Forget Rocketman – It’s All about Rockett Woman

            The talk amongst film lovers in recent weeks is all about the Dexter Fletcher directed film Rocketman, a biographical musical film based on the life of British musician Elton John, but for those that saw Waterford record a first win in this year’s All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship at Walsh Park on Saturday, the talk was not about Rocketman, but Rocketwoman.

            Anybody that is following the fortunes of the Waterford Camogie scene in recent years will only be too well aware that great work is being done within the game in the Déise County and that within the county there are players who can hold their own with anyone within the game, including those that play with what some would call the traditional super powers within the game.

As an example of this last year when Waterford narrowly missed out on a place in the National League semi finals and reached the All-Ireland quarter finals where they lost out to a more experienced Tipperary side, it was no real surprise to see Waterford with four players (Áine Lyng, Lorraine Bray, Niamh Rockett and Beth Carton) named as All-Star nominations. Maybe it was somewhat a bit of a surprise that Waterford had only four nominations, and it certainly was a surprise to some that Waterford had only one player (Beth Carton) named in the overall team of the year.

Last weekend it looked as if Waterford were going to record a memorable victory when they lead Tipperary with four minutes of normal time to play in the opening game in this year’s All-Ireland Championship, only for the game to be abandoned because of a serious injury to a Tipperary player. Had Waterford won that game it would have given the side coached by Donal O’Rourke plenty of coverage going into the remaining games in the group stages of the competition.

Because that game was not finished, (it will now take place next Saturday in Nowlan Park with the game having a 3pm start), it was imperative that Waterford against Dublin got their campaign off to a winning start and the side did so in an impressive manner.

On the day the Dublin defence kept a close eye on Waterford All-Star Beth Carton. This is something that most sides set out to do, and when they do and in a way succeed in what they set out to do, it gives the other players the chance to shine and be the Waterford Hero and on Saturday afternoon one player that really stood up to the mark was team Captain Niamh Rockett.

The brilliant Saint Anne’s player finished the game with 1-2 behind her name and could well have finished with more as she was involved in a lot of what Waterford did in the Dublin half of the field. Those that have read media reports in the last number of years will know that the brilliant Saint Anne’s player is lucky to be playing the game as she was told some years back that Injuries could force her to give up the game that she loves, but sometimes when you get news like this it can make you become more determined and it obviously has for Niamh.

But she was not the only Waterford player to impress on the day. While the Dublin backs were able to restrain Beth Carton somewhat from play by not allowing her to break free of their shackles she still finished the game with eight points behind her name.

Other Waterford players that stood out on the day were Brianna O’Regan on the day, Trish Jackman who is back in the side this year after three years away and at times her experience was clear to be seen, duel star Caoimhe McGrath was once again impressive, while Lorraine Bray and new comer this year Sarah Lacey also impressed, while veteran Áine Lyng covered a lot of ground before she was replaced in the second half.

Dublin had first use of the strong wind which blew from the city end of the ground, but it was the home side that had the better start as Niamh Rockett put over a fine score from the sideline on the bank side of the field with just 17 seconds played which was followed with an effort from Orla Hickey on two minutes and a delightful score from a tight angle off the stick of Beth Carton just second later.

Aisling Maher opened the visitors account on nine minutes and they followed it up with an effort by Orla Beagan on 16 minutes. Niamh Rockett however would stretch Waterford’s lead just seconds later following some good work by Beth Carton in the build up.

The game’s first goal came on 24 minutes. A high ball in around the Waterford goal was broken by Brianna O’Regan but she was not able to catch the dropping ball which fell to Kerrie Finnegan who made room for herself by moving out field with the sliotar from where she beat Brianna O’Regan with a well placed effort into the corner of the net.

This proved to be the last score of the half at the end of which the visitors retired to the dressing rooms at the break holding a 1-2 to 0-4 lead.

Waterford just as they had in the first half started the second half brightly with Beth Carton putting over a brace of frees inside three minutes of the restart to go one on front.

Aisling Maher levelled matters from a free on 35 minutes and two minutes later Dublin went back in front with an effort from Kerri Finnegan.

Beth Carton from a free pulled the sides level on 39 minutes and five minutes later she put Waterford in front from which point Donal O’Rourke’s side never trailed.

Aisling Maher levelled matters with 12 minutes left on the clock, but this was to prove to be the visitors last score of the game.

