A win is a must for some clubs in this weeks Senior Hurling Championship games.

Six games were played in the first round of the JJ Kavanagh & Sons Waterford Senior Hurling Championship last weekend, each ending in outcomes that hardly came as a surprise to many.

The twelve teams are back in action this week in the second round of the league section of the competition and while there is three more rounds to go in the league section of the competition, for a number of teams if they were to loose this weekend it could well prove to be a long summer.

Of the six ties down for decision,  two of the fixtures this weekend see sides that won last weekend square up to each other while two other of the fixtures see sides that failed to win last weekend take on each other.

The County Board have broken with tradition somewhat this weekend. Over the past few years’ games are predominantly played at Fraher Field or Walsh Park but this weekend in addition to the county ground and its secondary ground, games are also set to be played at Cappoquin and Tallow.

Two games are down for decision in Fraher Field.

Reigning Champions De La Salle take on the current Intermediate Champions An Rinn in the opening game at 6pm.

Last weekend, De La Salle for much of the game looked as if they were going to go under to Ballyduff Upper but a late Jake Dillon goal gave De La Salle much confidence going into the last few minutes and they eventually ran out winners by five points.

An Rinn last weekend played their first game in the senior ranks since they were relegated at the end of 2009. Against Tallow they came up against a side that looked well organised and eventually ran out winners with a little to spare.

While there can be no doubting, An Rinn have some fine hurlers, it could be argued that they are more of a football club than a hurling club and as they are now a duel senior club they will have to find a balance between the two codes, something very few clubs in Waterford can do over a number of years.

When the sides met in 2009, it was the then reigning champions that ran out winners, and you would expect them to do the same this time around.

The second game on Saturday evening at Fraher Field sees Abbeyside take on Mount Sion.

Last weekend both of these had contrasting results.

Mount Sion recorded a three point win over Ballygunner at Walsh Park while Abbeyside were well beaten by Passage at Fraher Field.

Abbeyside played last week without Richie Foley. While no one player makes up a whole team, to miss a player of his ability would be a body blow to any side. He did make his way out of the stand for the last few minutes of the game and some had a feeling that he might be thrown in so as to try and get something from the game but the selectors opted against doing so.

Whether he plays any part in this week’s game remains to be seen. If he is not fully fit and was to aggravate the injury that kept him out of action all year, it could mean that he would be out for a much longer period and therefore the selectors must ask themselves, with three more games to play after this weekends round of games are they better off holding off throwing him in until he is fully fit and playing an influential role in a game rather than loosing him for a considerable time longer.

Last weekend Mount Sion in their win over Ballygunner were best served by rising stars Austin Gleeson and Stephen Roche. They also have some good young players coming through such as the two Martin O’Neill’s and Ian Galgey and then they have a young player at the back by the name of Tony Browne who over the past few years as defied his critics and has shown that he is as good as ever.

After winning last weekend, confidence will be high in the Mount Sion set up and you have to feel that they have it in them to record a second win this weekend.

There is a double header at Walsh Park on Sunday afternoon.

Roanmore and Ballygunner get the ball rolling at 2pm.

Both of these sides lost last weekend so a win for both this weekend is a must.

Roanmore in there game against Dungarvan looked poor. Their star player was clearly carrying an injury and played a very small part in the game before he was taken off mid way through the second half.

On the day they struggled somewhat for scores. Laurence O’Neill was their top man on the day hitting 1-3 of his sides 1-9 with Daniel Murphy hitting 0-3.

If they are to survive another year at the top, they will have to put up bigger scores in the games they play and will also need to get more players on the score sheet. While the above mentioned Laurence O’Neill and Daniel Murphy are always likely to hit their three of four scores in every game, if Gavin O’Brien is not 100% fit or is well marshalled, then it is hard to see where the bulk of their scores will come from.

If there was a surprise last week it was Ballygunner loosing to Mount Sion. The outcome of the game was the same as the quarter final meeting between the same sides last year so it was hardly a surprise.

Pauric Mahony finished as top scorer for the Gunners last weekend and he is likely to finish with a good tally of scores this weekend.

Right throughout the Ballygunner team they have some very good players from Stephen O’Keeffe in goal, Alan Kirwan at full back, Shane Walsh, Philip Mahony and Barry Coughlan in the half back line, Shane O’Sullivan can play in the middle of the field or in attack while the likes of Brian O’Sullivan, JJ Hutchinson, and the already mentioned Pauric Mahony amongst others know where the posts are.

Ballygunner won’t be too put out over last weekends result. They know that they have it within them to reach the knockout stages of the championship, and should move a step closer to doing just that this weekend with a win here.

The second game at Walsh Park sees Passage take on Dungarvan.

Both of these sides recorded impressive wins last weekend and will want to keep their winning run going this weekend. In doing so they will move a step closer to the knockout stages of the championship, as four points which the winner will have after this game would normally be good enough to give a side a place in the last eight of the competition.

Last week between then the two sides hit nine goals. This week it will be interesting to see how many if any they will score.

Dungarvan hit five past Roanmore. Patrick Curran hit 2-1 on his debut for Dungarvan after coming on at half time.

