DEREK Lyng has made two changes from his Kilkenny team that defeated Galway in the Leinster hurling final.
Eoin Cody returns to the side to face Tipperary having been out with a leg injury since Kilkenny’s Leinster round two 2-30 to 2-12 win against Antrim.
The Shamrocks Ballyhale forward scored 1-13 on the day and with the last act of the game he got a goal from a free.
The other change from the Leinster final win comes at the opposite end of the field with corner-back Shane Murphy replacing Tommy Walsh who drops to the bench.
The Glenmore man makes his first championship start since the Leinster round one clash with Galway.
Murphy was absent from all matchday squads following the game and only reappeared on the bench when they met the Tribesmen again in Croke Park.
There is also some movement within the starting 15 from the last day out with Martin Keoghan having to switch wings to accommodate Cody.
The half-forward line has also been reshaped with captain John Donnelly moving into the centre-forward position from wing-forward with Adrian Mullen going the other way.
The Cats will be without 21-year-old Harry Shine – who made his competitive debut against Wexford in the league this year – for Sunday’s crunch clash as he’s suffered a season-ending cruciate ligament injury.
Stephen Donnelly replaces the injured Shine on the bench while Billy Drennan takes the place of Marty Murphy in the matchday squad.
Tipperary remain unchanged from the team that cruised past Galway in the quarter-final.
Peter McGarry keeps his place in midfield from the his first championship start for Tipperary two weeks ago.
The St. Mary’s man only made his senior debut off the bench against Laois in the preliminary quarter-final a week previous.
KILKENNY: E Murphy; M Butler, H Lawlor, S Murphy; M Carey, R Reid, P Deegan; C Kenny, J Molloy; A Mullen, J Donnelly (C), B Ryan; M Keoghan, T Reid, E Cody.
Substitutes: A Tallis, T Walsh, D Blanchfield, P Moylan, K Doyle, Z Bay Hammond, F MacKessy, S Donnelly, L Hogan, L Connellan, B Drennan.
TIPPERARY: R Shelly; R Doyle, E Connolly, M Breen; C Morgan, R Maher(C), B O’Mara; W Connors, P McGarry; J Morris, A Ormond, S O’Farrell; D McCarthy, J McGrath, J Forde.
Substitutes: B Hogan, J Caesar, S Kenneally, S Kennedy, B McGrath, N McGrath, O O’Donoghue, J Ryan, C Stakelum, D Stakelum, A Tynan.