With eight minutes of the hour remaining a Trish Jackman sideline cut landed in around the Dublin goal which was broken down and Niamh Rockett was in the right place to collect and send the ball to the Dublin net giving Waterford a 1-8 to 1-5 advantage on the score board.

Beth Carton from a free four minutes later and then from a ’45 three minutes further on gave Waterford a 1-10 to 1-5 advantage, but with considerable time to be added by Cork Referee Cathal Egan there was still time for the visitors to get something from this game, that is of course they could get through what was a watertight like Waterford defence.

The visitors however were unable to break through the Waterford defence and four minutes into added time Waterford secured the win and at the same time helped improve their score difference on the league table in case that should come into play at the end of the round robin section of the competition, with an eight point off the stick of Beth Carton.

Waterford: Brianna O’Regan; Kate Lynch, Iona Heffernan, Caoimhe McGrath; Sibheal Harney, Trish Jackman, Áine Lyng; Emma Hannon, Lorraine Bray; Niamh Rockett, Annie Fitzgerald, Keeley Corbett-Barry; Beth Carton, Orla Hickey, Sarah Lacey.

Subs: Claire Whyte for Áine Lyng (36), Clodagh Carroll for Keeley Corbett Barry (39), Mairead Power for Sibheal Harney (51), Aoife Landers for Annie Fitzgerald (63), Clara Griffin for Niamh Rockett (65).

Scorers: Beth Carton 0-8 (6f, 1 ’45), Niamh Rockett 1-2, Orla Hickey 0-1.

Dublin: Ciara Tierney; Deirdre Johnstone, Eve O’Brien, Orla Gray; Emma O’Byrne, Gráinne Quinn, Róisín Baker; Laura Twomey, Aisling Carolan; Ali Twomey, Aisling Maher, Ellen McGovern; Sinéad Wylde, Kerrie Finnegan, Orla Beagan

Subs: Martha O’Donoghue for Orla Gray (23), Siobhan Keogh for Ellen McGovern (41), Alex Griffin for Sinead Wylde (47), Emma Flanagan for Emma O’Byrne (62).

Scorers: Kerrie Finnegan 1-1, Aisling Maher 0-3 (3f), Orla Beagan 0-1.

Referee: Cathal Egan (Cork)

Cork Prove Too Strong For Waterford In Munster Final

Waterford’s wait for a first Munster Senior Ladies Football title for the first time since 2002 continues as a fancied Cork side proved too strong for in this year’s Provincial Final at Fraher Field on Sunday evening, running out winners with 11 points to spare over a Waterford side that never gave up.

Ciaran Curran’s side will take plenty from this game going forward. When the sides clashed at the Cork IT Grounds three weeks previously the Rebellettes recorded a 3-22 to 0-7 victory which would have suggested that Waterford had no hope going into this game, but had lady luck shone on Waterford a few times in this game, the outcome could well have been much different.

In the second half of this game Katie Murray saw a goal bound shot come off the bottom of the post five minutes into the second half after she was played in by Karen McGrath and when the ball came back out to the Waterford attack, winning a free on the 21 metre line but Maria Delahunty saw her effort come crashing off the crossbar when struck dead straight in front of goal, and just three minutes later Róisín Tobin played in  a ball in front of the Cork goal which looked to be going just wide of the upright, but Michelle Ryan managed to keep it in play, but her fisted effort hit the post and went wide.

It should be pointed out that Waterford in this game were without six players that would normally be considered for selection from the start, as they were without Rebecca Casey, Megan Dunford, Caragh McCarthy, Liz Devine, Aisling Mullaney and Katy Hayes.

Waterford played with the aid of the stiff breeze which blew towards the road goal in the first half and early on it looked as if they were really going to test Cork as the side hit the opening two scores inside two minutes.

Maria Delahunty opened the scoring with 45 seconds on the clock and just over a minute later when Waterford won a free out on the bank side of the field the Abbeyside player stood over it. Her effort looked to be sailing over the Cork crossbar but fell short at the last second, but Michelle Ryan was on hand using her height to full advantage to punch the size four over the bar.

Cork opened their count on five minutes when Niamh Cotter split the Waterford post and two minutes late Orla Finn levelled matters from a free.

But Waterford would hit back with the next two scores first from Chloe Fennell and then Kelly Ann Hogan to open up a two point advantage for the second time in the game with 11 minutes played.

