Assuming that both counties go on to overcome Offaly later in the qualifiers, an eventuality that shouldn't necessarily be taken for granted, the winners here will avoid the two provincial champions . . . let us say Cork and Kilkenny . . .in the quarter-finals. So Clare or Limerick could end up meeting, for instance, Tipperary in late July. That would be a huge carrot for both of them, particularly for Limerick, who would be only too glad of the opportunity to redeem themselves following their first-round exit in Munster. And if they didn't pull Tipp out of the hat, today's winners almost certainly pull Wexford: another large carrot, if for different reasons.

Beat the neighbours here, top the group, get a winnable All Ireland quarter-final and thus have every chance of entering an All Ireland semi-final with fresh momentum and a tail wind.

To repeat, high stakes indeed.

It's strange . . . or perhaps it's not so strange . . . how we so-called experts can get it wrong. A majority of previewers opted for Limerick to beat Tipp. A majority of previewers opted for Clare to beat Cork. Oh dear. To make matters worse, neither Limerick nor Clare ever looked like winning once the opening 10 or 15 minutes had elapsed.

It simply didn't happen for Limerick against Tipperary and look what defeat landed them with. A trip to Ennis to take on a bruised and wounded Clare in their own backyard. It's not the type of outing you'd look forward to on a sunny Sunday afternoon in June, especially not with Clare aware that they owe themselves as well as their supporters a big performance after yet another disappointing provincial campaign.

The gods of winter and spring smiled on Limerick. The gods of summer have not. The easiest explanation for their failure versus Tipp was that the pressure got to them. Remember, this was the first time in years that Limerick had entered an important game as favourites. They bore an unaccustomed weight of expectation. Yet there was more to their defeat than that.

Joe McKenna's players were flatter than 15 pancakes. They looked tired, as though the National League had taken its toll on them. Midfield collapsed.

Conor Fitzgerald was a disappointment after his fine showing in the league final. Most of the others similarly failed to click. At least the chains are off today.

Limerick may express themselves more freely as a result.

Clare were in trouble in every sector of the field against Cork. Brian Lohan, Seanie McMahon and Colin Lynch all struggled, though to be fair to Lohan he didn't do badly on Brian Corcoran.

McMahon found it difficult to clear the ball; Lynch resembled a man whose legs have been caught by Father Time.

I won't be surprised if Lynch plays well this afternoon, for Cusack Park is not Semple Stadium. Ominously for Clare, neither is it Croke Park.

A much more pressing problem for Anthony Daly, however, is his forwards. Size is important up front, but so is agility; Clare have one but not the other. Diarmuid McMahon, of whom so much had been expected, never raised a gallop against Cork. Barry Nugent disappeared after a bright start and was substituted. Alan Markham and Niall Gilligan had little to offer.

Jonathan Clancy (right), who did well when replacing Nugent, was one of very few to emerge with his reputation enhanced and may make a name for himself here. All in all, a backlash has to be expected from Clare, who are better than they showed against Cork. I don't see Limerick coping.

We shouldn't forget that there's another qualifier down for decision this afternoon.

For the second weekend in succession, Westmeath welcome high-profile guests to Mullingar. Eight days ago it was the 2005 Leinster champions. Today it's the 2004 Munster champions.

Excellent.

It's amazing, and disappointing, to hear some people, among them Babs Keating, claim that Westmeath, Dublin and Laois shouldn't be allowed compete for the McCarthy Cup. It's not that long since Babs was managing Laois himself.

Such rubbish. Why shouldn't Westmeath be in the mix? To date they've given more to, and got more from, the 2006 championship than any other county. There was a carnival, joyous atmosphere in Mullingar last night week when Kilkenny visited. Henry Shefflin and Brian Cody were besieged by autograph hunters. Children hurled on the pitch at half-time. Over 7,000 spectators turned up, more than for the two Munster football semi-finals combined. Again, excellent.

Full marks to Seamus Qualter, the Westmeath manager, who's been a breath of fresh air. He's spoken positively, embraced the county's new championship experience and willingly accepted the challenges placed in front of him instead of running away from them.

We want . . . or say we want . . . what's good for the game in the weaker counties. I ask you this. If having Kilkenny and Waterford come to town is not good for hurling in Westmeath, and by extension for hurling itself, what is?