Dónal Óg Cusack's Hurling Nation: Two finals, different stakes

After the mad rush of the last few weeks of microwave hurling, we've some clarity this weekend.

A pair of provincial finals set for Sunday afternoon. Both titles will have the same value and enter the winners' names into the history books, but right now they feel very different to each other.

Munster is a battle. Leinster is a game.

For both Limerick and Clare, it's fair to say that victory in their latest border skirmish will represent more than the cup that goes with it.

A win on Sunday for either team is a statement. Clare's that they have really arrived and Limerick's that they're still standing.

In Leinster, Kilkenny and Galway have different priorities. A win would be welcomed by either side but after a gentle Leinster Championship, Derek Lyng and Henry Shefflin will wonder if their teams are prepared for what's coming beyond this Sunday.

For weeks the focus has been on the weekly thrillers down south. Meanwhile, Leinster has unravelled for Galway and Kilkenny as most thought it would.

The Gaelic Grounds in Ennis get the action going on Sunday.

Last weekend, Clare minors won their first All-Ireland since 1997, with the sons of some of the great names from the 90s playing.

It was 1998 when some of those fathers were at their peak when Clare last won Munster. The other Munster powerhouses have each won at least four provincial titles since then.

The hunger will be there, but so will the expectations of the Banner.

Clare have strung together a rare sequence of excellent performances. The county is on a high but they now meet what will feel like a wounded Limerick.

The champions handle these occasions well because they've handled so many of them.

Clare may need the validation that a title brings more than Limerick do, but within