Another big Camogie Weekend on the horizon

Last weekend was a good one for Camogie in Waterford.

On Saturday, the counties Intermediate team travelled to Meath for the first round of this year’s All-Ireland Championship.

When the sides clashed in the league earlier in the year at Walsh Park an understrength Waterford team had to settle for second best on the day.

While Waterford were short the services of the Lismore players on the day of the league game in Walsh Park as they were otherwise engaged in their All-Ireland Intermediate Club Final replay in Clonmel, Waterford would have known travelling to Meath for the game that they were going to be in for a hard afternoon’s work as when they travelled to the Royal County over 12 months earlier in the league, the sides had to settle for a share of the spoils.

Waterford last weekend began well, and raced into a 1-7 to 0-2 lead at the break, the Waterford goal coming from Karen Kelly mid way through the half.

But the home side came out a much different side for the second half as they hit 1-2 inside the first five minutes of the second half to move to within three of Waterford.

The remainder of the half proved to be a even enough encounter. Meath continued to mount plenty of pressure on the Waterford goal and at one stage moved to within one point of Waterford but two late points by Trish Jackman ensured that Waterford came out on top with two points to spare.

Last weekend was also a good one for two Waterford Clubs when it came to Camogie.

Both De La Salle and Gaultier travelled to Féile which this year was held across Ulster.

The two sides in action had represented the county with some pride in the two previous years.

De La Salle represented the county in 2012 and reached a final, but on the day had to settle for second best.

Gaultier were Waterford’s representatives in 2013 in Limerick and they reached the division two final which they won with a young team, recording Waterford’s best ever finish in the competitions forty-two year history.

De La Salle competed in Division three. They began the competition well beating Derry side Greenlough on a 4-9 to 0-0 score line.

The Gracedieu outfit however lost their other two groups games against Glen Maghera from Derry and Drumraney from Westmeath.

In previous years, this would mean that De La Salle would be out of the competition, but a change in the way that things were done this year meant De La Salle were well and truly still involved.

This year in all groups the top two teams in the groups would contest the cup quarter finals while the bottom two teams would contest the shield quarter finals.

In the quarter finals of the shield competition, De La Salle were pitted with Castledawson from Derry and recorded a very comfortable 7-6 to 0-1 win.

In the last four of the shield, De La Salle were bitted with Na Brid Óga from Mayo. This proved to be a much tighter game than the quarter finals but again De La Salle came out on top winning 2-3 to 1-4.

In the final, De La Salle were paired with Eaglais from Tyrone.

In the group stages of the competition, the Northern side lost all three of their games, loosing to Na Brid Óga, Clonokill and Clonduff.

However despite these losses, they regrouped for the plate quarter finals and they recorded a handsome 4-1 to 0-1 over Saint Mary’s. In the semi finals, they again recorded another good win 3-1 to 0-1 over Kilrea from Derry which set up a final with De La Salle.

In that final, De La Salle proved to match for the Tyrone side as the Gracedieu side powered to a 5-5 to 0-2 win.

While De La Salle did extremely well to win the shield final in Division three, I am sure that they will be the first to agree that the performances of Gailltír were the highlight of the weekend.

 The Barony girls went into the game in a very confident mood. They recently won the County Féile Final and more recently beat Dungarvan in the County Under 14 Final.

They travelled north with much of the team that played in last years competition and would be confident of repeating what they did this time twelve months ago.

They began the competition with a forty point win over St John’s from Antrim on Friday afternoon and followed it up with wins over Ballinascreen of Derry, winning by forty-seven points. There final group game later on Saturday morning saw them beat Kinnity of Offaly by twenty-seven points.

Spurred on to play three big wins Gailltír beat Ballycastle from Antrim in the quarter finals of the cup competition and followed it up with a win over Camross from Laois in the semi final and in the final they proved too strong for Tullamore from Offaly.

The wins last weekend, coupled with the performances of the likes of Gailltír and De La Salle in the last three years, shows that underage camogie in Waterford is heading in the right direction and all involved in its promotion at schools, Club and county level have to be congratulated and more importantly encouraged to keep at what they are doing.

This weekend the action turns to the inter-county scene.

On Saturday afternoon, Waterford takes on Cork at the WIT Campus in Carriganore, the game having a 2-30pm throw-in.

Last weekend as already pointed out, Waterford had two points to spare over Meath at Rathmoylon, while in Carrigaline Kilkenny beat Cork 1-10 to 0-12.

The score-lines last weekend could suggest that we are in for a close game this weekend.

The sides met twice last year. In the Munster Intermediate Championship, Waterford were easy winners when the sides clashed at Tallow but in the All-Ireland Championship things were much tighter in Cork where Waterford again ran out winners again, this time with just two points to spare.

In regards of this game, one question springs to mind. Maybe there is a good answer to the question. I don’t know if there is, as I have not asked anyone. Why could this game not be played as a curtain raiser to the Waterford and Laois game in Walsh Park?

With the past two years, one sponsor connects the Camogie and Hurling Championship – Liberty Insurance.

In other counties, over the past year or two we have seen Camogie Championship or League games played as curtain raisers to Hurling Championship or League games. But it does not happen in Waterford, and especially when games are played in Walsh Park.

With many years now, going back to my Bord na nÓg games and even in the years before it, I have always said that games be played before big games.

When the re-developed Fraher Field was re-opened almost twenty years ago, by the then president of the GAA Jack Boothman, he said that when he goes around to grounds he did not want to see them as a green carpet. He said he wanted to see that field are used.

Sometimes here in Waterford, I feel that we like to see out main fields as green carpets, i.e. we like to have our county grounds in as good as possible condition for Inter county games, and do it by not playing curtain raisers to these games.

However, come a few weeks time when the senior hurling and football championships resume, we will over use our county grounds playing maybe three, four or five games a weekend on them as the evenings become shorter and the weather begins to turn for the worse.

If other county games can play Camogie and Ladies Football games and even underage hurling and football games as curtain raisers major games then why cant we here in Waterford. As I have said, I am sure there is a good reason.

OK, rant over for now.

On Sunday, another Waterford Camogie Team are in action. This time it is the turn of the County under 16 team to take on Cork in Walsh Park in the All-Ireland ‘B’ Championship.

The two sides met four times last year, and things could not have been much more even.

Waterford won the Munster Final at the Gold Coast Grounds near Ballinacourty. When they met in the group stages of the championship in Cork, the sides had to settle for a draw. The two had to replay to see which topped the group for the semi final draw. Cork came out on top in that game and when they met again in the All-Ireland Final, Cork again came out on top.

The sides have met already once this year. Some weeks back the sides met in the Munster Final at Cashel and Waterford retained the title won twelve months earlier, which may make them the slightest of favourites going into this weekends game.

With games to play against Tipperary, Derry and Antrim in the coming weeks in the championship and with just two of the five teams in the group advancing to the knockout stages of the championship, it is vital that Waterford get the weekend off to a good start.