Sunday, February 14

Allianz Hurling League Division IA

Waterford v Kilkenny, Walsh Park, 2pm (Live on TG4)   

It’s seven years since Waterford beat Kilkenny in a competitive game – an Allianz League encounter at Walsh Park, incidentally – and how Na Déise would love to get the defence of their League title underway with a win over the Cats. To plant an early season flag against the All-Ireland champions and to remind us all that 2015, when they won an Allianz League title and reached the semi-finals of the All-Ireland series, was no fluke.  

It’s five months since Waterford’s incredible 2015 campaign was abruptly ended by Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final in Croke Park, and you can bet Derek McGrath and his charges having been counting down the days until Sunday’s rematch, even if their publicly-stated mantra has been that their priority for the campaign is safety and nothing more.  

This time last year, Waterford were preparing for a campaign in Division IB and there was little to suggest that McGrath was about to unleash a side capable of winning the competition and becoming the story of the summer. McGrath did most of his tactical tinkering out of sight last spring, but now all eyes will be on them to see what, if any, refinement of the counter-attacking ‘system’ that brought so much success last year he will undertake.      

“I think I only mentioned the word ‘system’ in one interview last year. I was caught on the hop for that one!” McGrath told the Irish Examiner this week. “We changed our game four or five times last year. We’re like any other team. We don’t feel we have an exact science or a right to play in a particular manner or that we’re so much smarter than others. We’re not.

We’re just trying to develop a game that will suit our own team and we’re going to stick to our guns on that.” McGrath will have to plan without Pauric Mahony and Stephen Bennett, who are still recovering from long-term injuries, while All Star Tadhg de Búrca, so fundamental to the team last year, is out for a month with a knee injury he sustained playing for UCC in the Fitzgibbon Cup. Tom Devine is also a doubt with a dead leg.  

With so many of his players involved in the Fitzgibbon Cup and owing to a later than usual return to training this year, McGrath has had very little opportunity to assemble his full squad for training ahead of the Kilkenny game. How that impacts on their start to the season and the their defence of the League title remains to be seen.  

Ger Aylward, Joe Lyng and Michael Fennelly are all ruled out of the game for Kilkenny, but the Cats have a relatively light injury list compared to this stage in previous seasons. In fact, both Kilkenny and Waterford are expected to field strong sides not too dissimilar to the ones that lined out in the All-Ireland semi-final.  

Aylward’s absence with a season-ending cruciate injury, however, is a major blow, the Glenmore man having had an incredible breakthrough seasons in 2015, though he played a minimal part in their Allianz League campaign. Richie Power, of course, has retired, but compared to this time last year, Brian Cody will feel like he has his All-Ireland winning squad largely intact. With Power and Aylward out of the running, however, there are spots in the full-forward line up for grabs.  

Shane Prendergast, 29, captains the Cats for the first time in a competitive game on Sunday, having slotted seamlessly into their defence last year. Kilkenny fielded an U21 side in the Walsh Cup due to their late return from a team holiday in Thailand, while Waterford also fielded a shadow side for most of the Munster Senior Hurling League, so this will be our first chance this year to see what shape two of the prime contenders for September glory are in. 

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