The visitors to Fraher Field broke through a backed Waterford defence on 14 minutes when Aishling Hitchings played in the brilliant Saoirse Noonan who slotted past Rosie Landers to give her side a 1-2 to 0-4 advantage.

Two points from Maria Delahunty within a minute of each other put Waterford back in front, before Eimear Kiely levelled matters with 11 minutes of the first half remaining.

Two minutes later Maria Delahunty sent Katie Murray through on a one on one with Cork goalkeeper Martina O’Brien but the Comeragh Rangers player saw her effort rise just over the Cork crossbar when it looked as if a goal was on the cards.

Cork however would finish the half the stronger of the two sides as points from Orla Finn, Saoirse Noonan and Daire Kiely were registered  to give the eventual winners a 1-6 to 0-7 advantage at the break.

With the wind at their backs in the second half Cork proved to be too strong for Waterford.

Points from Orla Finn, Saoirse Noonan and Niamh Cotter were hit in the first three minutes of the second half to stretch the Cork lead to five.

When the ball went to the other end of the field Katie Murray saw the ball come back off the blue stripe at the bottom of the upright at the Country end of the ground and when the side playing in a changed Navy strip for this game won a free just seconds later Maria Delahunty saw her effort come crashing back off the cross bar.

Daire Kiely extended Cork’s lead to six on 38 minutes and they stretched that to nine on 41 minutes when Niamh Cotter, Libby Coppinger and Saoirse Noonan all combined before the latter palmed to the Waterford net.

Libby Coppinger got her name on the score sheet on 43 minutes and just seconds later it looked as if the Rebellettes would hit a third goal when Ciara O’Sullivan bore down on goal. The Mourneabbey player collided with the advancing Rosie Landers and with both players on the ground it the ball went in the direction of the Waterford goal, but Katie Murray.

Orla Finn extended Cork’s lead with a free nine minutes from time before Maria Delahunty opened Waterford’s account for the second half four minutes from time when she put over a free.

Ciara O’Sullivan and Saoirse Noonan pointed for Cork within sixty seconds of each other and while Waterford would hit a point inside the last minute of the game from another Maria Delahunty free it proved to be but a mere consolation score for Ciaran Curran’s side.

Waterford: Rosie Landers; Kate McGrath, Caoimhe McGrath, Mairead Wall; Róisín Tobin, Karen McGrath, Shauna Dunphy; Emma Murray, Katie Murray; Kelly Anne Hogan, Chloe Fennell, Maria Delahunty; Eimear Fennell, Michelle Ryan, Aileen Wall.

Subs: Lauren McGregor for Eimear Fennell (44), Brigita Valuntaite for Róisín Tobin (53).

Scorers: M Delahunty 0-5 (3f), K Murray 0-1, KA Hogan 0-1, C Fennell 0-1, M Ryan 0-1.

Cork: Martina O’Brien; Hannah Looney, Eimear Meaney, Melissa Duggan; Shauna Kelly, Aishling Hutchings, Eimear Kiely; Niamh Cotter, Orlagh Farmer; Ciara O'Sullivan, Eimear Scally, Daire Kiely; Libby Coppinger, Saoirse Noonan, Orla Finn.

Subs: Marie O'Callaghan for Orla Farmer (h-t), Áine O'Sullivan for Niamh Cotter (43), Emma Spillane for Daire Kiely (43), Rhona Ní Bhuachalla for Libby Coppinger (45) Claire O'Shea for Shauna Kelly (55).

Scorers: Saoirse Noonan 2-3, Orla Finn 0-4 (2f), Daire Kiely, Niamh Cotter 0-2 each, Eimear Kiely, Ciara O'Sullivan, Libby Coppinger 0-1 each.

Referee: Seamus Mulvihill (Kerry).

Waterford and Tipperary Must Do It All Again As Game Is Abandoned Due To Serious Injury

Waterford’s opening fixture in this year’s All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship was abandoned three minutes from the end of normal time on Saturday evening with Waterford leading by four points at The Ragg following a serious head injury picked up by Tipperary Corner forward Nicole Walsh.

Within minutes of the Borris-Ileigh player falling to the ground as she challenged for a dropping ball it quickly became apparent that professional medical advice would be needed and an ambulance was called for to attend the ground.

When after 25 minutes no ambulance had arrived at the ground, something that has angered many with an interest in player welfare a call was made to summon an air ambulance to the ground and transfer the player to hospital for the treatment that she needed.

