into the Munster championship now and last week the pitch was nowhere near prime condition. It is a disgrace to think that it couldn't be ready for this. It made it very difficult for the players last Sunday. We had players putting Vaseline on their knees because if they fell on that pitch they were going to be badly scraped. You couldn't take a lineball without moving out a few feet and I would hate to think this game would be ruined by the state of the pitch, especially considering this game was fixed last November.

Whatever pressure is on this game will probably affect Tipperary a little more. Clare have tunnel vision at this level now and will make it very difficult for Tipperary to win. They are still top of the pile at the moment, the team to beat in this championship, but there is every reason to think this will be a great match.

(In an interview with Ian O'Riordan).