Many of the players playing senior this year will have seem him play but few will have played against him and he could prove to be a handful for most defences this year as they will have to work out what is the best way to stop him.

Of course Dungarvan are not just a one man team. His brothers Cormac, Cathal and Colm are also fine players. Last week they shared 3-12 of Dungarvan’s tally of 5-15. Through in the likes of Gavin Crotty, Jamie Nagle, Ryan Donnelly, Shane Kearney and Kevin Daly and you can see some of the quality that Dungarvan have at their disposal.

Passage has plenty of talent to choose from. Last weekend, Eoin Kelly was their top man. He hit 2-5 and was involved in a number of other scores. Noel Connors at full back is back to his best after injuries last year, Killian Fitzgerald, Mark Wyse and Conor Carey can also play key rolls in a game while Sean Hogan who came on as a second half sub last week is an exciting prospect.

This could well prove to be the game of the weekend. It is one that could go either way, buy Dungarvan get the not to win, but a lot will depend on how well they can keep Eoin Kelly out of the game for as long as possible.

Fourmilewater and Tallow clash at Cappoquin on Sunday evening. Both of these sides began last week with a win and will look to extend that run.

This could well prove to be a very entertaining game. Fourmilewater are strong in attack while Tallow could well prove to be tough to break down at the back.

At the other end of the field, the winning and loosing of the game could well be decided by two players. Tallow’s Thomas Ryan, a player I have watched many times for a long number of years is a player that I think very highly off and was shocked somewhat towards the end of last year when I heard that he was omitted from the Waterford panel that were going into training for the Waterford Crystal Cup and the League, while Liam Lawlor is another player that I have been Watching for a number of years, all-be-it for a little less time than Thomas Ryan and am very impressed with.

Last weekend, Jamie Barron hit eight points for Fourmilewater and they will be looking to him to hit a similar if not higher return this weekend. Shane Ryan also impressed last weekend playing at corner forward, finishing with three points while Conor Gleeson, a player that many view as having a bright future hit a point after coming on as a sub in the last five minutes and he will be looking to start this weekend.

Thomas Ryan last weekend finished with 2-4. He is a player that knows where the posts are and will punish teams when given a chance. In Robert O’Sullivan and Evan Sheehan they also have players that know where to find the posts and will needed them to chip in with a few more scores this weekend to help take the weight of Thomas Ryan’s shoulders to be the main score getter.

At the back it’s great to see Aidan ‘Ringo’ Kearney back in the side. Over the past few years he has suffered his share of injuries. He looked to be coming back well last year but got injured played for Waterford against Clare and was then ruled out for the rest of the year.

Their half back line last week was made up of Mark and David O’Brien as well as James Murray. There is a lot of experience there between them and they could prove to be difficult to break down. Paul O’Brien in the middle of the field last week could just as easily be pushed up the field and if he was then he will take watching.

To pick a winner from this game is difficult put Fourmilewater gets the not to collect the points on offer.

The final game of the weekend sees near neighbours Ballyduff Upper take on Lismore in Tallow.

What a pity that this could not be played as a double header with the Tallow and Fourmilewater game in Cappoquin. To have the three clubs from the far west of the county descent on the Corner-stone venue along with the Fourmilewater fans could see a good attendance pass through the turn-styles, but it is not to be.

When these two sides have clashed over the past few years they have played out some good battles and this game is likely to be no different.

Both of these sides lost last weekend and they will not want to loose any further ground as they will know to do so will mean that they will find it tough to win one of the four quarter final places available from the group.

Ballyduff last week were somewhat unlucky not to have got something out of the game with De La Salle.

The Kearney’s were in fine form for the side from the West Waterford/North Cork border last week hitting 1-10 of their sides 1-13 with Michael finishing as the teams top scorer with 0-6.

Towards the end of last year Tom Feeney was missing some of his side’s games but last week it was great to see him back in the side and doing what he does best. Adrian Power and Stephen Molumphy were also in the side and helped there side greatly out. Brendan Hannon who is the side’s free taker over the past nearly two decades started on the sideline last week and it remains to be see if he will start once more as a sub and be sprung as some sort of an impact sub.

Lismore last weekend looked impressive at times against Fourmilewater.

Maurice and Dan Shanahan hit nine points out of 1-13 while name sake Jordan Shanahan hit 1-3 and showed signs that he is someone that we could see a lot more of as the year goes on.

Seanie Barry between the posts is now the side’s number one, having taken over from Brendan Landers who is the side’s manager this year, despite the fact he is a player that would be one of the first names on the team sheet for many other sides.

They also have good prospects in the likes of Ray Barry, Shane Heaphy and Paudie Prendergast and if they were in top form this year, they could well take beating.

Stephen O’Keeffe was sent off last weekend (somewhat harshly) in the eyes of some and is set to miss this game, so changes will have to be made to their team this weekend.

This is a game that could go either way. Down the years there is great rivalry between the two clubs as brothers have often found themselves attached to different clubs.

Lismore are the slightly fancied team to win this weekend, but it could well prove to be close, maybe very close.