Thankfully, the players injuries were not as serious as first feared and she was released from Hospital on Sunday afternoon and is recovering at home and hopefully will be back playing in the maroon and white of Borris-Ileigh and the Blue and Gold of Tipperary sooner rather than later.

Waterford were leading by four points at the time and looking good to begin this year’s competition with a win at the time of the Borris-Ileigh club player was injured needing the arrival of professional medical personnel to be summoned to the ground to treat the injured player who fell heavily while challenging for a dropping ball, resulting in her picking up a neck injury.

With no ambulance present at the ground and it taking some time to get one to the Mid-Tipperary venue and with a significant period of time elapsed before the injured player was able to be removed from the play, referee Andrew Larkin quite wisely opted to bring the game to a premature end, meaning the game will have to be replayed at a later date.

Waterford had made two changes to the published team ahead of this game as Brianna O’Regan started in goal in place of Ciara Jackman, while the Gailltir Club players older sister Trish made her first start for the county in three years, partnering Shona Curran another player who has returned to the Waterford set up this year again after a number of years away from the panel in the middle of the field.

Beth Carton had hit 11 points for Waterford up to the time the game was prematurely ended by the Cork referee, while Orla Hickey had hit 1-2.

When the sides clashed at the same venue at the same venue a few weeks previously in the Munster Championship the home side had a comfortable win, but this game proved to be a much different affair with Waterford proving to be the better of the two sides on the evening.

It was the home side that started this game the brighter of the two side and raced into a 0-3 to 0-1 lead with just nine minutes played.

Those expected Waterford to roll over and allow the home side to control proceedings however would be left disappointed.

Points from Beth Carton and Orla Hickey followed to give Waterford a 0-4 to 0-3 lead while playing against the breeze. The home side however responded with three efforts from Orla O’Dwyer with Beth Carton pulling two back for Waterford to level matters (0-6 each) with three minutes of the first half remaining.

There was time however for both sides to land further scores before the half time whistle. Orla O’Dwyer put one over for the home side with Beth Carton landing a brace of scores for Waterford to give Waterford a slender 0-8 to 0-7 at the break.

Waterford however were unlucky not to turn around even further in front as Donal O’Rourke’s side created two goal scoring chances late on, both falling to corner forward Annie Fitzgerald who saw her first effort on 27 minutes blocked by Aoife McGrath and three minutes later she saw an effort smothered by Tipperary goalkeeper Caoimhe Bourke.

The home side marginally enjoyed the better of the third quarter and turned a one point defecate at the break into a one point lead with 47 minutes of the game played.

Cáit Devane, Nicole Walsh and Orla O’Dwyer fired over points for the Premier Ladies inside the opening five minutes of the restart, only for Sarah Lacey and Beth Carton to land points for Waterford to tie the scoring at 10 points each, and by the 47 minutes they found themselves 0-12 to 0-11 in front.

Waterford however in the next ten minutes were outstanding. Orla Hickey levelled the matters with 12 minutes remaining on the clock, before Beth Carton took on the Tipperary defence and picking off a fine score from her left side.

The De La Salle sharp shooter converted a free to extend Waterford’s lead before Waterford struck the only goal of the game with 10 minutes of normal time remaining, Dungarvan’s Orla Hickey the player to scramble the ball over the line.

Beth Carton put Waterford six in front on 52 minutes when she split the posts from a free, but Tipperary over the next five minutes put over two frees from the stick of Cáit Devane to leave four between the sides.

Next up for Waterford is a game against Dublin at Walsh Park this Saturday evening.

Waterford: Brianna O’Regan; Iona Heffernan, Áine Lyng, Sibheal Harney; Kate Lynch, Lorraine Bray, Caoimhe McGrath; Shona Curran, Trish Jackman; Keeley Corbett-Barry, Orla Hickey, Niamh Rockett; Beth Carton, Sarah Lacey, Annie Fitzgerald.

Subs: Emma Hannon for Shona Curran (22), Mairéad Power for Áine Lyng (35), Aoife Landers for Keeley Corbett-Barry (42).

Scorers: Beth Carton 0-11 (0-5f, 0-1 ’45), Orla Hickey 1-2, Niamh Rockett, Sarah Lacey 0-1 each.

