Clubs are under immense pressure at the moment due to the lack of available weekends. Holding the quarter-finals within the space of 24 hours does at least free up a welcome weekend for them. It might be helpful to fix the dates and venues for next year's quarter-finals as soon as the championship draw is made this autumn. That done, everyone . . . counties, clubs, players and supporters . . . would know the score well in advance.

The meeting of Tipperary and Waterford in the feature event at Croke Park this afternoon has the potential to be one of the games of the year. For those who still yearn for a knockout championship as of old, today you get your wish.

But answer this: is the fixture's attractiveness added to or taken from by the knowledge that the sides have met already in the championship? The answer in a minute.

Waterford were short key personnel when the sides met in the Munster semifinal at Pairc Ui Chaoimh last month and for a long way it showed. They asked young Denis Coffey to mark the most dangerous player in the country, a ploy that misfired. They drove wide after wide, particularly in the first half. Paul Flynn was way off-beam with his shooting. Tipp coasted through the first half.

Then Waterford rejigged their formation, moving Ken McGrath to midfield and James Murray to centre-back. Suddenly they were on fire. Soon the gap was down to two points. Enter Lar Corbett to find the net with his first touch and push the pendulum back Tipperary's way.

One aside: the winners were captained by Redser O'Grady. Another aside:

Waterford didn't have Eoin Kelly (right).

Now Kelly is back and Redser is gone.

Waterford will be attempting to put an end to their losing sequence in Croke Park. Tipp will be attempting to dispel the asterisks surrounding their win in the Munster semi-final. The anticipation factor is, to respond to my own question, immeasurably heightened by the very fact that this is a rematch. There's so much to think about, talk about and look forward to.

Clearly Waterford will be a very different proposition to the Waterford of 4 June and will have taken great heart from their victory against Galway. But they shouldn't forget that Tipperary showed significant improvement for the Munster final and will be further strengthened by the inclusion of Lar Corbett from the start and the exclusion of Redser, who was completely at sea against Ronan Curran at Semple Stadium. Francis Devanney has to be an improvement in this area, even if he may lack match fitness. It's hard to understand how Seamus Butler is not featuring in the Tipperary forward line.

The Tipp full-forward line was dangerous against a very good Cork fullback line in the early stages of the Munster final. When the supply of ball dried up, so did they. I'll just about chance the Waterford full-back line to hold them and consequently Justin McCarthy's team to reach the semi-final, even in the absence of the talismanic Flynn.

Clare versus Wexford is a repeat of a game that was one of the major disappointments of the 2005 championship, Clare doing as they wished to win by 120 to 0-12. What was immensely disappointing from a Wexford point of view was the realisation that they'd previously pushed Kilkenny to three points in an excellent Leinster final and had had sufficient time to recover between games, unlike in 2002 when they met Clare seven days after losing a Leinster final they could have won. Clare handed out a trimming that evening too. Two quarter-finals against Clare and Wexford have been on the receiving end of a hammering both times.

Lack of size has been a serious problem for Wexford over the last number of years, strangely for a county that made its breakthrough by producing one of the biggest teams that ever graced a hurling field. But you must play the hand you're dealt and Wexford must play a game that both suits their team and takes account of the strengths of the opposition. The big and strong Darragh Ryan makes a welcome return. But strength is the key word here; this is a big, strong Clare team, as Wexford found to their cost 12 months ago. Hitting high balls into the opposition back-line and hoping they'll work out is a no-no, even if the size and ball-winning skills of Richie Kehoe, switched from defence to attack, is a help.

Wexford must come with a plan that the players . . . all the players . . . stick to for 70 minutes.

This didn't happen in the Leinster final. Some players seemed bent on playing their own game, a recipe for disaster.

Michael Jacob was excellent when he came on at half-time and hit 1-4 from play, the highest score I can recall from him in a big match. Clearly his motivation was to show the selectors he shouldn't have been dropped. Wrong target; Jacob should be aiming to score like that for Wexford, and for himself, every day. This kind of singlemindedness is what sets the great forwards apart. Wexford need good forwards. Today Jacob and his colleagues have a welcome chance to prove themselves again. These chances will eventually dry up.

They must use the full width of Croke Park, must avoid bunching and must move the ball at speed all day long. Clare have the strength, Wexford the speed.

Who has the will? On all known form, Clare. Still, the time has come for Wexford to make a stand. They owe it to themselves.

Commiserations to Westmeath and Seamus Qualter on their relegation.

They were wonderful in so many ways and the McCarthy Cup will be a poorer place without them next year. Expect Antrim and Down to win their respective Christy Ring Cup semi-finals today against Kildare and Carlow, two counties who've nevertheless been putting considerable work into their hurling. Long may they continue to.