Cork's Ethan Twomey wary of rejuvenated Offaly

Cork midfielder Ethan Twomey is taking nothing for granted as the Rebels head to Tullamore this evening to face an Offaly side rejuvenated by eight days of glory.

The Faithful County celebrated wildly as their heavily-backed Under-20 side took All-Ireland honours at the start of this month and their seniors followed it up just over a week later by claiming the Joe McDonagh Cup at the expense of Laois.

Reaching the final of the latter secured an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final spot and it's not always been the kindest of rewards for Joe McDonagh teams, but the St Finbarr’s youngster is cautious about the challenge of a county that has really puffed its chest out.

"You can see the last few weeks, they won the Joe McDonagh against Laois, a great game of hurling. They have some unbelievable forwards, very fast, very skilful," Twomey told RTÉ Sport’s Marty Morrissey.

"The U20s then, they’re unbelievable. They’ve been coming for the last three or four years really. Excellent pace, excellent skill.

"It’ll be a massive challenge Saturday night. Home crowd, Offaly will have an advantage there. They're going to bring a massive crowd. There’s a football game [Cork v Tyrone] on as well before so Tullamore will be packed."

The Rebels are overwhelming favourites to set up a quarter-final date with Dublin as their own resurgence continues.

Munster defeats to Waterford and Clare had left their season on the brink of disaster, but a stirring win over Limerick, when Páirc Uí Chaoimh’s foundations were shook by a red wall on the terraces, and a 4-30 tally against Tipp not only kept them alive, but marked them down as genuine Liam MacCarthy Cup contenders.

"The first game against Waterford didn’t go to plan, we lost the first two games