Exactly why the Munster and Leinster hurlers still care so deeply about the Interprovincial Championship is a headscratcher but care they clearly do.
Ten days out from Christmas, on a wet Thursday evening in front of only 592 onlookers at the cavernous Semple Stadium in Thurles, the best hurlers in Ireland put up their dukes and fought out a classic encounter.
Munster ultimately applied the knockout blow, coming from behind and outscoring Leinster by 2-8 to 1-2 in the closing 20 minutes or so to steal the win with the goals coming from David Reidy and Aron Shanagher, of Clare.
Seamus Callanan, Tipperary’s three-in-a-row All-Star, helped himself to seven points and played a key role in securing a 46th title for Munster, a record in the competition that once drew tens of thousands to Croke Park.
Callanan, an All-Ireland winner in September, could easily have considered his as a needless hassle after a long season that ended with his third consecutive nomination for Hurler of the Year.
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Instead, he gave Anthony Daly, the Clare man in charge of Munster, a full commitment and lined out in his accustomed full-forward role.
There were nine Tipperary players in total in the line-up as well as representation from Clare, Limerick and Waterford. TJ Reid, the 2015 Hurler of the Year, lined out for Leinster, scoring 1-5, and played alongside Gerry Keegan, the rising Kildare talent.
That curious equality is perhaps what makes the competition so special for the game’s best players who continue to bust a gut in the tournament despite the lack of any interest from the public or, whisper it quietly, from the GAA itself.
Munster initially hinted at a comfortable evening when they moved four points clear thanks to points from Jamie Barron, Callanan and Diarmuid Byrnes, of Limerick.
But a strong response from Leinster and points from Reid, Shane Dooley, Keegan and Walter Walsh wiped out Munster’s advantage by the 14th minute and tied the game up at 0-6 apiece.
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It set the tempo for a tit-for-tat encounter that was played at a high tempo on a firm pitch.
Back-to-back points from Dan McCormack and another from Reidy put Munster in the clear again but they were outgunned approaching half-time and leaked 1-3 on the spin at one stage.
Reid hit Leinster’s 24th-minute goal and Ciaran Hetherton’s visitors led 1-11 to 0-10 at the interval. They would stretch that lead to five points with 37 minutes on the clock after points from Reid and Walter Walsh.
From there on, however, it was mostly Munster. Alan Cadogan, the livewire Cork forward, came on and scored three points. Reidy slammed in a 43rd-minute goal and Munster were finally back on level terms with eight minutes to go when Cadogan scored the third of his points.
Munster had vital momentum now and moved ahead with a point from Stephen Bennett, another substitute, before Shanagher’s goal in the 58th minute.
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In all, Munster outscored Leinster 1-5 to no score in the last 12 minutes, a rampaging finish that underlined just how much this title still means to them.