IT COULD BE a red, or blue, letter day for Thurles Sarsfields on Sunday.
The reigning Tipperary hurling champions put their title on the line in the Premier County showpiece against Nenagh Éire Óg at Semple Stadium but the club could have already have secured silverware before the senior game gets underway.
The Sars intermediates will take on Clonakenny in the intermediate curtain-raiser and both of the club teams in action are guided by Tommy Maher and his backroom team.
Maher and co. face a tricky juggling act as they have been conscious not to unload their senior bench in recent games.
If a senior panellist lines out at senior level, that leaves him ineligible for the intermediate grade and in the county semi-final victory over Kilruane MacDonaghs, Maher brought off and on young guns Billy McCarthy and Conor Lanigan, thereby ensuring that other fringe players would remain eligible for the intermediate grade.
A Sars victory in the intermediate final would be a blessing in disguise of sorts for Tipperary county board chiefs, who are anxious to trim the number of senior clubs operating in the county.
Opponents Clonakenny will gain senior status if they win the intermediate decider but a Sars win would ensure that no team is promoted to the senior ranks.
