Once upon a time the only show in town of an All-Ireland hurling final weekend was the All-Ireland final weekend. This weekend it has to share some of the limelight with Ireland versus England in rugby in Twickenham and the small matter of the All-Ireland football semi-final replay in Croke Park on Saturday night.

Where to begin? The small ball of course. Sunday at half three I’ll be high up in the Hogan, one of the lucky 82,500 people privileged to see the latest instalment of the greatest game that can be played. And what a game we have in store. The case for both is strong: do you like the most improved team this year or do you like the greatest team to ever play the game? OK, maybe not so strong for the Tribesmen. They are, after all, facing the might of everything: history, hurling’s best players and the most successful manager there ever will be.

How good is Brian Cody? Remember the referee named Barry Kelly? He was in charge of the Tipp-Galway classic semi-final three weeks ago. Cody had some very unkind words to say about him in the aftermath of an All-Ireland that Kilkenny didn’t lose last year and the Cats haven’t seen Kelly with a whistle since, apart from on television. We’d all like a manager like that. Good luck to referee James Owen on Sunday; I suspect he’ll be fine – he lets it flow with common sense, like all good refs.

For Galway, like Tipperary 12 months ago, the opportunity arises to drive the final nail in the coffin of this remarkable Kilkenny team. Are Galway the team to call time on Cody?

We’ve been here before. Three short years ago Galway had a similar profile going into this final, except they had the form of that year’s Leinster final behind them, when they fairly hammered Kilkenny. It took a replay but as usual Brian Cody and his men were still standing.

What’s different this time? For starters, Kilkenny do not carry the same greatness on the field, shorn as they are of two key men from those games: Henry Shefflin and JJ Delaney. TJ Reid and Richie Hogan are filling the Shefflin void, the JJ one, however, we’re not so sure. Without a doubt Kilkenny do not carry the same squad depth. Cody unleashed Walter Walsh back in 2012. It appears the well isn’t flowing as strong as back then, not if all the speculation about Richie Power’s involvement is correct. He hasn’t played a championship minute and will probably be at least named to the bench.

This is a sign that Kilkenny might lack the subs needed to close out such a contest, because Sunday will be ferocious. Physicality and intensity are key to matching Kilkenny and Galway know this, having done so in 2001 and 2005, the Leinster final of 2012, and the drawn All-Ireland final of that year too. It helps to know what you are up against and Anthony Cunningham is under no illusions as to what it will take this Sunday. And that is the best they have to give.

That’s the greatest compliment that Kilkenny can ever be paid. In beating them at this stage, Tipperary had to play a game for the ages in 2010. Galway must find the same.

In their favour they have form, confidence and Sunday will be their seventh game of the summer. Crucially, they have shown improvement from game to game, yet still have left a bit to work on. Joe Canning is top of that list. He is due to explode into the championship and the greats do so on the biggest of stages. If Galway are to win, Joe will be man of the match.

Defensively, the alarm bells that rang in the semi-final every time the ball went near Seamus Callanan have been clanging at every Galway session since. They will surely have a plan for TJ Reid at full-forward, where he tends to start most games, and the trendy phrase of the summer, the sweeper, has to be part of it.

It will surprise no one if there is one in front of the full-back line and at times behind it. TJ and Richie will be man-marked – easier said than done, but it must be attempted regardless. Dáithí Burke and Joseph Cooney are likely candidates. Therein lies the Liam McCarthy. If one or more are successful in negating either or both of the dynamic duo, Galway win.

On Cody’s side, he is comfortable with his troops. His substitute bench might concern him but that’s a secondary worry in Kilkenny. Their over-reliance on Batman and Richie hasn’t hurt them yet and he knows a few players like Walsh, Colin Fennelly, Eoin Larkin and John Power could fill a scoring void if one develops.

If we think there is a line of weakness in this Kilkenny team, it is allegedly their full-back line. Allegedly, because it has yet to be proved. Should Murphy, Holden and Prendergast end up marking just two forwards, then that will probably remain the case. If I was Galway manager Anthony Cunningham, I’d be leaving three on three close to goal and borrowing the sweeper from elsewhere, dangerous as that might sound. Galway’s inside line have pace and power enough to win ball, even more so if Johnny Glynn is sited there for a while. They can make hay here. Enough to win the game? Yes, I believe so.

There are ifs and there are buts – it wouldn’t be an All-Ireland hurling final without them. Ignore all pretenders, this is the only show in town.

RUGBY world cup

Ireland’s result against England in Twickenham this Saturday doesn’t unduly matter. Coming through unscathed does. After that if we have some good periods during both halves then that will do, we fold up our tent and officially go into World Cup mode. We are on the cusp of something special. This Saturday is a means to an end. Don’t expect too much entertainment or fireworks – they’ll all be in Croke Park Saturday evening for the football replay.

DUBIN v MAYO

The drawn match, or more to the point, Dublin’s attitude in the drawn match, puzzled me. It bore all the hallmarks of a team that had been spoken to ad nauseum the week before about not being bullied. It caused them to retreat from their strengths and play to their darker angels.

They almost paid the ultimate price, but I make them marginal favourites now for the second act. They still score far more freely than Mayo and over two days that will count the most. I dislike that hunch, but it can’t be ignored.

The ideal 24 hours in Croker is all the spoils travelling west back across the Shannon, although we’d probably take just one. Mayo can take heart from the final 10 minutes last Sunday but it begs a question about the over-analysed tactics that define football today. With nothing to lose, Mayo threw caution to the wind and what happened? They scored 1-4 without reply and really could have had more and won the match.

Take off the straitjacket lads and see where it takes you. CL