Mayo the hot tip to save summer

Already nine games into their summer campaign, the guts of Stephen Rochford’s side know what it is to beat Dublin, Kerry and Jim McGuinness’ Donegal under the most unforgiving of championship microscopes, writes Brendan O’Brien.

Funny how history repeats itself. The last time Waterford put themselves forward for an All-Ireland senior hurling final was back in 2008. As will be the case again this coming weekend, they had to vie for attention with a Republic of Ireland side that had business with Georgia in the shape of a World Cup qualifier.

Giovanni Trapattoni’s lads had already opened up their campaign with a 2-1 defeat of the Eastern Europeans in a game played in Mainz the day before, when a group of them walked into an Irish bar in the German city to take in the Déise’s first decider in just short of 50 years.