Hutchinson hungry for more Munster medals

Ballygunner star Dessie Hutchinson says his side are “hungry to go further” as they prepare to face Limerick champions Na Piarsaigh in the Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship Quarter-Final at the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday, November 2nd.

Fresh off another dominant county campaign, Hutchinson was pivotal as Ballygunner secured their 12th consecutive Waterford Senior Hurling title, beating Mount Sion 2-35 to 1-19 in a superb display of attacking hurling. Hutchinson contributed 1-6 in the final and an incredible 7-57 across the championship.

“It’s been a great year personally for myself,” Hutchinson reflected. “I felt back to my best within the team. After a tough year with Waterford, to come back into Ballygunner — it’s the best place you could come back into. You get that confidence going again with the lads you play with.” He also praised new manager Jason Ryan and his backroom team, including Darragh Mulcahy, for bringing renewed energy to a group already accustomed to success.

“That freshness is key to any team,” he explained. “Jason came in with his backroom team, and they’ve been absolutely brilliant. They haven’t tried to change a whole lot, but they’ve brought their own ideas too — it’s freshened up how we train and it’s benefited us definitely.” 

FAR FROM A WALKOVER 

While Ballygunner’s emphatic county final win looked straightforward on paper, Hutchinson was quick to stress that this year’s championship was far from a walkover.

“We were tested in all our games this year,” he said. “In the final, we were probably at our best, and Mount Sion underperformed. We were going into that game thinking they’re going to throw everything at us… that mindset allowed us to play how we wanted to play.” He added that the competition within Waterford hurling is “getting stronger every year,” and that Ballygunner’s ability to dig deep when needed was a key part of their sustained dominance.

“You have to be ready to perform no matter what the situation is,” he said. “Thankfully, we got a good blend of performances throughout the year — ones where we were tested, maybe ones we didn’t play so well in, and then ones where we did show what we can do.” Now attention turns to the Munster stage, and Hutchinson admits the Gunners head into this year’s campaign with unfinished business.

“We do, absolutely,” he said. “It’s another Munster Championship, and as a player you want to win as much as you can. Going down to Limerick is no easy thing to do… we definitely won’t be looking any further than that game.” The goal, as ever, is to get back to the top — and Hutchinson knows that every step of the journey counts.

“When you’ve been there so often, you want to get back there,” he said. “If we want to get back to where we want to get back to, then we need to take care of everything that’s in front of us in Waterford. You get greedy in sport — you want to go further and win more silverware.” 

UNRELENTING COMPETITION 

Part of Ballygunner’s success, Hutchinson says, comes from the unrelenting competition within the club itself.

“Some of the best games we’ve played have been against each other,” he laughed. “If you were up on the bank in Ballygunner watching an internal game, you’d say, ‘This is why they’re successful.’ We tear lumps out of each other. The competition for places is so high — that’s key in any team.” That competitive edge, he says, keeps the team sharp and ensures that standards never slip.

“It keeps the standard at such a high level that people know what they have to do to get into the team,” he added. “If you don’t perform, there’s somebody there ready to come in and steady you.” With another county title in the bag and a Munster campaign ahead, Hutchinson says the hunger to achieve more hasn’t dimmed one bit.

“Any year you win a county championship is a successful one,” he said. “But we get greedy in sport — you want to go further and win more silverware. Hopefully that’ll be the aim over the next few weeks.” As Ballygunner prepare for their trip to Limerick, the message from their star forward is clear — the Gunners are far from finished.

“We’ll take every game as it comes,” Hutchinson said. “It’ll be a battle — but that’s what we play for.”