Bannermen will pose Déise a Clare and present danger

A YEAR ago there would have been only one verdict here. Of the two sides, Waterford are the team with the big-game experience, the big-name players and the talent. A number of significant factors, however, have combined to change the picture.

Waterford did not have a good league and lost a play-off game to an under-strength Cork side. Waterford haven’t been doing well lately in some of their challenge matches, Waterford have lost several key players to injury; all the accusatory fingers then are pointed at the Decies, and all indicate a growing vulnerability. Fair?

Well, while Clare didn’t set the world on fire in the league either, finished well out of the playoff picture in division 1B, there were extenuating circumstances.

Mike MacNamara is in his first year at the helm and while he didn’t exactly wipe the decks clean, he has rung the changes. Six changes in personnel from Clare’s last championship outing, their All-Ireland quarter-final loss to Limerick last year, three championship debutants in Darragh Clancy (corner-back), Pat Donnellan (wing-back) and Mark Flaherty (corner-forward), all of which suggest that the man from Scariff is doing things his way.

Let’s examine the recent Waterford failures. It could be argued that, having won the league last year Waterford eyes this year were on something else.

Does that explain, however, how you lose to Wexford, a team which then went on to lose to Antrim and a team which is currently mired in deep, deep trouble? Does it explain an 11 point thumping against under-strength Kilkenny on a day when Waterford really wanted to win?

Does it explain the loss at home, in front of their own fervent fans, to a fledgling Cork side? Making matters worse, a few weeks ago at the opening of Mallow’s magnificent complex an even more under-strength Cork side again beat a near full-strength Waterford convincingly.

That was the evening when centre-back Ken McGrath injured his knee, eventually required surgery, sees him miss this match. Also on the recent injured list have been hurler-of-the-year Dan Shanahan – who should be back – and free-taker Eoin Kelly, along with corner-back Eoin Murphy, while Paul Flynn has also been off the scene.

Given that Shanahan has so far been off the boil this year, has yet to find the form that made him near unmarkable last year, given that John Mullane — despite a few classy scores in almost every outing — is another who is struggling for consistency, then clearly, Waterford is a team in trouble.

Then again, and perhaps this is heresy given the profile they’ve added to the Munster championship for the past several years, maybe they’d be better off for their own sake taking the back road to the All-Ireland championship.

What of Clare? League form aside, word has it that they are absolutely flying in training, form they produced in a recent challenge match win over Galway in O’Callaghan’s Mills.

I know, I know; challenge and championship, chalk and cheese, but given that we’ve had no championship form yet this year, you have to go on something. My long-held belief is that, just like Limerick, there is talent in Clare every year, but just like Limerick, it’s rarely recognised; you dismiss these guys at your peril.

Add in that this game is in Limerick and that Waterford fans have returned tickets in their thousands and Clare have additional advantage. If the real Waterford turns up I’m going to look foolish, but I’m going for Clare here.

Verdict: Clare.