Waterford can turn the tide

GAELIC GAMES: Ian O'Riordantalks to former manager Tony Mansfield who outlines why Waterford can triumph on Sunday

After 44 years of trying and only one national hurling title to show for it Waterford are poised to win two such titles in just over a week. As their first and only National League success of 1963 drifted into the annals of history, an under-21 title in 1992 had represented their sole All-Ireland success since.

The Munster titles of 2004 and '02 kept up spirits, but then last Sunday in Croke Park the All-Ireland success Waterford crave arrived in the form of De La Salle, who captured a first colleges' title for the county. This Sunday in Thurles the senior team look to bridge that 44-year gap and win that second hurling league title.

Given Kilkenny are the team standing in the way no one in Waterford is getting carried away with the prospect of a sudden windfall of success. However, times are changing in Waterford hurling. Former manager Tony Mansfield reckons Waterford have already entered a new era, where underage structures are finally comparable with the other chief hurling forces.

Mansfield was Waterford manager from 1986 to '90, and again from 1994 through to '96, during which time the county's league fortunes were limited. This was also the period when Waterford's underage structures were practically non-existent.

"The whole idea of the league was a lot different then," says Mansfield, "in that it was run off in two stages, starting before Christmas. When I took over in 1986 we had just come out of Division Three, and it was a difficult time for Waterford, the main problem being the underage structures were very poor.

"The other problem was we didn't always have our best players available to us, that they didn't always bother with the league. But we got back to Division One, and made two league semi-finals (in 1987 and '88). So we did enjoy a few good league runs at the time. In 1987 when we beat Cork in the quarter-final that was seen as a big shock at the time.

"It was still very topsy-turvy though, but it wasn't through lack of trying. You had to take the league seriously then because they were the days when you only had one chance in the championship. But we just weren't getting the additional quality players some of the other main counties were, say the big four, Cork, Kilkenny, Tipperary and Galway. But I think we have that now, in that the conveyor belt has improved a lot."

Mansfield witnessed the start of that conveyor belt. He famously gave Ken McGrath his first senior start as an 18-year-old in 1996, and later, when involved with the under-21 team from 1999 to 2001, helped bring on several of the current senior team including Eoin Kelly, John Mullane, Eoin Murphy and Declan Prendergast.

Part of the problem was Waterford couldn't make the breakthrough at underage level, losing three successive Munster minor finals from 1994-'96, the only exception being the under-21 success of 1992. "Losing those minor finals was desperate hard luck," he says, "but those young players are so much better looked after now, and there is huge work going on at underage level now, and the success of De La Salle in the colleges shows that.

"There is a consistency there now, thanks to the improvements in the underage structures. Look at the make-up of that colleges team, the number of Ballygunner and De La Salle club players, and that's indicative of all the work that is going on there at underage level. There's no question that big changes have been made in recent years and we're now seeing the benefits of that.

"The other thing is that success like this does pay off, and the best promotion for the game in any county is the success of the team. Like, this Waterford team will have featured in three live television games this year, youngsters pick up on that, it gives them extra motivation, and you can't buy that kind of thing. That's why it is so essential for the senior team to be doing well in the league, and getting such big exposure."

Waterford have made two league finals since Mansfield moved on, losing the 1998 decider to Cork, before three years ago losing out to Galway. Without getting carried away Mansfield believes their best chance of success comes this Sunday. "The 2004 final was just bad organisation by the GAA, because Waterford were out just a week later in the Munster championship, and there was no way they could go all out in that game. But if they win or lose on Sunday I don't think it will do their championship chances any harm.

"Waterford are as fit now as any team in the country, and Gerry Fitzpatrick, their fitness trainer, deserves great credit for that.

"If Waterford do lose it's not the end of the world. I don't agree with any of the talk about this being the last year for Waterford's chances. They've only something like three or four players left from the 1998 campaign, and younger players are coming through at a much faster rate now. But still the only way they'll make the breakthrough now is to keep knocking on the door."