Tipp have the menace to put house in order

ARE Tipperary the new Waterford? On their day, and for several years, Waterford were the most attractive team in hurling, the most flamboyant.

When they hit the high notes they were an octave or two above most opposition, the likes of perennial favourites Ken McGrath, Tony Browne, Paul Flynn, Dan Shanahan and John Mullane, joined in recent seasons by a more mature Eoin Kelly, strutting their stuff on the biggest stages.

But to win an All-Ireland and especially under the new system, you have to peak, peak, then peak again. Over the last decade, year after year Waterford have failed to meet that order, with last year’s disaster in the All-Ireland final against Kilkenny probably the best example of all. Inconsistency is their Achilles heel.