Huge week awaits on underage front
Pat Walsh of Waterford celebrates scoring a point against Clare. Photo: Natasha Barton
A busy week on the underage front begins with the meeting of the Déise and three-in-a-row seeking Tipperary on Wednesday. Waterford left a potential statement victory behind them in Sixmilebridge and now turn their attention to the All-Ireland champions.
James O’Connor’s men will likely have to get something from this game to have any hope of prolonging their summer, but the opposition on this occasion look a cut above the rest. The Premier are able to call upon the likes of Oisin O’Donoghue, Stefan Tobin, Cathal O’Reilly and Paddy McCormack - all of whom have been afforded senior minutes of late.
Sean Mackey, Joe McDonnell and Hugo Quann caught the eye in Clare last time out for Waterford but the visit of Brendan Cummins’ men will be a real indicator as to the level the Déise are at or the one they must aspire to in time.
It’s a rare entity when Waterford go into a campaign as defending All-Ireland champions, but that is what will happen when the Darragh O’Sullivan era begins in Limerick on Friday night. Whilst many of the panel have moved on to under-20 level, there are still plenty of All-Ireland medals in the dressing room, and there are more talented youngsters coming through.
Limerick, for all their senior success, haven’t set the world alight at underage level of late, and while an away trip, this represents a real opportunity for the Déise to inject momentum into their campaign from the off.
At the time of going to print, the panel is yet to be named for 2026, but one imagines there will be strong representation from the core of Ballygunner, Mount Sion and De La Salle, while there has also been a surge of talent passing through the ranks in Fourmilewater. A big test to begin, but opportunity knocks.
Having beaten Limerick convincingly and having been second best against Clare, this game against Tipperary is a real chance for Paul Power’s men to get back to winning ways.
Waterford showed glimpses of their ability against the Banner on Saturday last, but never threatened the scoreboard enough. This squad does carry real goal threat however and should they bring their shooting boots, they’ll trouble most teams with their exciting brand of football.
Corey Lyons and Paddy McCarthy both went off with knocks late on, so a lot could yet hinge on their availability. Tipperary were second best against Clare on opening night, but they put up 3-13 against Limerick to leave them level with the Déise going into this crucial clash. Waterford have come up short against Tipperary in underage football of late but there’s no better time to reverse that trend.
At the time of going to print, the result of Waterford’s opening game against Clare is not known, given it threw in as we went to print last night, however, the Déise will be out for their first home game in quick succession as they welcome Tipperary to Lemybrien.
Brendan Kearney’s squad was named during the week and features strong West Waterford representation, captained by Dungarvan’s Rían Hallahan and Rathgormack’s Peter Murray. A lot more will be known after the Clare clash, but many of these players have caught the eye at club level in recent seasons and it’ll be exciting to see how they fare in the coming weeks.
