BLUE & BOLD

Treaty boss knows he will be taken to school by pupils in Tipp if champions fall

- PAT NOLAN

JOHN KIELY will hope that he'll have seen the last of the Tipperary jersey for a while come Sunday evening.

Because if pupils are reporting for school in Abbey CBS in Tipperary town, where he is principal, on Monday morning sporting the blue and gold, it can only mean that his Limerick side have been beaten the day before.

And, depending on the result earlier in the day in Ennis, where Clare play Cork, that could mean outright elimination for the threein-a-row champions with a game to spare, something that would make the ribbing even more acute.

"The boys in the school are very capable of having a cut!" smiles Kiely. "It's very good-natured. It's great fun and a great occasion.

"It hasn't always been that the fixture has fallen within the school year. This year it does, which is great and I am sure there will be huge excitement around it.