Tipp aim to edge closer to being the first winner of John Doyle Cup

By Shane Brophy

Tipperary can take a giant step towards qualifying for the Munster Minor Hurling Final when they take on Clare this Thursday evening in a round 4 clash.

In what is a clash of the unbeatens, the winner will likely take their place in the final, particularly

Tipperary as they would have head-to-head victories over Clare and Cork who appear the likely sides to make the knockout stage with the team that finishes top qualifying straight to the final with the second and third placed teams playing a semi-final.

After a hectic opening week with back-to-back wins over Cork and Waterford,

Tipp manager James Woodlock welcomed the three-week break as his side were on the bye in round as they refresh for what will be a hectic schedule of at least three games in as many weeks, four if they have to go through a provincial semi-final.

Clare have been impressive so far with home wins over

Waterford and Limerick arguably they have played the two weakest teams so far and we will find out a lot more about them in Thurles this week.

The Tipperary minor team to face Clare has three changes from the starting fifteen that defeated Waterford with David Ryan coming into the defence and Tiarnan Ryan getting a start at midfield.