GAA: ALL-IRELAND SHC SEMI-FINAL: IT MAY appear obvious but the first task facing Waterford going into Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final against Kilkenny is repeating the cut and thrust of their quarter-final performance against Galway – and that's not necessarily a given.
After the 21-point defeat to Tipperary in the Munster final, Waterford had all the motivation in the world facing Galway, which certainly contributed to their subsequent 10-point victory.
That, says Galway manager John McIntyre, was always his fear, although it mightn’t be as easy for Waterford to stage a similar sort of revolution this time.
“I knew straightaway, in the wake of their Munster final demolition, that we’d face a backlash from Waterford,” says McIntyre.
“That team has been through so much together, weren’t going to give up that easily, and had the chance of redemption against us. I know for sure if they’d lost to Tipp by only two or three points there’s no way in the world that they would have been back training the following morning at 9am.
“And when you get a hammering like that, either one of two things happen. You either fight for your reputation, or the whole thing collapses. To Waterford’s credit, they rallied around each other, and produced a performance of great heart, courage and conviction against Galway.”
The question now, McIntyre agrees, is whether or not Waterford can muster as much motivation to beat Kilkenny as they did to beat Galway: “I believe that any team that has been to hell and back is potentially dangerous for any opposition. But obviously Kilkenny are going to be extremely formidable opponents.
“They’re back on track after their national league final loss. They have all their injured players back, and the manner in which they put Dublin away in the Leinster final shows that the hunger and ambition is still in their ranks,
“We all wonder if they’re still as good as their heyday, of two or three years ago.
“But someday, somewhere, somehow, Waterford are going to beat Kilkenny, and provided they can bring the same intensity and commitment to Croke Park on Sunday that they did to Thurles against us 10 days ago then they must have an outside chance of causing an upset.
“But I also believe this Waterford team haven’t been given the credit for their overall consistency over the past 10 or 12 years. It took a fair effort, and a fair team, to recover from their Munster final mauling and beat us the way they did.
“And having gone through all that hardship and effort, I’m sure the last thing they’ll want is to surrender it all again against Kilkenny, so quickly.”
McIntyre also points out that Waterford’s victory over Galway was more than a little bit influenced by Galway’s own shortcomings: “We certainly made their job easier than even they could have hoped for.
“They’re obviously going to face a much sterner examination against Kilkenny, so in some ways the jury is still out on Waterford, because it remains to be seen just how poor Galway were against them.
“But when Waterford are in the zone their physicality is very hard to counter-act. And they were certainly in the zone against Galway in Thurles.
“They have momentum now as well, and there’s also the fact Kilkenny had a score to settle against Dublin in the Leinster final, and were certainly very driven that day. They mightn’t carry the same cause into the Waterford game.
“The other big thing is they’ll have to be as mentally strong for Kilkenny as they were for us, and if they carry any baggage of other Kilkenny defeats into Sunday’s game then they’re on a hiding to nothing from the start. They’ve got to cleanse the past from their system, and treat Sunday as another all or nothing game.
“It will still be a major shock if Waterford win. But I wish them well. I’ve been a fan of Waterford hurling for many years, and would love to see them win an All-Ireland.
“It must be the last chance for the likes of Tony Browne, so it has to be now or never.”
