IF IT'S FUN, KILKENNY HAVE IT WON Ring used to say fiKilkenny won all the classicsfi and he was right. They shaded 1907, 3-12 to 4-8. And the famous 1939 Thunder and Lightning final. And 1947, which the losing side's Con Murphy described as an "exceptional" game. And 1972's 3-24 to 5-11 shoot-out in which Cork gave what Eddie Keher believes was the best performance ever from a losing side. Take it Ring would have loved '99 and '04. Ugly and Cork's.

IF IT'S CLOSE, KILKENNY BY A NOSE; IF IT AIN'T, CORK HAVE 'EM BATE If Ring would have loved '99, Jack Lynch would have been amazed by it.

Kilkenny didn't win fiby the usual pointfi'; Cork did. It bucked tradition.

Four of Kilkenny's first six wins over Cork were by that margin. Only twice have they beaten Cork by double figures. Cork, on the other hand, have won five finals against the Cats by 10 points or more, and two years ago won by eight. Indeed, only one of their nine wins has been by less than four points . . . '99.

HEY, WE'RE ON TV! HEAD TO THE HILL Maybe for the second straight week, we're going to have teams being all territorial down by Hill 16. Would you believe that in eight out of the 10 Cork-Kilkenny finals in the television age (that is since '66) have been won by the team attacking the Hill in the second half . . . just like Mayo last week. The two exceptions were '83 and 2004.

WANT TO BE TOP DOGS?

FIRST BE UNDERDOGS Another bad omen for Cork. They were roaring favourites after strolling through Munster in '72, '82 and '92.

You know what happened next. Just as you know what happened to Kilkenny in '66 and '99.

WHAT YEAR IS IT?

Advantage Cork here. While Kilkenny have a thing for years ending in 2 . . .

1912, '22, '32, '72, '82, '92 and '02 . . .

they've never won the title in a year ending 6. Cork though have won it in '26, '46, '66 (all against Kilkenny) and '86.

WIN THE SECOND HALF, WIN THE CUP Only three times in the previous 21 deciding Cork-Cats games has the side which scored the most after half-time ending up losing the game.

In fact, only once in the last 25 years has the side who won the second half failed to win Liam McCarthy.

Interestingly, since the 2004 Munster final, Cork have been ahead at halftime in only six of their 13 championship games, but they've won 11 of those second halves.

FRESHNESS BEFORE FITNESS Con Murphy still talks of how Cork were told the Wednesday before the 1946 final to put away their hurleys until the day of the game; Cork's appetite duly showed. It was the same in 1966 when Kilkenny overtrained. Kilkenny learned their lesson. In 1972 they scored 2-9 without reply in the last quarter. Later Cats' coach Fr Tommy Maher told Justin McCarthy, "Ye left yer fitness in the Park; we kept ours for Croke Park." McCarthy maintained Cork over-trained in 1982 as well when he was a selector, and John Power would accuse Brian Cody of the same crime in the run up to 2004.

IF CORK ARE GOING FOR THREE, THEN LET IT BE ON 3 SEPTEMBER Today's final is the 11th hurling All Ireland played on 3 September. And of those, three of them were CorkKilkenny. And though Kilkenny have won two of them . . . 1939 and 1972 . . .

the one Cork won was '78.

MAKE SURE TO SHUT DOWN THEIR MAIN MAN In '82 and '83 JBM came into the final looking like Player of the Year and was held scoreless. Ditto DJ in '99. Joe Deane was The Man going into the '03 final and was held to a point, likewise King Henry before he came up against Sean Og in '04. We know it's nearly impossible to fathom after Henry's 1-13 the last day, but history tells us he can be held . . . and that if he is, his team will lose.

BEWARE HALF-TIME Finals between these two tend to hinge on the two minutes either side of half-time. Jim Kelly established the tradition in the 1905 final.

Kilkenny were seven down before his late first-half goal; then he scored another 5-2 in the second half.

Coming up to half-time in the 1931 second replay, the sides were level before Cork hit two quick goals before the break. Ring's famous goal in '46 came on the stroke of half-time while Keher maintains the turning point in 1969 was Martin Brennan's goal at the end of the first half.

In '92 there was DJ's penalty and John Power's kicked goal either side of half-time. The Kilkenny selectors were considering taking off Christy Heffernan at half-time in '82 until his two quick goals before the interval.

The following year's final hinged on Ritchie Power's goal seconds after the resumption. And the last time these sides met this tradition was upheld, as possibly the game's pivotal score was Brian Corcoran's point in the 33rd minute, Cork's first score from play that day. The lesson is clear . . . think of the game, not your tea, either side of half-time.

HE WHO SCORES MOST, WINS A no-brainer says you, but hear us out. If goals were worth only a point, you'd have had only one different outcome in the 23 previous finals between these two . . . the 1912 clash when Kilkenny's three scores (2-1) were worth more than Cork's four (1-3).

BETCHA DIDN'T KNOW THIS NOW Last week's answer The three members of the current Cork team that have started all of their last 16 championship games in the same position are Donal Og Cusack, Diarmuid O'Sullivan and Ronan Curran.

The four players on the Cork 1970s three-in-a-row team that played in the same position for every game are Martin Coleman, Denis Coughlan, Charlie McCarthy and Ray Cummins.

TOP 20 SCORERS IN ALL IRELAND HURLING FINALS Total Player County Finals Score Average 95Eddie Keher Kilkenny 10 7-74 9.50 46 Jimmy Doyle Tipperary 9 1-43 5.11 45 Christy Ring Cork 10 3-36 4.50 44 Charlie McCarthy Cork 7 3-35 6.28 44 DJ Carey Kilkenny 9 4-32 4.88 32 Henry Sheffiin Kilkenny 5 2-26 6.40 28 Nicky Rackard Wexford 4 5-13 7.00 26 Dave Clohosey Limerick 4 8-2 6.50 26 Donie Nealon Tipperary 8 6-8 3.25 25 Liam O'Brien Kilkenny 5 1-22 5.00 25 Joe Cooney Galway 6 1-22 4.16 25 Jimmy Langton Kilkenny 7 0-25 3.57 24 Nicky English Tipperary 3 2-18 8.00 23 PJ Molloy Galway 7 3-14 3.28 22 Billy Fitzpatrick Kilkenny 6 1-19 3.66 22 Padge Kehoe Wexford 6 2-16 3.66 21 Seanie O'Leary Cork 7 5-6 3.00 20 Tom Walsh Kilkenny 4 5-5 5.00 20 Johnny Dooley Offaly 4 1-17 5.00 20 Kevin Hennessy Cork 6 4-8 3.33