The gap may narrow, but not enough for Waterford

REALISTICALLY, honestly, do Waterford have any chance against Kilkenny in tomorrow’s All-Ireland SHC semi-final?

Can a team which is substantially the same as that which was walloped by 23 points last September (3-30 to 1-13), by a Kilkenny side which itself is also substantially the same tomorrow, turn things round in the intervening 11 months to such an extent that they now have a realistic chance of winning?

Before we attempt an answer, let’s have a look at what happened in that fateful match nearly a year ago, and let’s also look at what’s happened in the meantime. Right through the 2008 championship, Kilkenny were in devastating form. They crushed Offaly (2-24 to 0-12), annihilated Wexford in the Leinster final (5-21 to 0-17), before dismissing a Cork team (1-23 to 0-17) that was coming off the back of two very good come-from-behind wins over Clare and Galway. Noteworthy were the huge scores being racked up by the Kilkenny forwards, the points totals especially.