Noel Connors: No guarantee Waterford stay at hurling's top table

SLIPPING FROM THEIR GRASP: Jack Prendergast of Waterford in action against Robert Downey of Cork during the Munster SHC Round 2 match at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Three-time All-Star winning defender Noel Connors fears Waterford’s status as a hurling county could descend to developing in the coming years.

While former captain Connors does not rule out Davy Fitzgerald’s side pulling off a win against Clare in Thurles on Saturday week, the disappointing results across senior, U20 and minor in recent times concern him greatly.

The return of one win in three and a half seasons of the Munster SHC round-robin system, one U20/U21 victory in Munster the last seven years, against Kerry last year and one minor provincial win in the past three seasons are startling statistics.

“It’s on the pessimistic side but you could end up where Waterford are like Antrim who had been struggling for a couple of years and ended up in a lower division,” says Connors. “We assume that we’re at the top table because of what we have done over the last 20 years but you could be consumed by the lower divisions quite easily.

“A strategic plan was put in place two years ago but there doesn’t seem to be any implementation of it done. We appear to be light years behind Cork and Limerick at under-age level. You’re already starting to see it happening in Clare.

“We seem happy enough to plod along without any real emphasis on the future. It’s not rocket science. You get into the schools and get as many children holding a hurley and kicking a football and hope that would manifest into more players.” 

Connors accepts Waterford has challenges because of its small population (127,085, 2022 Census). 

“I was at the Limerick game and it was difficult because you were surrounded by a sea of green. In fairness to Cork, they know what’s coming as they have been very successful at under-age and schools level. Undoubtedly, they have a team who can win an All-Ireland.

“Waterford is an incredible small county. We have 56 or so clubs. In Cork, they have five or six times that. When you break it down like that, it does make a difference and you also take into account that there is a big emphasis on football in the west of Waterford and that is not an east-west divide thing.” 

Connors was a member of Fitzgerald’s team when they went from conceding seven goals to Tipperary in the 2011 Munster final to beating Galway by 10 points in an All-Ireland quarter-final two weeks later. In 2016, he was part of the Derek McGrath side that shipped five goals against Tipp in a provincial decider only to defeat Wexford by 10 points in their last-six game a fortnight later.

To bounce back from losing by nine to Cork on Sunday is doable under Fitzgerald, the Passage man feels. 

“The biggest thing back then was we knew we didn’t perform. Having said that, I don’t think you can underestimate the significance of having a manager that players believe in. The reason I say that is if you have a manager who you have faith in the result won’t affect you that much.

“If anybody can keep them believing, it’s Davy. He’s had so many ups and downs in his career but to be fair to him he’s a fella who’s incredibly well-prepared and always has a plan in place.”

Connors wasn’t overly surprised Waterford were flat against Cork on Sunday given they had put so much into the opener against Limerick. 

“It’s very easy to be consumed by the team that’s the best and you try and play towards a system that counters them. Then to move from one for Limerick to another for Cork a week later is very challenging. No matter how much Waterford would have wanted to focus on the two games, it’s not in the GAA psyche to look beyond the first game.”