DEEP RISING
While champions Limerick look to have the best first 15, Waterford have amassed the strongest squad for the rigours of the Championship
DURING their pomp, when Brian Cody’s Kilkenny were chasing a record fifth All-Ireland SHC title in a row in 2010, the conversation spilled over from whether this was the greatest collection of players the game had ever seen to how far the greatness extended.
Right then, the perception was out there that the second Kilkenny 15 would give plenty of other counties a run for their money in their own right.
That was back in the day when the back-door qualifier system was in play, giving teams a second chance. The advent of the five-team Leinster and Munster round-robin in 2018 put a far bigger premium on squad depth.
Now that Covid restrictions have been removed and the group stage is back after a two-year hiatus, it’s worth looking at what team looks to have the strongest panel rather than simply the strongest 15.
In terms of that first 15, it’s hard to look past reigning All-Ireland champions Limerick.
But if the campaign so far has shown anything, it’s that John Kiely’s side is much more vulnerable the deeper into the squad you go. Even with nine starters from the final hammering of Cork named for the first round against Wexford, they were beaten at Wexford Park.
It was hardly a coincidence that
Strength and depth is going to be a major player over the coming weeks
the three Limerick names that made up the shortlist for Hurler of the Year were all missing – corner-back and four-time All-Star Seán Finn; wing-back and force of nature Kyle Hayes, and centre-forward and twotime Hurler of the Year Cian Lynch. Successive defeats against Galway and Cork only seemed to confirm the same logic.
If there’s a team then that looks to have the strongest squad based on their spring campaign, it’s Waterford. Look at the rate of change from the round one draw against Dublin to their fifth round defeat by Kilkenny last weekend. Only six players lined out in both, five of those in the same numbered jersey: Billy Nolan in goal, Jack Fagan wearing five, Carthach Daly eight, Austin Gleeson 11 and Colin Dunford 15.
With All-Star full-back Conor Prunty still on the injured list, Iarlaith Daly deputised at three last Sunday against Kilkenny after lining out in a more natural half-back role against Dublin.
Here was Liam Cahill trying to make sure he had cover from every position from one to 15, where Billy Nolan and fellow goalkeeper Shaun O’Brien have both seen game time.
Ballygunner’s path to the AllIreland club final and subsequent success has been a boon for Waterford hurling and also served to test the depth of the squad further. It was only last weekend that we got the first proper sighting of Dessie Hutchinson, the player of the club championship, along with Pauric and Mikey Mahony. Waterford blitzed their way to the playoffs to the extent that their scoring difference all but guaranteed them a semi-final before that last round game against Kilkenny. And this too, with the blue-chip talents of wing-back Calum Lyons and midfielder Jamie Barron hoping to return from injury.
‘It’s great to be in that position,’ admitted Cahill after the final whistle at Nowlan Park. ‘We crave a bit of success here and want to start getting our heads in front. That’s the objective. I’m here three years and we’re after getting beaten in two finals – Munster and All-Ireland finals – over that period of time. We’re really anxious to get back into a national final again, which is the opportunity next weekend. We want to avail of that and do our best to get to a League final and try to win it. The only way we can make progress is to keep getting to the big days and keep knocking on the door and see if we can get over the line.’
It was interesting to hear Cahill talk up how squad depth could go a long way to deciding a team’s fate in the 2022 Liam MacCarthy Cup as he mentioned those two players, given the compressed timeframe and that a minimum of seven games is needed to lift the trophy, same as 2018 and 2019. What puts an even bigger premium on the panel is how quickly the Championship starts after the League with the round robin a mere fortnight after the League final.
‘Yeah, they’re slow enough to come back. I thought we’d have them back this week, but they’re just still
not reacting well to treatment. You know, the clock is ticking and that’s why we’re fortunate enough to have players that will step into those positions if need be. I think for every panel and every squad, strength and depth to your panel is going to be a major player over the next couple of weeks and especially for us now as we go to the latter stages of the League, and hopefully to a League final. Things start coming rapid and you need a big panel to be able to do that.’
Pauric Mahony is another back with the county too after a long injury lay-off dating back to a cruciate injury in 2020 and Tadhg de Búrca is back after a similar injury sustained in the All-Ireland final defeat by Limerick that December.
As a sign of Waterford’s strength in depth, here’s a full alternate starting 15 to the selection that started last Sunday: Shaun O’Brien; Ian Kenny, Conor Gleeson, Tom Barron; Callum Lyons, Shane Bennett, Michael Harney; Jamie Barron, Jack Prendergast; DJ Foran, Patrick Curran, Mikey Mahony; Kieran Bennett, Stephen Bennett, Billy Power.
That’s a serious team in its own right.
And Cahill admitted that Ballygunner getting over the line at Croke Park in January and thus becoming the first Waterford club to win the All-Ireland is a positive omen as the county tries to bridge the gap to its last All-Ireland in 1959.
Asked if the buzz from the Ballygunner win can still be felt in the Waterford camp, he replied: ‘Definitely. You can never have enough of that around the place. It’s a good feeling. It’s not a feeling of, I suppose, cockiness or big-headedness. It’s a sense of this can really happen if you apply yourself properly, just like Ballygunner have done down the years. It doesn’t happen straight away, as they have proven, and it’s not going to happen straight away for us.
‘But, you know, our time is coming now that we have to start really grasping the nettle and try to kick on and win silverware.’