Tipperary: Caoimhe Bourke; Julie Anne Bourke, Caroline Mullaney, Eimear Loughman; Clodagh Quirke, Karen Kennedy, Gemma Grace; Aoife McGrath, Megan Ryan; Orla O'Dwyer, Cáit Devane, Ereena Fryday;  Nicole Walsh, Miriam Campion, Grace O’Brien.

Subs: Niamh Treacy for Ereena Fryday (48), Mary Ryan for Aoife McGrath (53), Laura Loughnane for Megan Ryan (56.

Scorers: Cáit Devane 0-6 (5f), Orla O’Dwyer 0-5, Ereena Fryday, Nicole Walsh, Grace O’Brien 0-1 each.

Referee: Andrew Larkin (Cork).

Big Weekend for Déise Ladies

Last weekend the Waterford Senior Hurling and Football teams played their final games in this year’s Championships. For most of the players involved in them games and those that were part of the extended panels for both sides they have a weekend off this week before they return to action again the weekend after in the second round of the County Senior Hurling Championship or in the Divisional Intermediate or Junior Hurling Championships.

But for Waterford all hopes for 2019 to be another disappointing year are not dashed, as this weekend two of our county senior sides who at times don’t get the recognition they deserve are in action.

On Saturday evening Donal O’Rourke and his Senior Camogie side make the trip to ‘The Ragg’ a few miles outside Thurles to take on Tipperary in the first round of this year’s All-Ireland Championship and 24 hours after that games finishes Ciaran Curran’s Senior Ladies Football team face a daunting task against Cork in this year’s Munster Final which is set to go ahead at Fraher Field.

For the Camogie team this will be the third time which they have faced off up to Tipperary this year and the fourth time in less than 12 months and on each of these previous occasions victory has gone to the Premier County side, but no needs telling that a run of victories for one side over another has to come to an end sometime and it would be nice to think that it could happen for Waterford this coming weekend.

When the sides met in the National League at the De La Salle Club Grounds back in February a depleted Waterford side lost out 1-11 to 0-10 and when they clashed a few weeks back in the Munster Championship again at ‘The Ragg’ Tipperary once more proved to strong winning 2-23 to 1-8, but the question has to be asked with the Munster Championship coming third in importance to most sides after the National League and All-Ireland Championship how much of his hand did Donal O’Rourke show to the opposition for this weekend.

The two sides played in opposite groups in last year’s All-Ireland Championship and Waterford despite losing their two opening games against Galway and Kilkenny did enough to secure a place in the quarter finals for the first time in the modern era where they took on Tipperary at Pairc Ui Chaoimh after the Premier County side finished second in their group.

Waterford on Lee-side played remarkably well but on the night Tipperary’s greater experience at this level proved vital for them as they ran out winners on a 1-14 to 1-7 score line.

Little will or should be read into the last game between the two sides, not for Waterford anyway. Tipperary as we know are going to be a strong side, but Waterford since coming up to the senior grade after winning the Intermediate title in 2015 are making steady progress, and with some excellent underage players coming through and experienced players in the panel, going forward there could well be some great days in store for the ladies from the Déise County.

Waterford will know plenty about Tipperary for this game. Nobody will need telling how good star player Cáit Devane can be. She is a terrific striker of the ball from both play and from frees and is also a quality team player.

But like all top sides Tipperary are by no means a one player team and in the likes of Orla O’Dwyer, Niamh Tracey, Grace O’Brien, Caoimhe Maher, Miriam Campion and Laura Loughnane to name but a few they have players that can win any game even if the opposition managed to keep Devane quiet.

When it comes to Waterford Beth Carton receives most plaudits, and it’s easy to see while as the talented De La Salle player is one of the finest players there is in the game right now.

But just like with Cáit Devane and Tipperary even if you were to keep Waterford’s top scorer quiet there is the likes of Niamh Rockett, Lorraine Bray and Áine Lyng to cope with, three players nominated for All-Stars last year, plus the likes of Ciara Jackman, Brianna O’Regan, Iona Heffernan, Sibheal Harney, Emma Hannon, Aoife Landers, Aisling Power, Claire Whyte, Mairead and   Áine Power, Orla Hickey, Annie Fitzgerald and Kaiesha Tobin to deal with, all players who can be a handful for any side.

Waterford will know that a good start to this competition is vital. They knew last year that they were playing the two strongest sides first and if they got favourable results in their last two games then they would reach the knockout stages, something that was to happen, but this time around the fixture computer has not proven to be as kind to Waterford.

