Old friends are best: Prunty and Abbeyside aiming to get one over on Ballygunner in decider 

The sides face off in the Waterford showpiece this weekend. 

Waterford's Conor Prunty in full flow against Cork earlier this year. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Pals, team-mates, work colleagues. Conor Prunty and Peter Hogan would regularly chew the cud but in Sanofi base in Waterford but this week there was barely a word.

Understandably so, of course, as they are rivals in Sunday’s county senior hurling final. “We’re very good friends,” says project engineer Prunty. “It was a smile on Monday and that was it.” The difference between Abbeyside’s Prunty and Ballygunner’s Hogan couldn’t be starker. Both may be 27 but as Prunty aims for his first senior county medal, his buddy is aiming for his 11th consecutive.

Ballygunner are a behemoth. Win in Fraher Field on Sunday and their unbeaten run in the county extends to 58 matches. In the 10 county final victories, their average winning margin is 12 points.

It's enough for even the most assured hurler to gulp and Prunty fully accepts what Abbeyside are coming up against but they have found this year that focusing on themselves has worked best.

“As a player group, we have probably bought in a lot more than we usually do. There has been better commitment shown. Not that it was awful the last few years but we got was required this year and management as well put a programme in place that facilitated every player that was there and what each fella required in training. That with a bit of luck has helped.

“It’s a funny one. To end up where we are, we wouldn’t have set a goal. Our aim was clichéd and boring, to take each game as it came. We beat Ferrybank, which gave us a chance to top the group. The Fourmile(water) game was built up to be a big one as the winners would have a three-week build-up to a quarter-final. We won it, avoided the prelim quarters, which we haven’t done in previous years and that allowed players to have a break.

“The last two weeks we felt they were free shots especially against Mount Sion because there wasn’t much excitement. Had we lost, it would have probably been considered a good year.” 

Sunday marks the first Waterford SHC final in Fraher Field since Ballygunner steamrolled Abbeyside in 2018. It’s not a game Prunty intends drawing for much save for the length of time it took to get to another decider.

“Ballygunner have advanced so much since then and we’ve drastically changed in that time. There are lads on the team now who were probably at the game but can’t remember it.

“I suppose the lesson from it is that they don’t come around too often. I learned through our (Ballinacourty) football campaigns that when they come you have to make the most of them. My first couple of years playing football, we won finals then you’re not getting there or you’re losing them. It’s just about enjoying the week and seeing it as an opportunity.” 

Prunty’s time in a Waterford jersey has been interrupted these past couple of seasons by quad and calf injuries but a measured approach to this club championship has worked well.

“You just have niggles but the management team have been fairly understanding. Mark Ferncombe is involved with us, I would have trained and played with him and he understands that sometimes less is more for me. We would have targeted games early in the championship. We had numerous challenges games before and I would only have played 40 or 50 minutes in them and that was enough. We were smart.

“Injuries is something we’ve probably been unlucky with the last couple of years, not just me. Neil (Montgomery) is back on the pitch for a small bit the last couple of games and we’re still missing Seanie Callaghan who tore his cruciate in Waterford training earlier this year.” Abbeyside’s goal threat will be a consideration for Ballygunner this weekend. Mikey Kiely has netted four of their eight championship goals but then he is hardly an unknown quantity. “I don’t know if anything surprises this Ballygunner team,” concedes Prunty.

“They’re very well prepared for each opposition. I don’t think they take any team for granted and they do their homework. It’s going to be difficult this but we believe in ourselves and we know what we’re capable of. It’s just going to be that bit tougher.” 

Prunty admires several aspects of Ballygunner, not just their team. 

“They’re an incredible well-run club with excellent structures. Their under-age teams are really well coached and drilled and very competitive and it’s driven from the top down. A lot of their players are involved with those teams and you have to commend them for that. It’s not just off the back of a great team, it’s a process. They’re always building.

“They’re a bit of a machine and no-one has figured them out yet. It’s about getting ourselves right for the weekend and giving it a right lash. We’re not disillusioned, we want to embrace the challenge because it’s a massive opportunity.”