They’ve got a 100% strike rate, you just can’t argue with that BALLYGUNNER LEGEND HOPES IT’S THIRD TIME LUCKY

OPPOSITES continue to attract as Ballygunner and Na Piarsaigh meet once again in tomorrow’s AIB Munster club hurling final.

Waterford kings Ballygunner have amassed 16 county titles yet have only one Munster success to show for their efforts.

They are consistent within their own realm, having won their fourth successive county titles. That’s in stark contrast to Na Piarsaigh, who didn’t win their first Limerick title until 2011, but they immediately added a Munster title.

Unlike Ballygunner, they’ve struggled to put good seasons back-to-back and have won every second county title since, while maintaining a perfect record in Munster.

Tomorrow they bid for their fourth provincial crown, having beaten Ballygunner twice over the course of the previous three campaigns, including the final two years ago.

“They’re the complete opposite to us really,” says Stephen Frampton, a stalwart on Ballygunner’s only Munster title winning side of 2001.

“Their strike rate is 100% and you can’t argue with that. We’re just hoping that it’s third time lucky against them.”

The former Waterford captain (inset) admits it’s a sore point that they’ve only one Munster title to their name.

“It would be, in that we’ve always been quite ambitious to do well in Munster. Unfortunately good for us.

“We’d make no bones about it, we’re very keen to broaden our horizons outside the county. “The number one goal at the start of every year is trying to win a county championship but it quickly focuses on the Munster Championship once that goal has been attained. “Down through the years, before we won the one in 2001 we might have lost in two or three of them.

“We kind of hit a barrage of Clare champions in the 90s and Clare club hurling at the time, all their teams were very, very strong and we got a bit unlucky.

“As well as that, they were all very it hasn’t come close games and we just didn’t get on the right side of the result.”

With Waterford’s run to the All-ireland final, the local championship was played off in a blitz and last weekend was Ballygunner’s first break in nine weeks.

“Hopefully the break will have helped them to just take a little bit of the pressure off because eight weeks in a row is very difficult on any amateur’s body really,” Frampton noted.

“They’re a team now that are pretty much along the same age or maybe a bit younger than the team we had in 2001.

“We were actually quite mature and a more experienced team at that stage but I think the experience of the last few years and the four championships in a row, they just look a more complete team this year and I’d be quietly confident.”

We want to broaden our horizons