Donal O’Rourke’s side are in a group along with Cork, Dublin, Clare and this weekend’s opponents Tipperary as well as Meath who it could be said are the weakest side in the group, but with only three of the six sides advancing to the knockout stages, there is going to be some disappointed players come the end of July.

On Sunday evening the Waterford Senior Ladies Football Team are in action at Fraher Field when they take on what will be a very strong Cork side in this year’s Munster Final.

The two sides have met already in the Round Robin section of the competition, where Cork ran out very convincing winners on a 3-22 to 0-7 score line at the Cork IT Grounds in the second series of games in the Round Robin part of the competition.

Cork as anyone that knows anything about Ladies Football will tell you are a powerfully strong side, who have won so much in the last ten years or so.

Sometimes when a side comes along and compete at the top as the players get older and begin to pull away from the Inter County side, the county often finds it hard to replace some players, but the structures in Cork are such that when a leading player retires they have another player who is equally as strong and sometimes even stronger to come into their place, and as a result they are able to stay at the top for so long.

When the sides clashed recently Cork had a fantastic start and scored two goals inside a minute of each other before the fourth minute of the game was complete, and as a result of this start Waterford were always playing catch up.

By the break they were 2-11 to 0-3 in front and before they kicked their third goal of the game they kicked half a dozen unanswered points at the start of their second half to extend their lead.

Waterford will know that if they are to win on Sunday evening, one player that they will have to keep very quite is Orla Finn. She hit 11 points in the recent win over Waterford and hit another nine in her sides win over Kerry recently. Before these two games she hit five points for her side in this year’s Division One National League Final where Cork beat Galway 1-12 to 2-7 at Parnell Park.

But even if Waterford were to keep her quiet they will have also to keep the likes of Ciara O’Sullivan, Niamh Cotter, Daire Kelly, Libby Coppinger, Saoirse Noonan and Eimear Scally quiet if they are to get something from this game. To keep one quiet will be difficult. To keep all quiet, while not impossible, will be extremely difficult.

But while Waterford will not be fancied to get something from this game, they only have to think back to 2017 when they played both Kerry and Cork at Fraher Field in the Round Robin section of the Munster Championship and with many of the players involved that day again said to be involved on Sunday evening, Ciaran Curran’s side will believe that they can cause a shock.

Just like with the Camogie team great progress is made with Ladies Football in the Déise County since they won the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship in 2015, and just like in Camogie there is some brilliant young players coming through who are challenging the more established players for a place in the starting team and not just settle for a place on the panel.

Players like Aileen and Mairead Wall, Michelle Ryan, Eimear Fennell, Maria Delahunty, the Murray sisters, Karen McGrath, Róisín Tobin, Shauna Dunphy and Caoimhe McGrath are all vastly experienced players at this point.

Also part of this panel of players are some brilliant young players the likes of Rosie Landers, Rebecca Casey, Kelly Ann Hogan, Chloe Fennell, Kathy Hayes and Liz Devine, players that we will hear a lot more about in the years ahead.

In both the Camogie and Ladies Football games this coming weekend Waterford will enter them as the underdog. Will this bother the Waterford players and management? I for one can’t answer that question for them, but somehow I don’t think it will let it affect them. I can even see it as a motivation. The talk between players before the games this weekend might well be how nobody is giving them a chance of winning, and suggesting amongst themselves how they will go out and show those doubters or knockers a thing or two.

Waterford Footballers Championship Record Since 2000

Waterford Senior Footballers bowed out of this year’s All-Ireland Senior Football Championship following a 1-22 to 0-7 loss to Westmeath at Mullingar.

Since the year 2000, Waterford Senior Football team have played 47 championship games between Munster Championship, All-Ireland Qualifiers and Tommy Murphy Cup.

In this time Waterford have won just five of the 47 games they have played and drawn one game in the Munster Championship a 2-8 each draw with Clare in Ennis in 2014.

Waterford recorded a first championship win in 19 years when they beat Paidi Ó Sé’s Clare side 1-6 to 0-7 in 2007 at Fraher Field. So sure RTE were that the Banner men would win this game, setting up a clash between Paudie’s charges against the county he had won so much with, the state broadcaster had announced that the game would be shown live on RTE. When Waterford won the game, RTE could not back out of the game and so Kerry travelled to Fraher Field for a game when the Waterford Footballers got to play live on Television for possibly the first time.

