Version of Cork been hiding?

But it was a combination of things. Byrnes’ free-taking, so often their lifesaver, is a bit off. Look at the personnel they lost too. Is Fergal O’Connor like for like with Seán Finn? Absolutely not.

They weren’t firing for much of the game but like the great champions they are, when the opportunity arose, they piled through the door.

When Limerick are chasing games, they often get the last couple of scores before half-time but this time Cork got them, which made it an eight-point deficit instead of six.

Limerick dropped back in the second half, as they’d done against Clare, and it gave them a foothold. But Cork refused to lie down. Even when it looked like they’d slipped up, they found something.

There were going to be huge questions asked of Cork, particularly the management, if they lost. For me, a questionable call was taking off Eoin Downey after his yellow card.

It unsettled the defence and I think you have to back your player in that spot. If he has another foul, call him ashore, but it was a touch premature.

Cork also handed Limerick a get-outof-jail-free card twice with the two goals. You do have to mix up your puck-outs, but when Patrick Collins went short to Seán O’Donoghue, did he not see Gearóid Hegarty on him? Hegarty is not a man you go through easily.

Still, Cork showed immense resolve to fight back and this result has thrown things wide open.

If Waterford beat Limerick, the champions could go out and, from a competition point of view, it could not be set up any better.

Looking to Leinster, Carlow deserve a round of applause. It’s easy to say they got the benefit of a red card but Kilkenny went seven points up and to not see it out from there, even with 14 men, is poor game management.

But Carlow just kept coming in waves, using their extra man to great advantage. Kilkenny only got a couple of points in the last 15 minutes, which will be a big concern for Derek Lyng.

A draw isn’t the end of the world, but what we’re seeing – once again – is that it’s so hard to call any game with certainty.

As we head down the stretch of the provincial championships, it’s all up for grabs. You can’t ask for more.