Austin Gleeson says players keen to keep buzz going in Waterford

Munster SHC fi nal

The blue and white is visible from Youghal bridge to Ferrybank, and one of the men responsible is enjoying the build-up.

Austin Gleeson has been a key player for the Waterford hurlers in their Allianz HL success and march to the Munster hurling final, and he says he and his teammates can’t wait for Sunday and Tipperary.

“We’re all looking forward to it, between the training weekend a while back and the sessions we’ve had, it’s been building and building.

“A few of us played in the Munster minor hurling final a couple of years ago, so from that point of view a few of us have an idea of how the day goes, what it’s going to be like in terms of times and that, but it’s obviously going to be bigger this weekend because it’s the senior game this time round.

"It’s far more high-profile, the focus on you is much greater, but when we played in the minor final there in Limerick it was against Limerick, so at least there’s something in that experience we can draw on.

“I can remember well when Tom Morrissey got the goal for them to force the replay, the noise that was made - it was as if the crowd were bursting out onto the field at you. That’ll help us a bit, having been through that experience and we’ll draw on that against Tipperary on Sunday.”

The fact that they’re playing in Semple Stadium isn’t significant, says the man from Mount Sion.

“Thurles isn’t an issue for us, our attitude is that Semple Stadium, that’s the home of hurling in Munster. If the Munster final is to be played there we’re happy to be involved in it. Certainly no matter how the result goes on Sunday we won’t be using it as an excuse if it goes against us. The venue isn’t an issue.”

What’s more of a challenge is the quality Tipperary bring to the table.

Gleeson acknowledges how dangerous the men in blue and gold are: “Tipperary have very good forwards, Seamie Callanan, Bubbles Dwyer, everybody knows that.

“We know well they’ll take minding, all our backs know that. But we knew that before we played Cork as well, they had good forwards and we knew we’d have to be on our game to mind them.

"We studied them all, how they played, what they did, and we’re hoping that all the work we’ve done since then on Tipperary will work and that we’ll bring a good performance this weekend.”

The Waterford team’s completely different now to the side which had those seismic battles with Cork in the last decade, but now they’re in another final, Gleeson sees the fans get behind them. He’s keen to see that continue.

“Around the town you can see it, there’s plenty of bunting, loads of flags. It’s great, everywhere you go people are asking how you’re feeling, how’s this guy going, how’s the team - that’s all part of it.

“It’s great to be involved on the panel, it’s a great experience and we’re treating the game this Sunday as another step on the journey for us, another step we need to take to get where we want to go. At the same time it’s a Munster final - we haven’t been in a provincial final since 2012 and it’s a title we haven’t won since 2010, and we’re keen to change that.

“The buzz is definitely back in Waterford, and we’ll be looking to keep that going for another while yet.”