Bound to be a pleasant afternoon out should the weather hold up and there's every prospect that the fare will prove more engaging than that seen to date down south. If it does, no doubt at least one eejit will be heard proclaiming "Munster hurling me arse!" afterwards. Zzzzz.

Offaly are middleweights boxing in the heavyweight division, albeit not pitched in against one of the real beasts of the ring here. They're neat and sprightly, eager and willing.

They'll move the ball quickly and deliver it at pleasing angles. What they won't do is dig out tons of messy possession up front and nurture it. Two members of the half-forward line were substituted in the second half of the National League quarter-final against Tipperary, where the task of winning enough of their own ball was Offaly's only real problem . . .but an insuperable one.

The onus on Gary Hanniffy to at least comprise the sum of his parts. Alongside him, Dylan Hayden has the intelligence and wristwork to act as a creative force, quite possibly while chipping in with a score or two himself. But Brendan Murphy's decision-making cannot be as markedly off-register as it was for UCD in the Leinster club final.

Though the absence of Des Mythen is worth two or three points to Offaly, Stephen Doyle has a nice directness and Rory McCarthy's ball-carrying ability will turn the enemy half-back line more than once. This is the kind of game in which Mitch Jordan is always good for a couple of points besides.

While the pattern of the rivalry suggests it's Offaly's turn, the suspicion here is that Wexford have enough in the way of experience and physicality to negotiate their passage.

Verdict Wexford

OFFALY B Mullins; B Teehan, P Cleary, D Franks; K Brady, R Hanniffy, G Oakley; G Hanniffy, D Hayden; M Cordial, M O'Hara, B Murphy (c); B Carroll, J Bergin, A Hanrahan

WEXFORD D Fitzhenry; M Travers, D O'Connor, K Rossiter (c); R Kehoe, D Ruth, D Lyng; T Mahon, D Stamp; M Jacob, E Quigley, R McCarthy; S Doyle, M Jordan, R Jacob