Waterford and Tipperary set for third Munster Final Clash in five years

I have to admit, I am not entirely happy with what I am hearing from some in the last week or so.

Rightly so, everyone is happy that Waterford are involved in this weekend’s Munster Senior Hurling Final against Tipperary, but I think that many are under estimating the challenge that Waterford face this weekend.

Many seem to think that because Waterford won the most recent battle between the two counties, the National Hurling League Semi Final at Nolan Park, the outcome will be the same this weekend.

While any of the four sides involved in a League Semi Final would want to win, there is a world of a difference between a League Semi Final, even a League Final, and a Munster Final, which is the second biggest day in the hurling calendar.

Tipperary’s last All-Ireland Final win was in 2010 when they stopped Kilkenny winning five titles in a row. Since then it could be claimed with the talent available to the county, that they have somewhat underachieved.

They won the Munster Final in 2011, humiliating Waterford in the final at Pairc Ui Chaoimh. Twelve months later the same two sides met in the final again.

Again it was a win for Tipperary, but this time around, the 7 goal defeat in 2011 was a 7 point defeat.

Last year Tipperary were beaten in the All-Ireland Final against Kilkenny after a replay.

Not winning more will mean that Tipperary should be going into Sunday’s Munster Final a hungry team. If the players are not hungry they have no business near a Munster Final. The side will be more than aware that should they win, they would avoid Kilkenny in the semi finals, should they come through the quarter finals of course. If this years All-Ireland was to prove to be a repeat of last years, then Tipperary will be confident that they could gain revenge for last year.

Tipperary has a number of players that have been around a few years now. Players like Brendan Maher, Patrick Bonner Maher, John Bubbles O’Dwyer, Seamus Callinan, Lar Corbett, James Woodlock, Shane and Noel McGrath, Michael Cahill etc. will want to add to their medal collection.

Tipperary will know that Limerick last year were unlucky to loose out Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi final. They will know that good teams don’t become lesser teams over night and therefore will take plenty of confidence from their 4-23 to 1-16 hammering of Limerick in the Munster Semi Final.

Some in the Tipperary camp felt hurt last year by criticism leveled at them by their own support after the All-Ireland Final and its replay, and it can be taken that this criticism will spurring them on this year.

In much the same way you could say maybe criticism or more correctly writing off the team at the end of last year and the start of this year is also spurring Waterford on.

2014 was a year best forgotten by many in Waterford.

Relegation from Division 1A in the league, a drubbing by Cork in the Munster Championship, and a defeat by Wexford in the All-Ireland Qualifiers did not go down well in Waterford.

The retirement of some of the older players and the dropping of others had many scratching their heads wondering where the experience would come from to help some of the younger players develop.

Defeats in the games played before Christmas last year seemed to be adding fuel in the minds of the doubters which I will readily admit to being one of.

But come the spring, signs were there that maybe not all was going to be as bad as many were expecting.

What caused this change in the space of 12 months is hard to know. Was it new voices in the management team who came in for those that departed before the end of the previous year? The players buying into the ideas of the management team certainly worked.

There is some that referred to Waterford as the Donegal footballers of hurling. Maybe the statement was a bit harsh. Yes Waterford may have been playing a defensive game when defending, playing with large numbers of players behind the ball, attempting to close down the opposition at every opportunity, and it works as the goals that were going past Waterford last year have not passed the side this year. I hope I am not talking too early.

However, when Waterford are in control of the ball and are going forward, they have played some good hurling and put up some excellent scores over the past five months in the league and championship.

When the more established players retired or were dropped last year many were wondering how Waterford would fill the voids.

Maybe we should not have panicked as much as some of us did.

If we took time to look back at what was happening in the previous few years we might have got an idea.

Stephen O’Keeffe, Barry Coughlan, Noel Connors, the Mahony Brothers, Jake Dillon, Stephen Daniels an Eddie Barrett all had come off some excellent De La Salle College sides which had Derek McGrath involved in.

Dungarvan Colleges and Dungarvan CBS also had a few good years on the colleges scene.

From these panels the like of Tadhg de Búrca, Patrick Curran, Colin Dunford and Tom Devine were all on the Waterford Panel.

