A must-win Munster clash for both counties
Mark Fitzgerald of Waterford and Ronan Maher of Tipperary at the Munster GAA Senior Hurling Championship launch 2026 at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles. Photo: Sportsfile/David Fitzgerald
With both sides reeling from opening day defeats at the hands of Clare and Cork respectively, Sunday’s meeting of Waterford and Tipperary at Walsh Park has now become a must-win encounter for both counties.
While the Déise and the Premier have positives to draw on from their openers, both will know they only have themselves to blame for not getting off to a winning start.
For Waterford, they created a multitude of opportunities and yielded 4-21, but they also shipped 2-33, only scored 1-9 outside of Stephen Bennett and goalkeeper Billy Nolan made four outstanding saves.
For Tipperary, to be blunt about it - they never really showed up against Cork. The Rebels hit 0-29 but also created 45 scoring chances. Key men like Jake Morris, John McGrath and Darragh McCarthy had little to no impact - but even with all that factored in, they only lost by four points.
Even the greatest ever Waterford sides went to Ennis and never came home with a win. It’s always been a hard place for Waterford to go, but Sunday’s loss was one of their greatest opportunities to change that narrative.
As for Tipperary, Cork would no doubt have been hellbent on revenge for last year’s All-Ireland Final defeat at the hands of the Premier. They hadn’t beaten the Rebels in Thurles since 2016, and despite holding the crown and being at home - they also went into their opener as underdogs.
When Peter Queally and Liam Cahill would’ve sat down earlier this year, they both would’ve circled Sunday as one of the must-win fixtures, ever before a sliotar was pucked. Winning home games would’ve always been the most likely route out of Munster for Waterford, while Tipperary respectfully would fancy themselves a lot more against the Déise and Clare than you could be pitting yourselves against the likes of Cork and Limerick.
Stephen Bennett was remarkable scoring 3-12 for Waterford in Ennis and with him at the peak of his powers, anything at all is possible. Dessie Hutchinson notched 0-4 from limited possession, and Sean Walsh could also have had a hat-trick as well as Bennett if luck was on his side. You can take the positives from the aforementioned - but the simple fact is Bennett can’t be expected to fire 3-12 again and 1-9 from the supporting cast won’t cut it.
The Déise coughed up 48 scoring opportunities against Clare. Tipperary’s forwards might’ve had an off day against Cork, but if you give them 48 chances next time out - you can be rest assured Waterford won’t be winning. Jake Morris, John McGrath, Andrew Ormond and company will rightly attract criticism for their most recent outing - but there’s no way they won’t arrive to Walsh Park with the bit between their teeth afterward. Few teams react better to setbacks than ones that are managed by Liam Cahill.
League form doesn’t necessarily translate to championship, you need only cite Offaly’s performance against Dublin in Leinster to back up that - but the league meeting of Waterford and Tipperary at Walsh Park on March 15th tells us a lot in relation to what we can expect in five days’ time.
The better team lost on that occasion - and if Waterford can exploit Tipperary’s weaknesses as well as they did on that occasion, then they’re in with a good shout. Still, the Déise did cough up a ten-point lead on that occasion, and that should tell you all you need to know about the character of the Premier.
Dessie Hutchinson hit 0-5 from play on that occasion, Shane Bennett hit 0-4, Sean Walsh finished with 1-1 - and they were also without Stephen Bennett on the day in question. John McGrath and Stefan Tobin caused a lot of problems at the other end, and I’m sure they will again next time out.
If Waterford were to lose to Tipperary, then they’d have to beat Cork and then travel to Limerick and win at the Gaelic Grounds to have any chance of getting out of the province. That’s a huge ask - and while beating the All-Ireland champions is going to be no small feat in itself, with respect to the Premier - on the evidence of what 2026 has thrown up so far, that looks far more realistically achievable.
It’ll be tense, it’ll be tight - and there’ll be very little in it come the finish again. The Déise fateful deserve to finally come out the right side of one of these frantic affairs - but hurling is ruthless, you don’t always reap what you sew. This is Waterford’s biggest game in a long time - let’s hope the reality of that isn’t lost on anyone in the days ahead.
