THE wind is howling outside like some ravenous, rabid wolf with the rain pelting manically off the window panes as ' Final Whistle' sits down to type this week's musings. Yours truly has just rushed through the door with head bowed to escape the harshness of the bitter wind, the unforgiving rain and the swirling falling autumnal leaves that dance around the face like angry butterflies.

As winter shows its gnarly teeth, warning us of the dark, dank evenings that lie ahead, ' Final Whistle' is relieved to have escaped its cruel clutches to enjoy the warmth of the sitting room with the seductive promise of a warm duvet to curl up under - a world away from the wintry wailings outside the homestead.

That must have been exactly how the shellshocked Kilkenny players felt as they were hit with a Tipperary tornado on Sunday afternoon. Every time they looked like finding some shelter from the Premier County whirlwind and fought their way back, the Munster men summoned up another seismic storm and eventually well and truly blew the Kilkenny house down.

The passion and will to win of the Tipperary players was truly remarkable - they fought for every ball as if their lives depended on it and Kilkenny just couldn't match their insatiable hunger.

All the talk in the build-up to Sunday's All-Ireland final was Kilkenny's bid to win five-in-a-row, but whatever regal place in hurling history was at stake, there's no doubting that a team going for their first title in almost a decade would have greater hunger that one hoping to continue rattling off a succession of wins.

The real question Tipperary had to answer was, could they match Kilkenny's supreme skill and physicality? They more than matched their illustrious foes.

Although we've just witnessed one of the greatest hurling teams of all time fall just short of immortality, in the cold light of day all but the most blinkered of Kilkenny supporters would have to admit that Sunday's result is good for the game.

Although the Cats have been a joy to watch over the past half a decade, their total dominance has taken some of the excitement out of the championship. In particular the drubbing they handed out to Waterford a couple of years back, for all their hurling artistry, made for torturous viewing for fans of the Déise and neutrals alike.

However, Tipperary have now shown that it's possible to get up to the level of Kilkenny - it's now up to the other hurling counties to knuckle down and follow suit.

The likes of Wexford, Clare, Offaly, Dublin and Limerick have a hell of a long way to go to bridge the gap, and while Waterford, Cork and Galway may be another rung or two up the ladder they're still light years behind the bar that has been set by Kilkenny, that Tipperary have now clambered up to.

Of course Kilkenny will be back hungrier than ever next year and will still be the team to beat.

For now, though, Tipperary can enjoy their celebrations as All-Ireland champions, and for the rest it's good that the bitter breeze blowing outside is a wind of change in the hurling hierarchy.

- Dave DEVEREUX