So much has been said about the classic that they and Cork served up seven days ago, yet in truth you couldn't say enough about it.

To achieve the standard that both sets of players reached in every aspect of last Sunday's game requires incredible talent and commitment.

Hurling owes an immense debt of gratitude to everyone who made such an epic possible. The skill levels were extraordinary, as was the score-taking, Donal Og Cusack's shot-stopping and the sportsmanship of both sides. That's as it should be.

Credit too to Brian Gavin, who more than played his part throughout.

Someone somewhere has done a tremendous job recently in relation to hurling refereeing. It's improved substantially. Refs are no longer acting as though they're officiating Gaelic football and blowing everything that moves. The men in black are letting the game flow and allowing the advantage.

Hurling has become a better spectacle as a result, but it's important now to strike a balance and not to let players abuse this new leeway.

Another caveat: some players are getting away with throwing the ball onto the ground when they're tackled, running onto it and regaining possession. Referees must be alert to this.

To beat Cork today, Waterford will have to get their balance right too. Big things help to win All Irelands, that's for sure, but ensuring that all the little things are done properly is the only way of guaranteeing it. Cork got most of the little things right last Sunday.

Waterford did not. It stands to reason, therefore, that the latter have more room for improvement.

They could definitely have done better in a couple of key areas, primarily in regard to their shooting. I'm not talking here about their accuracy so much as about their decision-making. This wasn't the first time we saw Waterford blast wides from almost impossible angles and distances in Croke Park.

They hit 13 wides to Cork's seven. That tells its own story. Yes, Waterford's spirit was magnificent, their comeback extraordinary, but it was the last five per cent that let them down.

Switching the forwards around, their favourite ploy, worked well initially and put Cork on the back foot, but in the end it discomfited Waterford themselves.

How else does one explain John Mullane's failure to impose himself after his blistering opening at top of the right, where he was posing Cork all sorts of problems? By the same token, Big Dan scored 1-1 in the same period but was never as big a threat afterwards.

Looking down from the Cusack Stand, Waterford's lack of shape was noticeable in the second half.

So too was the way in which they shot themselves in the foot by bunching and closing down their own space up front.

If there's one thing the Waterford forwards thrive on, it's space and fast ball, as they showed in the second half of the Munster final.

To compound matters, far too much ball flew over the heads of Shanahan and Paul Flynn during the closing stages . . . and Cork's scores came from the puckouts! When the full-forward line were finally supplied with ball it was because there was no alternative;

Waterford had to go short.

They managed their late goal and point because they simply had to. Had Eoin Kelly (right) and Ken McGrath, who was otherwise outstanding, made better use of the sliotar at crucial times, it would never have come to that.

If Waterford wanted to go for points from those late long-range frees, why wasn't Flynn, who's outstanding from placed balls, handed the responsibility after McGrath had missed a couple?

And if they didn't, why not give the forwards the chance to score by keeping the frees in play? Better, surely, than giving cheap puckouts to Cork.

All of that said, it's only fair to remember that the Waterford forwards compiled 3-11 from play. In contrast, the Cork forwards managed 2-5.

But, crucially, the Cork midfield scored 0-2 and their half-back line 0-3. Waterford's urge to keep switching their forwards contributed to the leakage, as players were caught in transit mode. It's bad enough when the opposition midfielders score, so Waterford will have to ensure that the Cork halfbacks . . . particularly Sean Og, who last week enjoyed one of his finest hours for his county - don't get in on the act again today. If the scoring can be confined to both sets of forwards and midfielders, Waterford will win.

Overall Cork did little wrong. Their gameplan, which entailed more long deliveries from out the field than usual, worked and yielded them three goals, with Kieran Murphy proving a real threat to Waterford. Strong and a brave ball-carrier, he's difficult to stop in possession, being solid low to the ground.

His team needed him to be; the Cork half-forward line managed only two points from play. Niall McCarthy, it has to be acknowledged, was a major loss and won't have recovered full fitness in the meantime. Jerry O'Connor, the engine of the team, departed after 57 minutes and was badly missed. Two vital players in two vital areas are hard to replace.

Cork's problems centre on personnel.

Waterford's problems centre on their use of the ball. Consequently a change in gameplan is in order for Justin McCarthy's side. Not a seismic shift, just a few tweaks. Less switching of the forwards, with a view not only to scoring but also to preventing Cork's defenders scoring and creating scoring opportunities for their forwards. Better shot selection. More creation of space up front. An improved supply to Flynn and Mullane. Grasp these nettles and Waterford should advance to a repeat of the Munster final against Limerick.

Kilkenny and Wexford resume acquaintance from the Leinster final in what is quite rightly the curtain-raiser. Playing to an emptying stadium, which might well be the case if the Cork v Waterford match were scheduled first, is not what any manager or team wants.

Wexford improved considerably in numerous departments between the provincial decider and the All Ireland quarter-final. The team selection was wiser, Declan Ruth was far more comfortable at centre-back, Keith Rossiter was outstanding at full-back and midfield worked well until Rory McCarthy's injury. But the forwards failed to sparkle, Barry Lambert and Rory Jacob apart, and Wexford's total of 16 wides was way too big a tally for comfort.

The challengers have to arrive this afternoon with a plan. What's more, they'll have to stick to it come hell or high water . . . for, make no mistake, Kilkenny will give them hell. Wexford's gameplan task today is much bigger than Waterford's is. Remembering '98 . . . 1798 that is . . . will do little.

Remembering the embarrassment of 1 July, not to mention how badly the players felt when they woke up next morning, would be a much more effective course of action.

Wexford know by now how Kilkenny will play. A physical battle is guaranteed, one in which Kilkenny will not take prisoners; under Brian Cody, the aim is to try and wipe out the enemy as quickly as possible. The All Ireland champions will seek to choke space at their end of the field and open Wexford up at the other end. How John Meyler's troops respond will be a test not only of their resolve but also of their intelligence.

They should be glad of the opportunity to purge the demons of five weeks ago.

Wexford's glass is already half-full.

Not letting it spill again is the task for them here. Realistically if they wind up close to the champions, Meyler's first season will be seen as the county's most successful for many years.

The Christy Ring Cup final sees Westmeath, the inaugural champions in 2005, take on a Kildare team that have been making big strides in recent years.

The ever-enthusiastic Seamus Qualter has done an excellent job with Westmeath, who were promoted to the McCarthy Cup last year. Unfortunately there's no promotion on offer this time.

Qualter has fine players in Darren McCormack at centre-back, John Shaw up front and Andrew Mitchell, who has yet to shine fully this year. Enda Loughlin, the star of the 2005 final, has been carrying an injury but will no doubt make an appearance at some stage. It's good to see Westmeath building for the future and carrying young substitutes like the Price brothers from Clonkill and Niall Kilcoyne, son of the former All Star David.

Kildare are backboned by Tipperary's 2001 All Ireland-winning centre-back David Kennedy and Paddy O'Brien, a panel colleague of Kennedy's that year.

Having former regulars from major counties throw in their lot with the lesser lights is a progressive step and a development the HDC hoped would occur when they established the Ring and Rackard Cups. David Harney, an excellent stickman, and Paudie Reidy, one of the most committed hurlers in the country, play their club hurling with Buffer's Alley in Wexford. Billy White, Kildare's freetaker, starred in their semi-final win against Meath. Credit too to manager Ben Dorney.

It's good that the game is taking place in Croke Park rather than being moved to a lesser venue because of Cork and Waterford. Well done to RTE also for showing the game live. Westmeath have the form and the experience and must be fancied.