Band of brothers: selector Fintan O’Connor rallies the troops prior to Waterford’s Munster semi-final win over Cork

Band of brothers: selector Fintan O’Connor rallies the troops prior to Waterford’s Munster semi-final win over Cork

Waterford’s performance graph to date this year is, let’s face it, probably even better than Derek McGrath would, at least privately, admit to.
Even the most optimistic Deise hurling fan, six months ago, wouldn’t have thought, just shy of midsummer, than the men in white and blue would, by now, be League champions, Munster finalists and unbeaten after nine outings.
It has been an exceptional first half of the year, and as springs and early summers go, it’s as good a run of form as anyone alive or dead has ever seen from a Waterford senior team.
The most refreshing element of this marvellous run has been how delightedly measured everyone – management, players and supporters alike – have been about it all.
We’ve taken it in, we’ve revelled in it and we’ve all been walking around the city and county just that little bit taller these past few weeks. But I don’t sense an over-abundance of loose talk or cockiness about the team and its magnificent progress.
I can’t quite put a finger on just why Waterford’s re-emergence as a genuine hurling power, as a bona fide contender for the MacCarthy Cup, feels a little different to how it did back in 1998 and in the halcyon days between 04 and 08. Is it just me that feels this way? I suspect not.
Casting the mind back to 2008, when we collectively lost our minds with excitement upon reaching the All-Ireland Final for the first time in 45 years, the Deise Diaspora was drained before a ball was even thrown in that fateful day against Kilkenny.
On the eve of that match, players and management came together to speak about the significance of the occasion, what it meant to them and in turn what it meant to the people of Waterford.
Through no one individual’s fault, that meeting was emotionally charged to the point of being overwhelming. It was too much.
The players, in truth, were spiritually emptied before they’d pucked a ball in Croke Park, and we all know what came next, even if that same afternoon we saw a Kilkenny side arguably at the absolute peak of its history making powers.
In contrast to that particular meeting on the eve of the ’08 Final, that same night, Kilkenny’s Noel Hickey was sorting out a few bales for his uncle Paddy Bowe on a visit to his farm, situated halfway between Piltown and Mooncoin.
“I’ll see you, Paddy,” Noel reportedly told his uncle, before calmly adding: “I’ve a match in Dublin tomorrow.” And off he went, less than 24 hours from claiming another Celtic Cross.
I’m not a second suggesting Derek McGrath should get the panel into overalls in a farm yard on July 11th to clean out a few sheds or the like, but the lack of hype and hysteria this time around is wholly encouraging.
Greater days still, it’s fair to assume, lie ahead for this team, and not only in the context of this particular campaign, and that’s why such level-headed happiness bodes very well for Port Láirge’s Championship future.
The decision to leave several experienced, loyal and top quality practitioners out of consideration last winter was more of a demonstration in Derek McGrath’s faith in youth than any form of calculated gamble.
And that decision has already, and clearly, been rewarded, with one trophy already in the bag and the prospect of another just another 70 minutes away.
By playing down expectations from the moment his 2015 panel was announced and by adopting a game by game approach during the League campaign, McGrath ensured the only pressure the players felt was what they individually imposed upon themselves.
The body language of the group has been consistently good throughout the year. There’s been no helmets flung into a dug-out following a substitution, the on-field discipline of the team has been a barely referenced but vital element of their progress, and there’s no hiding this group’s sense of togetherness.
Take Shane O’Sullivan, for example. More than once this season, Derek McGrath has saluted the Ballygunner’s influence in training, all the more laudable given his limited playing opportunities.
Would Shane love to be playing more? Of course he would, but his buy-in to the plan has been total, and his younger team mates are benefiting from his influence and experience.
And then there’s Tom Devine, like a colt on the brink of kicking the stable door clean off its hinges, at the outset of a hopefully lengthy inter-county career, thriving on every moment of action he’s been given thus far.
From one to 30 (and beyond), this is a group of hurlers with “a lean and hungry look,” to borrow from the Bard. And right now, they look insatiable.
Another slightly overlooked statistic from the semi-final win over Cork? The fact that Waterford had no less than 10 different scorers in that Munster semi-final victory.
To have such a spread of scorers suggests that Pauric Mahony’s unfortunate absence may not curtail their summer ambitions, but of course, in the fullness of an entire campaign, the impact of his absence still remains to be fully felt.
It also suggests, as alluded to prior to the win over Cork, that Derek McGrath’s level of planning is as deep as it is impressive. “He’s probably worked down as far as a Plan H,” Noel Connors quipped a fortnight ago. Only to H?
Part of that planning involved the introduction of Fergal O’Brien as physical trainer, and given how strongly Waterford have finished against Wexford, Tipperary and twice against Cork, to quote John Mullane, it’s proven a “shrewd move”.
“I had Fergal as far back as 1999 when he was training the minors and he’s just an incredible guy,” he wrote in the Irish Independent. “Right now, Waterford are the fittest team in the country.”
Mullane added: “What’s so evident is the absolute togetherness of the team – Derek and his players will go to the ends of the earth for each other.”
And there’s no denying that claim. Just look at the relationship between Pauric Mahony and Maurice Shanahan and the way they interacted before and after the Cork match: there’s no denying the depth of the bond between this duo.
But right through the panel, between the rookies and the well-established members of the panel: Kevin Moran, The Brick, Ian O’Regan, Shane O’Sullivan, Noel Connors and Stephen Daniels – there’s no concealing their level of unity. And that bodes well for Waterford’s Championship ambitions, as well as their potential in the longer term.
In a thought-provoking Irish Examiner piece published on Tuesday last, Peter McNamara suggested Waterford won’t win either the Munster or All-Ireland title this year. Well, we’re only 70 minutes away from a provincial title, so he’s got a 50/50 chance of being right on that count.
As for Liam MacCarthy? Well, to me, it’s a legitimate observation just under 16 weeks away from an All-Ireland Final, at a time of the summer when we’ve yet to see either Kilkenny or Tipperary in action.
Where I didn’t agree with McNamara was his contention that Waterford’s protracted settling time at Thurles against Cork was “subsequently brushed under the carpet amid the celebrations of their victory”.
Really? Where? Not by Derek McGrath immediately afterwards, not by Maurice Shanahan or Noel Connors immediately afterwards either and certainly not in these pages last week for that matter.
McNamara added: “However, if that had occurred against the likes of the Cats or the Premier, by how much would Waterford be trailing by the time they did register in open play? I would suggest that not only would McGrath’s outfit be behind, their number would probably be up on that particular occasion.”
Really? Can I remind Peter McNamara about where Waterford stood after 13 minutes of the National Hurling League semi-final against Tipperary: they trailed by 2-2 to 0-3. Between then and full-time, the scoreline read Waterford 1-16 Tipperary 0-13. That was all of three matches ago. Three matches ago.
Talk of challenging for the All-Ireland title is just that right now: talk and nothing more. But has Waterford’s form to date this year justifiably led to their mentioned in the potential shake-up for honours in September? Absolutely.
This Waterford side is most certainly not the finished product. Fact. And that fills me with hope, tempered hope mind you, which extends well beyond this particular campaign. Keep it lit, lads…