Six days to shape a hurling summer

The Munster Senior Hurling Championship is back, with all the fire and brimstone, blood and thunder, classic cliches and raw unpredictability anyone could dream of.

As far as opening acts go, this drama is on track for a Tony. We’ve arguably seen the game of the entire championship already on a day when nobody was a winner. A win for Waterford and they’ll be top of the tree for at least an hour or two afterward - a loss and they’ll be the only team without a point irrespective of any other results. The stakes couldn’t possibly be any higher before the Déise have even pucked a sliotar.

Watching the first half of the Clare and Cork game, I don’t think there was any point in 2025 so far where I felt so confident that Waterford would leave the Banner wounded and downtrodden walking out of Walsh Park come the final whistle. Watching the second half of the Clare and Cork game, I was never more certain that the task at hand is one of extreme difficulty and potentially diminishing likelihood.

That said, you want to be the best? You have to beat them. This time last year, no one gave Waterford a whimper against Cork after all. There was a point between Waterford and Clare in Ennis last year, I don’t think Waterford have gotten any worse since then and I don’t think Clare have gotten any better. There’s no compelling evidence out there to suggest that it can’t be a close game. Will that second half exertion give Brian Lohan’s men the long desired kick that they wanted all along? Will it have taken an awful lot out of them? Will Waterford be caught cold having not hurled for three weeks? There’s a million different questions I can ask, there’s absolutely none I can answer definitively.

Looking at the opposition, there were a lot of pleasing characteristics to their performance against the Rebels. Yes, they have weaknesses - but they have heart, desire, determination and a winning mentality. They know what it’s like to taste success and don’t want to relinquish that feeling. If Clare leave Walsh Park empty handed, they have to beat Tipperary then also travel to the Gaelic Grounds and at the very least pick up a point. There’s an awful lot on the line for them too.

Clare haven’t won Munster in 27 years yet they have the best form record of anyone under the round-robin format. A lot has been made of their league campaign, but the league doesn’t count for anything at all come championship bar confidence. Coming out for the second half of that game on Sunday, they could’ve easily rolled over and died. They hurled their hearts out, reaped the rewards and gave us all a firm reminder as to why they’re All Ireland champions.

In terms of danger men, there was once an old adage that if you stop Tony Kelly, you stop Clare. It definitely helps, but he’s hardly peerless. The absence of Shane O’Donnell is also definitely beneficial to the Déise cause - but the likes of David Reidy, Peter Duggan and Aidan McCarthy will be more than capable of causing us a multitude of problems. They brought a real goal threat in those 35 minutes - and it’s definitely where the game can be won and lost. I think Sunday at Walsh Park could be a real goal fest.

On the positive flip side, Clare have been pretty leaky at the back. Cork should’ve had 4 goals minimum in the first half and could’ve been gone with the wind. They didn’t take their chances and left the door open for Clare to come back. Clare will come to Waterford having shipped 11 goals so far this year. Waterford have hit 15. I wouldn’t be one bit surprised to see an injection of pace into the Déise forward pack, and they’ll look to run at the Banner to exploit any potential weaknesses.

The likes of Dessie Hutchinson, Patrick Curran and Jamie Barron possess some serious pairs of afterburners and the driving runs we’ve seen from the likes of Gavin Fives, Darragh Lyons and company further outfield will certainly be a welcome sight. It will be very interesting to see who is given the task of marauding around the field following Jamie Barron - if they do their job well, it’ll go a long way. If they don’t, we’ll all be smiling a lot wider come Sunday evening.

Mark Fitzgerald has been the star so far this season for Waterford and should Conor Prunty be fit to return, it’ll be of huge benefit to Waterford to have Fitzgerald pushed further upfield. Tadhg de Burca has been imperious upon his return, and will surely be relishing the cut and thrust of championship - and these individual battles will be the hinging of a whole season in truth.

You might find that to be a strange comment but I fully believe a loss against Clare leaves Waterford in a very perilous position. It wouldn’t be the end of the world but still no one wants to be chasing their tail. The last thing you would want is to be looking at the table this time next week and realising we’re the only ones without points on the board. Stephen Bennett said it very well after the league final - the whole thing could be up in smoke in six days come the end of the Limerick clash or we could be having an eye toward a Munster final. The margins between both are so small, as we’re all too familiar with.

It’s nice to be coming into the game with a sense of optimism, off the back of wins and with no one losing the run of themselves too much in terms of unrealistic expectations - but like I said in the case of the opposition, the league counts for absolutely nothing now. It’s almost somewhat of an obscure silver lining that Clare didn’t allow themselves to be battered by Cork, because the walking wounded are a dangerous devil to deal with, and the last thing anyone would want would be any potential avenue for complacency to creep in.

I love the mindset of this Waterford management team though. I’m a big believer in what they’re trying to communicate and what they’re aiming to achieve. That doesn’t mean they’ll achieve it - but I do feel they’re going about it the right way. It’s not so long since that awful day in Carlow, talk of transitions and back to square ones - let’s just go one step at a time. A win would be amazing but it wouldn’t be earth shattering. A loss would be damaging but not wholly detrimental.

I’ll go for a two point Waterford win, Patrick Curran with the goal. And also, there’ll be an eyebrow or two raised in the land of the Rebels - I think Tipperary might have a lot to say to them too.

Whatever happens, let’s just all row in the same direction - forward. As a final note, to anyone who can - make the trip to Cork on Friday to support the minors. Some day these lads will be the seniors, and they look a group to be excited about.

Five more sleeps. Up The Déise.