In Waterford’s 47 Championship games since 2000, they have scored 40-427, eight of these goals coming in one game against Carlow in the Tommy Murphy Cup at Fraher Field in 2007, the only year which Waterford have won two championship games in the one year since 2000. However, Waterford has conceded a massive 60-709 over the same time span.

Listed below is Waterford’s championship record since 2000. Beside each year is a letter of the alphabet in brackets. (M) means that the game was a Munster Championship game, (A) means it was an All-Ireland Qualifier and (T) means that the game was a Tommy Murphy Cup game, introduced while Kerry man Sean Kelly (the current MEP for Ireland South) was president of the G.A.A. clearly brought in seeing there was a need to promote football in the weaker Counties, but got rid off in 2008 by his successor Nicky Brennan from Kilkenny.

2000(M)	Waterford	1	7	Clare	0	15	Ennis
2001(M)	Waterford	1	7	Cork	3	16	Cork
2001(A)	Waterford	1	10	Carlow	3	11	Dungarvan
2002(M)	Waterford	2	9	Clare	3	10	Dungarvan
2002(A)	Waterford	3	11	Roscommon	3	19	Dungarvan
2003(M)	Waterford	1	12	Tipperary	0	18	Waterford
2003(A)	Waterford	0	8	Armagh	2	21	Waterford
2004(M)	Waterford	0	7	Limerick	1	18	Limerick
2004(A)	Waterford	1	5	Longford	1	14	Longford
2005(M)	Waterford	2	10	Clare	2	14	Ennis
2005(A)	Waterford	1	8	Louth	1	12	Drogheda
2005(T)	Waterford	0	7	Longford	2	15	Ballymahon
2006(M)	Waterford	0	8	Kerry	0	16	Killarney
2006(A)	Waterford	1	9	Longford	1	16	Waterford
2006(T)	Waterford	1	7	Tipperary	0	12	Dungarvan
2007(M)	Waterford	1	6	Clare	0	7	Dungarvan
2007(M)	Waterford	0	4	Kerry	2	15	Dungarvan
2007(T)	Waterford	8	10	Carlow	0	7	Dungarvan
2007(T)	Waterford	0	14	Wicklow	2	15	Aughrim
2008(M)	Waterford	0	7	Clare	0	9	Ennis
2008 (T)	Waterford	0	12	Wicklow	0	18	Aughrim
2009(M)	Waterford	1	7	Cork	2	18	Dungarvan
2009(A)	Waterford	0	8	Meath	1	20	Navan
2010(M)	Waterford	1	10	Clare	0	9	Dungarvan
2010(M)	Waterford	1	9	Limerick	1	17	Dungarvan
2010(A)	Waterford	0	10	Offaly	0	15	Tullamore
2011(M)	Waterford	2	8	Cork	5	17	Cork
2011(A)	Waterford	1	17	London	0	13	Ruislip
2011(A)	Waterford	0	9	Limerick	0	14	Limerick
2012(M)	Waterford	0	7	Limerick	2	12	Limerick
2012(A)	Waterford	0	15	Wicklow	1	17	Aughrim
2013(M)	Waterford	1	4	Kerry	4	21	Killarney
2013(A)	Waterford	0	14	Galway	1	12	Salthill
2014(M)	Waterford	2	8	Clare	2	8	Ennis
2014(M)	Waterford	0	12	Clare	3	11	Dungarvan
2014(A)	Waterford	1	13	Carlow	0	17	Carlow
2015(M)	Waterford	0	5	Tipperary	1	24	Thurles
2015(A)	Waterford	1	7	Offaly	1	20	Dungarvan
2016(M)	Waterford	1	7	Tipperary	1	15	Dungarvan
2016(A)	Waterford	0	8	Leitrim	0	12	Carrick-on-Shannon
2017(M)	Waterford	1	11	Cork	1	12	Dungarvan
2017(A)	Waterford	0	13	Derry	1	17	Dungarvan
2018(M)	Waterford	0	9	Tipperary	0	20	Thurles
2018(A)	Waterford	3	14	Wexford	1	18	Wexford
2018(A)	Waterford	0	9	Monaghan	5	21	Dungarvan
2019(M)	Waterford	0	8	Clare	0	9	Ennis
2019(A)	Waterford	0	7	Westmeath	1	22	Mullingar