Injuries mean Decies will start as underdogs

THE build-up to tomorrow’s clash of the Munster and All-Ireland SHC champions has been dominated more by speculation on the fitness of Waterford stars Ken McGrath and Paul Flynn than on their prospects of beating Cork for the second year in a row.

The net effect is that Justin McCarthy’s team will go into the first of the provincial semi-finals as underdogs, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Cork are clear favourites to advance.

We won’t know until the last minute whether or not the two will start, but I am convinced that McGrath will line out at midfield. Recovered fully from breaking his collarbone in the NHL against Kilkenny, his lack of match practice is the greater concern but one which he can overcome.

Flynn is the bigger worry, having damaged knee ligaments a fortnight ago, and all efforts are being made to ensure his participation.

McGrath lined out at midfield in that Kilkenny game, with James Murray at centre-back, where he played in six of the eight League games. His subsequent absence upset the stability of the side.

Notably, after coming out of retirement Fergal Hartley played at full-back - a position that has troubled Waterford since the departure of Sean Cullinane, while Tom Feeney came back in at corner-back. The selectors also tried out a new goalkeeper, Clinton Hennessy for the opening four rounds, before utilising Stephen Brenner and Ian O’Regan.

The amount of experimentation carried out in the league indicates that Waterford are unsettled. By comparison Cork show only one change in personnel tomorrow from the All-Ireland final win over Kilkenny - that resulting from Wayne Sherlock’s lack of match fitness after surgery early in the year.

Shamie Hannon, one of three selectors working with McCarthy, admits that they struggled with their form in the League. “We hurled reasonably well at the start, but then Ken was injured and a few others picked up niggly injuries which never came right. If we have everyone available we are capable of reproducing our best hurling.

“We still have to show we are capable of going the extra mile, like Cork did after we beat them in the Munster final. We still ask ourselves, ‘if John Mullane was available could we have beaten Kilkenny in the semi-final?’”

But what of the potential loss of McGrath and Flynn? “We would struggle without them - and struggle big-time.”

That view would be generally shared, based on the assumption that Cork can easily click into championship mould after an indifferent League campaign.

Only a point separated the teams in the Munster final last year, when Waterford displayed tremendous character after Mullane’s dismissal three minutes into the second half. The game itself produced a marvellous contest, with some superb scores - and both Flynn and McGrath scoring crucial goals. The year before, Cork won by four points (again in the final), while Waterford triumphed in the 2002 semi-final thanks to a late McGrath point.

Though John Allen has replaced Donal O’Grady at the Cork helm, the remaining management structure is unchanged, as is the playing personnel.

Whether or not they win this game is a different matter, the bigger challenges will come later in the campaign when it’s presumed they will be one of the eight quarter-finalists in the new system.

That aside, there can be no doubting the value of an outright Munster championship for either county and, on current form, the winners would be favoured to achieve that.

If Waterford were at full-strength it would be difficult to separate the teams. However, it seems to me that they are not settled enough to bridge a gap that appears to be there now, but you would expect that to be bridged in another two months or so. On the basis of the team’s proven ability as much as its greater potential, I expect Cork to win - except that it will require a significant step-up on League form to bring it about.