Kilkenny v Tipperary, Nowlan Park, 2.30pm

Sunday, February 26
Allianz Hurling League Division 1A
Kilkenny v Tipperary, Nowlan Park, 2.30pm

If Waterford’s meeting with Cork jumps off the fixtures page on Saturday night, then there’s no doubt where top billing goes on Sunday afternoon, with Kilkenny and Tipperary reprising the greatest rivalry in modern day hurling at Nowlan Park, Kilkenny.

The magnitude of the rivalry is highlighted by the fact that these sides have contested the last three All-Ireland finals, with Waterford’s appearance in the 2008 decider against Kilkenny the last time a team outside the ‘big two’ has not featured on the first Sunday in September.

Their dominance of the Allianz Hurling League, however, has not been as significant, with the Cats’ victory over Tipperary in the 2009 final after extra-time in Thurles the last time either of the two has held the title. Still, Tipperary are the most successful county in the history of the competition with 20 titles, while Kilkenny are in joint second place with Cork on 14, with five of those wins coming in the last decade alone.

For those looking for early season signposts as to who might push on to even greater glory next September, it is interesting to note that the winner of the last three All-Ireland finals had also won the League encounter earlier in the year.

This is the 62nd league meeting between the two counties with Tipperary leading 29-26 while six games have been drawn. Their last meeting in Nowlan Park was the group game in 2009, which Kilkenny won comprehensively, by 5-17 to 1-12.

"It rumbles on, I suppose," said Kilkenny defender Jackie Tyrrell of the rivalry this week. "When the league fixtures were made [last year] and we had Tipperary in the first round we couldn’t wait to get at them. They are proud hurling men down there and they are hurt after last year and will be thinking exactly the same way. They probably have a few scores to settle.

"This time last year we were sitting here, they were All-Ireland champions, and we were going up to them. We couldn’t wait to get a crack at them and I’m sure they are [the same]."

The sides had the honour of launching last year’s competition in Thurles, where Kilkenny enjoyed a 1-17 to 1-10 victory thanks largely to Richie Hogan’s haul of 0-10. It was early revenge for their defeat to Tipp in the All-Ireland final the previous September.

Kilkenny went on to reach the Allianz League final but were beaten by Dublin, prompting suggestions that arguably the greatest hurling side of all time were a fading force. The Cats made a mockery of that, of course, by coming back as strongly as ever to win back the Liam MacCarthy Cup.

There is now, more than at any stage in the recent past, a sense that Kilkenny are going through a period of transition after the retirement of a number of high-profile players in the off season. PJ Ryan, Eddie Brennan, Michael Kavanagh (all holders of eight Celtic Crosses), John Dalton and James Fitzpatrick have called time on their inter-county careers, leaving manager Brian Cody with plenty of holes to fill ahead of the new campaign.

On paper they seem like devastating losses, but none of the quintet was a regular starter in 2011, although Brennan did make a massive impact when recalled to the side for the final.

Tipperary, of course, have had their own massive loss to absorb, with Lar Corbett withdrawing from the squad due to work commitments. With Patrick Maher and Seamus Callanan ruled out through injury, manager Declan Ryan is missing three of the forward sextet that started last year’s All-Ireland final.

Kilkenny manager Brian Cody will be quietly satisfied with the pre-season his side has put down. The Walsh Cup was claimed with a 2-20 to 2-20 to 1-14 victory over Galway, while 13 of his squad were involved in Leinster’s M. Donnelly Interprovincial semi-final win over Munster at Nowlan Park last Sunday.

It’s a game that all hurling fans are looking forward to after a long winter and Nowlan Park is sure to be throbbing for a fixture that has a habit of throwing up classics and giving telling indications as to how things might pan out later in the year.