Waterford make the leap from pretenders to serious contenders
Most of all though, a county outside the elite bracket was able to luxuriate in inhaling the deep, sweet sense of satisfaction of beating a traditional powerhouse.
And it’s a beautiful feeling.
I don’t care what anyone says, even if Cork do come along in five weeks’ time and administer a backlash as Kilkenny did to Dublin in the 2011 Leinster final, yesterday’s success in Thurles is still a massive achievement for Waterford.
We’re all in hurling to win things and there are only two national competitions you can win. For Waterford to have one of them in the bag at this stage of this team’s development is a phenomenal achievement.
Derek McGrath, Dan Shanahan and Fintan O’Connor deserve massive credit for the way they have this team turned out, but Fergal O’Brien, their physical trainer, is obviously a massive asset within their set-up. Waterford’s physical conditioning and fitness is something else.
Kevin Moran is the ideal endorsement. His energy levels in how he was able to sweep behind the half-back line and get up the field for scores was off the charts.
The contribution from their bench also highlighted how slick this machine actually is. Tom Devine got 1-1, Brian O’Halloran chipped in with a class point. Martin O’Neill, another runner suited to the type of game they play, underlined how comfortable every player is with the system. When that is embedded into the players psyche, it is far easier to execute it.
Waterford basically played with five up front yesterday. Austin Gleeson and Tadgh de Burca alternated as the sweeper.
Cork also had a sweeper, mostly Cormac Murphy, with Stephen McDonnell occupying that role at stages. Yet the key with trying to match that system is that every other player must mark his man, and match him for workrate. Cork just didn’t want to know about that level of workrate.
We might all be saying in five weeks time, ‘Ah, Cork had their eye on June 7 all along’. Kilkenny came out and blew Dublin away in that 2011 Leinster final but Cork are not Kilkenny and Waterford are so comfortable and confident with how they play now that Cork won’t just beat them because they decide to turn up in a better frame of mind.
Despite Cork’s wides yesterday, they still only hit 17 scores, the same number Tipp hit against Waterford in the semi-final. You win very few matches anymore with just 17 scores but Waterford just don’t give you time on the ball to slot points.
I thought Cork had a handle on it early on but they just weren’t disciplined enough to apply that level of workrate and desire that is required to compete with this Waterford machine.
In the 61st minute, a high, breaking ball was dropping between Jake Dillon and Lorcán McLoughlin and Dillon just went for it as is his life depended on it. He got his hurley to it and knocked it down to Brian O’Halloran. That summed up the difference between the teams. Anytime Cork went long, Waterford were first onto the break. When Cork tried to run the ball, there was a wall of Waterford lads to meet them.
Cork were completely outfought. The footballers got it in the neck last week after their display against Dublin and the hurlers deserve every bit as much stick now. They just didn’t seem to want it as much as Waterford but there is Jekyll and Hyde blood pumping through their veins; 12 points up against Tipp and blew it, 12 points down against Dublin and dug it out, a no-show against Kilkenny, brilliant against Clare, another no-show yesterday.
Jimmy Barry-Murphy has five weeks now to try and get it right. Seamus Harnedy’s injury is another headache. Aidan Walsh’s form just hasn’t been consistent enough after dropping football.
The experiment of playing Aidan Ryan at full-back didn’t really work. He battled away but the quality of his deliveries when he won the ball just wasn’t good enough at this level. Maurice Shanahan had Ryan in big trouble at stages of the first half but he just didn’t punish him enough on the scoreboard. If Shanahan can apply more polish to his finishing, he could be a fantastic target-man over the summer.
There are two very different challenges ahead now for both managements. Cork have to respond. Waterford have to try and keep their feet on the ground but you’d have full confidence in Derek McGrath that he will manage that. He has moulded a young squad into a serious force and the Waterford county board should be planning now to leave him in this job for at least five or six years to get the most out of this project.
Hurling is a funny game. The Cork boys could be saying in five weeks, ‘Wait for the cuckoo as Ring used to say’, but these Waterford boys no problem invading anyone’s nest.
I certainly don’t want to be harping back to Dublin but it’s the most experience I gained in this game. Michael Carruth, the Olympic gold medallist from 1992, used to work with us as a physical therapist. He was a brilliant presence in our dressingroom, a great character to have around the place. He said to the boys one night, ‘Youse are contenders not pretenders anymore’.
There’s no doubt Waterford are serious contenders now.
