It’s 1998 all over again, a renewal of rivalry with the Banner, and this time hopefully with a different outcome. What happened on that torrid replay day in Semple Stadium just over four years ago is history.

Still a painful memory to be sure, but its significance in the context of next Sunday is minuscule. If even that.

A much more painful memory is the outcome of our All-Ireland semi-final against the Kilkenny Cats in ’98. We had come to that penultimate stage via the now well documented losers group following that replay loss to the Banner in the provincial decider.

A superbly executed victory over Galway had us in the right frame of mind for that clash with our Suirside neighbours, but it all ended in tears, a one point defeat that should never have been.

Offaly in the final that same year, what a glorious, golden, chance of ultimate glory was missed out on.

CRUCIAL TO CAUSE

Four years on and many of the men of ’98 remain, players who will be utterly crucial to the cause on Sunday.

Feeney, Flannery, Hartley and Green in defence; Browne and Queally in the middle of the field, and Flynn and Ken McGrath in attack.

The Clare backbone of four years ago also remains firmly, and defiantly intact. The Lohans fronting Davy Fitz in goal; the still elegant Seanie McMahon as majestic as ever at centre back; the powerhouse Colin Lynch (yes how can we ever forget him) in midfield, and Jamsie and Gilligan leading the charge up front.

Dangerous, deadly dangerous, foes. By any yardstick it has been a memorable championship campaign to date for our fellows, and in the broader context for the county as a whole.

Our triumphant surge through Munster claiming the scalps of two of the biggest names in the game, Cork and Tipp, has given the whole hurling year a vigorous and riveting dimension. The new kids on the block as it were have tended to raise all boats.

The semi-final against Cork in retrospect was the catalyst for the glories that were to follow.

We played mighty hurling for much of that game, then lost our way in a spellbinding second half and allowed Cork claw back a seemingly safe and secure five point lead in the tension charged closing minutes.

DETERMINATION LEVEL

When Cork levelled with time running out it looked odds on either a replay or a Cork victory. But that was reckoning without the new determination level Justin McCarthy had drawn up for his charges. In other years we might have died, but this time there was to be that notorious Unionist catch cry ‘no surrender’.

Upfield we surged in the dying seconds, substitute Brian Greene laid off the perfect pass to the irrepressible Ken McGrath, and hey presto the sliotar was sailing straight and true between the uprights for the match-winning point that was to the sow the seeds for even bigger and greater things to come.

The Munster final against the reigning champions, Tipperary, will remain an abiding memory, whatever our fate next Sunday.

It was one of the most complete displays ever given by a Waterford team on the hurling field, as near to perfection as makes no meaningful difference.

Our second half performance in particular was the best I have ever seen from a Waterford team, and given the countless superb displays by the men of the1957/63 era that is close enough to being the ultimate accolade.

A repeat performance on Sunday should be good enough to give us the victory the county all but craves for.

Anything less however against a rejuvenated Clare just might not be.

IMPROVING CLARE

Taking a brief look at the opposition first, and one would need to be blind with prejudice not to accept and acknowledge the impressiveness of their display in edging out Galway in that blockbuster quarter-final tie.

The improvement in Clare since their first round Munster championship defeat by Tipp has been major, and they go into Sunday’s game on a very definite role and with confidence and morale buoyant.

They’ll come to Croke Park much more than believing that they CAN beat us. They’ll come in the absolute believe that they WILL.

Mind you that belief is based on rather solid foundations, and if they can get the bit between their teeth early on they will be troublesome. Bet on it!

What we must not allow happen is to give the freedom of the park to Brian Lohan and McMahon in the central defensive berths to dominate as they did against Galway.

In Seamas Prendergast and Ken McGrath respectively we have the men to ensure this does not happen, but if it does then Clare may well have the springboard from which to launch their victory effort.

Minimising the impact of players of the quality of Lohan and McMahon may be a tall order, in fact it IS a tall order, but I suspect we have the men to do just that. Not, mind you, that this duo are the only ones we will have to worry about.

Throw in Lynch, O’Connor, Gilligan, and David Forde and there’s further evidence of just how difficult a nut we face cracking on Sunday.

All of which needs to be said by way of forewarning. But having said let no one be in even the slightest doubt about our ability to add the Clare scalp to those of Cork and Tipp which we’ve already claimed in such a celebrated way.

I had hoped that at the time penning this preview that the team selection would to hand, but alas its not. A shot in the dark to some extent then is on the cards, although expect very few changes from the starting fifteen against Tipp.

DAVE BENNETT

That said there’s a buzz about the place concerning Dave Bennett whose form since the Munster final has been nothing short of superb.

If he is named in the side then I suspect it may be as Tony Browne’s midfield partner, although a place in the attack cannot be entirely ruled out either.

After the superb policing job Brian Greene did on Eoin Kelly in the second half of the Munster final there has to be an understandable temptation on the part of the selectors to again slot him in at number four.

My gut feeling however is that James Murray, the bang in form Tom Feeney, and the consistent Brian Flannery will front Stephen Brenner, with young Eoin Murphy and Greener flanking team captain Fergal Hartley in the half line.