A good number of the panel chosen by Derek McGrath and his selectors for the league and championship in 2015 had also been part of the Waterford Minors who included Austin Gleeson that won the All-Ireland in 2013, the first the county had won since 1948.

Blackwater Community School in Lismore had won the Dean Ryan Cup in recent times, and players like the Bennett brothers would have been part of successful teams to come out of the Heritage town as would Maurice Shanahan and Mikey Kearney.

A good number of the panel had also helped Waterford IT and UCC win Fitzgibbon Cups in recent years, and students from Waterford at UCC and CIT had also played with their college side in the Cork Senior Hurling Championship, something that would have helped them develop as players. Others like Brian O’Halloran were involved with an excellent Mary I team in the Fitzgibbon Cup in the last few years.

When the two sides clashed back in April, a late Pauric Mahony free sent Waterford into the league final.

Tipperary that day had to plan without a string of regulars.

12 of the side that lost out to Waterford in Nolan Park started in their semi final win over Limerick recently where they were able to put out a stronger side that what faced Waterford at Nolan Park.

On Sunday, its expected that while Tipperary are reported to be carrying injuries will be able to field an even stronger starting 15 than what faced Limerick.

From the League semi final win at Nolan Park Waterford will be with out Pauric Mahony who put 13 points past the Premier Men that day. There is no doubting that the Ballygunner man is a big loss for Waterford but as we saw in the win over Cork, others stepped up to fill the void left by Mahony and who ever is selected this week for Waterford no doubt will do the same.

When the Waterford team is named later this week, it’s envisaged that it will be along the lines of what is named for recent games, but that does not mean that the team named will be the team that starts.

Up to the centre field positions, the team possibly picks itself. About four of the forwards can possibly be named at this stage, but there are one or two places where we will be left guessing about.

Maurice Shanahan, Michael Walsh, Colin Dunford and Jake Dillon would all be expected to start.

But what about the other two places.

Will Tom Devine start? Could Brian O’Halloran be given a place in the team from the start and how many if any of the Bennett brothers will start. These are questions we wont have answered until around 3-30pm or even later on Sunday afternoon.

Just one point separated the sides at Nolan Park in April and I have a feel that this Sunday’s Munster Final could well prove to be just as close.

Last Sunday, the Munster Council were given an added bonus with Cork and Kerry finishing all square in the football final and I would not be surprised if the same was to happen this weekend.

I began this piece by talking up Tipperary a little, but that does not mean that I think they will win.

I believe Waterford will win this year’s Munster Final. A one point difference at the end of the game will be good enough, even if it does not happen on Sunday afternoon.

Confidence in the Waterford camp has to be high right now. Getting out of Division 1B in the league was a good start to the year. Winning the League Final 10 weeks ago was an added bonus. Winning against Cork in the Munster Semi Final was another bonus and to win this weekend would mean that Waterford have won two of the three biggest pieces of silverware this year, and what ever would happen for the remainder of the year after that, Waterford would go into 2016 in a very good place.

And with so many of the panel involved in the under 21’s the sides win over Cork in Cork would be seen as a confidence booster going into this weekends game, where a win would see then travel to Ennis on Wednesday night next for the under 21 Munster Semi Final on an absolute high, which could mean that the management team might have a job on their hands to guard against complacency against Clare playing on their own sod.

One thing that has to be said about the game this weekend is the venue. It’s great that common sense prevailed by all and the game goes ahead at Thurles.

In Ulster, the Ulster Council with a long number of years, with the exception of a hand full of years, the Ulster Council regardless of who is in the final plays its Senior Football Final in Clones.

Maybe the same should happen down here in Munster when it comes to the hurling championship, and the final regardless of who is in it the game goes ahead in Thurles, with the football maybe rotating each year again between Killarney and Cork, again regardless of who is in it.

If the Munster Council were to play the final year in, year out at Thurles, maybe a compromise could be reached. While it does not matter what end the fans gather, sometimes there appears to be a psychological advantage of playing into your own fans.

Sometimes making Dublin play into the Hill at Croke Park in the first half is an advantage, so if Tipperary were involved in a Munster Final at Thurles, it could be decided that the Tipperary fans on the terrace have to head to the Town end of the ground.