'We need to beat Cork now' - Stephen Bennett turns focus to recovery and Rebels

FOCUSSED: Stephen Bennett is "performing on a level above everyone else in the country right now" says Jordan Norris.

His father Pat last week went into detail about the lengths Stephen Bennett must endure to play for Waterford.

Play is a euphemism. With 4-22 accumulated over two games, Bennett is sparkling but to illuminate there must too be darkness for the 30-year-old.

Chronic hip problems meant he was in excruciating pain on Sunday evening and Monday. This week, he returns to work as principal of Kilmagner National School between Fermoy and Conna after taking parental leave following the birth of his and wife Melanie’s first child Mila Rose.

As he takes his seat behind the desk lame and sore, Mila’s arrival puts his problems in perspective.

“I'm actually back to work this week to make it (the recovery) worse. So, it was actually not too bad the last few weeks. Paternity leave is great. I'm going home and sure my world is totally different now. You stop focusing on yourself as much and being selfish, you know. She won't care now when I go home.

“So, look, things are going great at the moment. Just need to go home and try and get the body right. Probably won't do much now for the week and see if we train next weekend or whatever.”

Between the feeds every three hours and changes, there will be ice baths and foam rolling for Bennett. He will have been as weak as little Mila but by Wednesday feeling like himself again.

And it is worth it. For occasions like Tipperary in Azzurri Walsh Park, Christ, it is worth it.

"Look, I just love playing. It's brilliant. The days you wake up and you're like, ‘How many more days are you going to have like this?’ And you'll be giving out about winning and losing. The days are class, you know? Lots of people don't get to play it. And they are unreal.

“Just before the game, the warm-up, I was just taking it all in. I just love doing it. I love fighting with the fella you're marking, arguing and trying to beat them, and you're up and they're down.

“At half-time, we were all over the place. And we just said, ‘We can't do that.’ Like, in fairness, it wasn't good enough. So, yeah, look, I don't know how I feel. I don't know if it's worse or better than last week. But we're still in it."

Bennett admitted he was “sick” in Ennis after scoring 3-12, being named man of the match and finishing up on the wrong side of the result.

Stubbornness earned them a draw against Tipperary when they had been all at sea in the first half 11 points down.

“The first half, look, we wouldn't be good enough. They sat back, they kind of played zonally and we didn't really know what to do. We got good when we started running and playing the ball.

“We were a lot better in the second half, but still, we'd be very disappointed with the way it's looking. Look, we're scoring. We got over 30 points for the second game running. Lots to work on, but there was a few positives as well.”

Waterford turned over Cork at home two years ago and it’s a requisite on Saturday week.

“We have a point and we're still alive. We need to beat Cork now, we have two weeks to focus on Cork, but I suppose the first half wouldn't be good enough. We just had a lot of wides, I think it was something like 17 wides to six (overall) or something like that. Eleven in the first half and 11 points down.

“If we had went in five or six points down… there was a strong breeze, you probably wouldn't have seen it. Look, the second half was positive, but still we made too many little mistakes, like simple mistakes.”