Kilkenny and Waterford will have gone into last Sunday’s confrontation in Nowlan Park with very different mindsets.

Kilkenny’s domination of the hurling scene over the last two years has been built on an awesome combination of the county’s traditional hurling skill and a fierce intensity instilled by Brian Cody. The problem for Cody now is how to maintain the same level of intensity in a group of players which has won two League and Championship doubles in a row. The standard prescription is to keep things fresh by inserting some new faces drawn from Kilkenny’s bottomless well of underage All-Ireland winners in order to keep the pressure on those in possession of the county jerseys.

For Waterford, where All-Ireland titles of any kind come, at most, once in a generation, the options are different. Last year the Decies seemed to have put together a panel of unusual depth, but the simultaneous retirements of Fergal Hartley, Brian Greene, Peter Queally and Brian Flannery left them once more with a rather threadbare cupboard. A number of raw recruits were summoned for duty over the Christmas period, and when a spate of injuries, suspensions and temporary emigrations removed a further set of first-team players, some of these had to be pushed into the front line against Kilkenny.

At half-time last Sunday, the most likely scenario was that Waterford, with just a two-point lead to show for their turn to play with the strong wind, would be put to the sword in the second half. They had struggled to get any kind of possession against the Kilkenny midfield and halfbacks. Their principal attacking ploy was via new goalkeeper Iggy O’Regan’s booming puckouts and clearances. However, these generally came down in the no-man’s-land between the 45 and 20 metre lines where the inevitable bunching suited the defenders down to the ground. An Moltóir has never fathomed why teams with a strong wind at their backs always assume that the best approach is to hit the ball as high and as far as they can in the general direction of the opposition goal.

Apart from the magical John Mullane, who scored whenever the ball happened to come in his direction, Waterford’s main source of scores was from out the field, via long-range frees and sidelines from Dave Bennett and one superb pot by the impressive Eoin Murphy from the halfway line. Meanwhile, a hesitant Decies defence was in regular trouble, especially on the left side populated by rookies David O’Brien and Brian Phelan. The Waterford mentors moved to balance things up a bit by switching Phelan and Murphy at halftime, but their cause looked even more hopeless when Murphy had to retire injured shortly after the resumption.

By then, however, Waterford had signalled that they were not going to give in without a fight, as Paul Flynn struck the first blow with a superb point from the left. With Michael 'Brick' Walsh storming into the game at midfield and Eoin Kelly warming to the fray as a kind of second centreback in front of sweeper Tony Browne, the Waterford players fought feverishly for every ball and swarmed around Kilkenny players in possession. They also played a lot of clever low ball into open spaces in the Kilkenny half of the field for the pacy and eager Mullane and Flynn to chase. Another astute move was to place Séamus Prendergast on the right wing in front of the old stand, as the wind was inclined to blow all high balls out of the Waterford defence in that direction, and Prendergast literally had a field day.

Nevertheless, Kilkenny relentlessly chipped away at the Waterford lead, and when Tommy Walsh landed the equalising point entering added time, only one result seemed likely. However, Paul Flynn, showing unusual commitment and leadership, had other ideas, and closed things out with two superb points.

One cannot read too much into the first competitive game of the year on a raw February afternoon, especially from a Kilkenny point of view. Perhaps predictably, they were outfought by a more determined Waterford opposition. Of their newcomers, perhaps the most impressive was left halfback Jack Tyrrell. Behind him, Walter Burke had a torrid time against John Mullane, but he has a lot of company in this respect. Up front, John Maher and Chas Fitzpatrick availed of the open spaces when playing against the wind to pot a couple of points, but disappeared without trace when operating in the hell’s kitchen around the Waterford goal after the change of ends – apart, of course, from Maher’s terrible miss when he managed to hit O’Regan from point blank range entering the closing stages. Between Fitzpatrick and Maher - apart from his opportunist kicked goal - Eddie Brennan was reduced to total anonymity by Declan Prendergast, who hinted on this display that he may be the solution to Waterford’s fullback problem.

The Waterford management will be particularly happy that none of their newcomers was taken to the cleaners, although neither did any of them stand out. David O’Brien survived both a shaky first half and his direct opponent, Fitzpatrick, who was withdrawn in the second half. Outside him, Brian Phelan never established a platform, but neither did his opposite number and namesake Conor do much damage for the Cats. Eoin Murphy’s replacement, Brian Wall, had a useful nuisance value once he got to grips with the pace of the game. Up front, the highlight of Seán Ryan’s game was an amazing first half miss when he failed to make contact from five yards in front of an empty goal. One of the main values of these late winter outings is to test the attitude of newcomers. On this score, the Waterford management will have been suitably reassured. Whether they possess the other requisites for top-class summer hurling remains to be proven.

Overall, it was a good weekend for Waterford hurling, as the amalgam of schools from the west of the county, Coláistí na nDéise, qualified for the Harty Cup final at the expense of reigning champions St. Colman’s of Fermoy. They probably should have been playing the Waterford City school, De La Salle, in the final, as by all accounts they should never have been in a position to be suckered by a St. Flannan’s late goal in the other semi-final. The Coláistí na nDéise cause was greatly assisted by the dismissal of the Colman’s goalkeeper who apparently took a swipe at one of the Waterford players on the way out onto the pitch after halftime. However, it is worth noting that two of the Waterford side’s best forwards were missing due to suspension and injury, while one of their regular corner backs was also out through illness.

All three missing Déise players were from the Abbeyside club, which still had five other players on the team and three among the substitutes. One can understand why they are hot favourites to retain their county minor hurling title in 2004. With several top-class De La Salle players to draw on, as well as a couple from St. Colman’s, the Waterford minor hurling selectors would certainly appear to have a promising panel at their disposal this year. It may also be important psychologically that Coláistí na nDéise eliminated two Cork schools (Midleton CSB as well as Colman’s) on their way to the Harty Cup final, as the sight of the blood and bandages has often been enough to see off Waterford underage teams down through the years. What is certain is that there are a lot of good young hurlers in the Decies at the moment.

Whether they will still be around in five years time is another matter.