Murray just might be under a little pressure, and if there is to be a change then it could involve Peter Queally in a defensive role with possibly a positional switch to accommodate the battling Ballydurn man.

But while even thinking about it can be nerve wracking I have confidence in the ability of Murray to rise to the occasion just as he has done in our triumphant march through Munster.

Midfield will comprise either a Browne/Queally or a Browne/Bennett partnership, and if the ‘feeling’ emerging from the camp is substantive then don’t be at all surprised if it’s a ‘B And B’ partnership.

Up front the significant physical presence of Ken McGrath on the forty and Seamas Prendergast at full will have an important bearing on how this semi-final pans out.

They must now allow McMahon and Lohan to dominate as they did against Galway, and if they can achieve that then we’re surely on our way to a Sept. 8th All-Ireland final appearance.

My expectation is that John Mullane and Eoin McGrath will flank Prendergast in the full line, and no one will ask more of the corner men than a repeat of the heroics they displayed against Tipp.

Given the right kind of speedy ball, and on the vast expanse of Croker, they could be key men on Sunday.

With Ken a shoe in to be named at centre forward its odds on the line will be completed by Eoin Kelly and Paul Flynn on the wings.

Kelly was another of the youngsters to come of age in the Munster final, and if Flynner can reproduce the sparkle that shone so sprightly against Cork then even the much vaunted Banner defence will be put to the pin of its collar to keep him at bay.

STRENGTH IN DEPTH

Andy Moloney, Dan Shanahan, and Michael White are players also pushing strongly for places in the side, but as of now it looks as though they won’t make that vital starting line up.

But what a trio to have on standby should any kind of emergency arise!

In fact the quality of the substitutes bench probably best reflects the strength of the side. In the past we had a bare fifteen with little by way of fall back, but as the Munster campaign so conclusively proved there are now as many as nineteen players in very genuine contention for inclusion in the first fifteen.

A nice kind of selectorial problem if you know what I mean! Our rivalry with Clare is now well scripted. Intense is the most appropriate single word to describe it, and the certainty is that that’s what every minute of Sunday’s game will be -intense.

Croke Park will be no place for the fainthearted, and if expectations flower than 50,000 fans, and possibly more, will revel in what will be truly a titanic battle for supremacy.

The near certainty is that this one will go right down to the wire, unless there’s a collapse by one side or the other. And that’s as unlikely as we are to get an Indian summer before this year is out.

HARD EARNED

Victory will be earned the hard way, and in the end it may come down to the survival of the fittest. Everything by way of preparation has gone as trouble free as we could ever want it to be, and mentally, physically, and every other way our men are ready for the fray.

The defeat to Clare in that replayed 1998 Munster final is certain to provide additional motivation, but there’s not likely to be any need for it.

The occasion, the sheer will to win, will drive our team on as never before.

The prize for victory is lucrative in the extreme, a place in the All-Ireland final for the first time in thirty nine years.

En route to Sunday we have already smashed that hoodoo in the provincial arena, and now its time to take it one stage further.

A mighty challenge to be sure, but one I believe in my heart of hearts we are up for.

They’ve done us proud to date this year, and they’ll do us even prouder on Sunday. Mark it down!

BLANK WEEKEND

No great surprise that there’s a complete closedown in terms of fixtures here in the division this weekend. Not a game of any kind pencilled in even for the Friday and Saturday evenings.

Fair enough as far as this weekend goes. However the lack of meaningful progress in various championships over recent weeks, including the county will be, then only God himself knows when the domestic championship year will end.

Several of the Tipperary and Kilkenny players who meet in the second hurling semi-final on Sunday week were in action on the club front last weekend, but in Waterford it seems players must be wrapped up in cotton wool to protect them from injury for as long as the county teams are involved.

Of course the risk of injury must be reduced for the county players in as much as it is feasible to do so, but I have long held the view that we go completely overboard in this particular regard.

The prospect of playing county finals yet again in the month of November, and perhaps even in December, seems to be staring us starkly in the face yet again this year.

BUSY COUNTY CHAIRMAN AND SECRTETARY

These are fairly hectic times for all our top officials, Seamas Grant and Paddy Joe Ryan in particular.

I visited the home of the county secretary one day last week and what confronted me was truly a sight to behold.

Thousands of Sunday’s match tickets being sorted out, queues of people lining up at the front door to purchase them, and a telephone that just never stopped ringing.

The dedication and efficiency of our county secretary has never ceased to amaze me.

Neither has the temerity of a small band of clueless people who seem to relish in criticising him. Believe me this county of ours, and more especially the County Board, owes one Seamas Grant a huge debt of gratitude.

The same can be said of Paddy Joe Ryan, now into his eight year as county chairman. He truly is a man of many parts, and seemingly the man for every occasion. You doubt me? Then take heed.

With no match referee available for a recent hurling league game in Cappoquin between the host club and St. Mary’s (Touraneena) the bould Paddy Joe stepped into the breach and did what I’m told was a very fine job on the whistle.

Now there’s versatility for you!

Main News Page | Previous Page