'It really did hurt': Hutchinson turns Waterford axe into Ballygunner scoring spree

Hutchinson was dropped for Waterford's Munster SHC game against Cork but has gone on to scored 9-70 for Ballygunner in their run to provincial glory

Tue, 02 Dec, 2025 - 02:30

John Fogarty

Dessie Hutchinson admits he was motivated to have a big season with Ballygunner after being dropped while captaining Waterford last May.

Hutchinson, who turns 29 later this week, was benched for the final Munster SHC round game against Cork after scoring just two points across the three previous games.

He harnessed the pain of that axing to amass 7-57 in eight county championship games and another 2-13 in the three Munster matches as more silverware was annexed.

“Yeah, it was (tough), absolutely. Look, 100%, there's no point in me saying, ‘Look, no it wasn't,’ but it really did (hurt). But it also probably gave me a bit of an edge to go and perform at the club this year. Thankfully, I think I've done that so far.

“But it comes back to the group and the role that you're expected to play within the group and what the lads expect of you and what I expect of them.”

Having Ballygunner to return to after that disappointment was a great comfort for Hutchinson. “It's unreal. Look, the minute you walk in the door up in Ballygunner, you just feel so calm again because you're around people that just care so much about you and you care about them.

“And to go back into a set-up like we have is brilliant. We added Jason [Ryan] and a few others this year that have brought new energy to us.”

Hutchinson would like to think Ballygunner’s success in Munster can be replicated by the Waterford team but recent events off the field make him wonder as the county board try to incorporate two Ballygunner teams in the senior grade next season.

“You see the aggro around our premier intermediate team now. They're trying to put another senior team in it and that's only to do one thing and that's to hurt us.

“So, look, I'm not going to go into that now because today's a special day. But you'd like to think that what we're doing should have good benefit to the rest of the county. But it's hard to know.”

Hutchinson can now talk about how much last year’s Munster final loss to Sarsfields impacted the team. “Look, it did really, really hurt us and we were only saying there a few of us went away to Malaga last year after and it was just depression, you know, and how much it hurt.

“Do you know what, it brought us back down to earth a bit and we knew what we had to do. We were probably pretending we were going well last year, but we weren't really at that time.

“So, to be able to come out and put on a performance (v Éire Óg, Inis) and even the last two games have been huge for us. But look, we're still in a championship now that we want to go and win.”

Hutchinson was overjoyed for his fellow Waterford man and former Brighton and Hove Albion team-mate Jayson Molumby as he was part of the Ireland team that secured a World Cup semi-final play-off with last month’s 3-2 win over Hungary in Budapest.

He left the professional sports life in England behind him in 2018 and it’s with little regret that he reflects on it.

“Look, you think about things like that now and again. But I've been so lucky to be part of a team like Ballygunner. I'm just delighted to be here. I have a good career at the moment. I'm teaching in St Paul's in Waterford city and things are going really well.

“So, I'm glad of what I've done since I stopped playing. I suppose you have to acknowledge that and be proud of that too because it can be a dog-eat-world, the football scene, and some lads hang around it for the sake of just hanging around it. Thankfully, I sorted it out a bit afterwards.”