Why Waterford's wait will end

JUSTIN McCARTHY knows the pitfalls because he has been through it as a player and coach. He realises only too well the implications for his Waterford team contesting the National Hurling League final at the Gaelic Grounds tomorrow (4pm).

Back in the mid-1970s, working with Fr Harry Bohan (now a selector with Anthony Daly), he helped the Banner win two consecutive League titles.

He can also recall the year Cork hammered Limerick in the League final only to lose sensationally to Waterford in the championship the following week. It's easy for him to name the year - 1974 - because that game, in Walsh Park, marked his last appearance in a Cork jersey, bringing a distinguished career to an inglorious end.