THIS Sunday, Limerick and Waterford meet in a novel Munster Hurling final in Semple Stadium.
These sides last met in the 2007 final with the Deise coming out on top and this will be just the fourth ever final clash between the teams.
Waterford would win their last Munster title in 2010 while Limerick come into the game as defending champions.
Limerick are hot favourites to retain their crown after pummeling the Deise in some recent meetings while Waterford will be waiting in the long grass after beating Cork in their respective semi-final.
Below are some of the key talking points heading into the game.
How will Limerick line up?
John Kiely sprung a surprise on all in the Munster semi-final as he moved Kyle Hayes to wing back while reverting Cian Lynch to his place at centre-forward. Darragh O’Donovan partnered William O’Donoghue in midfield.
This rejigging worked a treat as all four shone in the rain in Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
Heading into that game, one of Limerick’s weaknesses was their predictability, despite how difficult it is to play against Kiely’s side.
Now, Liam Cahill will have to prepare for various Limerick set ups with so much versatility in the Limerick side, especially around the middle third.
In the League game between the sides in March, Hayes appeared at midfield and could do a similar job on Sunday depending on which way Kiely wants to field his side.
Regardless, Limerick’s unpredictability has instantly become a huge strength of theirs.
However, if the Limerick team is to be shifted around, it may have something to do with how Waterford line up.
How will Waterford line up?
One of the main reasons for Waterford’s win over Cork was the sublime performance of Tadhg de Burca at centre-back as he dominated proceedings. The Clashmore-Kinsalebeg man was able to dictate from 6 as he reverted to a traditional role after a number of seasons as a sweeper.
His display was very similar to that of Declan Hannon who has become the prototype centre-back, as Limerick’s quarterback with the Adare man central to so many of Limerick’s attacks.
If De Burca wants free reign like he had in his last appearance in Thurles, he will need one of his midfielders to drop back and help with one of Cian Lynch or Kyle Hayes to start on him.
Jamie Barron was instrumental in the Cork victory and he will be needed in attack. However, he will also be up against it in the form of William O’Donoghue who negated Noel McGrath in the semi-final while popping up with a brace of scores.
Up front, Dessie Hutchinson will look to move onto the inexperienced Barry Nash in corner back but Limerick will want Sean Finn on the lively Ballygunner starlet with Nash moving to the other corner if necessary.
As such, Waterford will need to change things up if they are to get joy against the defending Munster champions.
Can the Deise improve on recent performances against Limerick?
Limerick did not record a Munster championship win over Waterford in the years between 2002 and 2017 wit the Deise beating Limerick in a Munster final during that period.
However, over the past two years, Limerick have utterly dominated the fixture. In the 2018 Munster championship round-robin stage, Limerick had thirteen points to spare as they won out 2-26 to 1-16 in the LIT Gaelic Grounds.
Limerick would claim the first silverware of the year in 2019 as they beat Waterford 1-24 to 0-19 in the National League final in Croker.
Limerick’s biggest championship win in years would come against Waterford in Walsh Park last summer as Limerick ran riot, coming away with a 2-24 to 0-10 win, knocking Waterford out of the championship in Munster for the second consecutive year.
Prior to lockdown, Limerick had four points to spare when the sides met in the League, although Kiely’s side lead from start to finish.
If Waterford are to come away with the title on Sunday, they will need to buck the recent trend big time.
Benefit of winning this years Munster Championship
While every team craves winning their Provincial championship, it has proving to be detrimental to some teams in recent years.
In 2019, Limerick pummeled Tipperary, beating the Premier by 12-points in the decider in the LIT Gaelic Grounds and advancing into the All-Ireland semi-final. In Croke Park they were beaten by a Kilkenny side who would lose out in the decider to Tipperary.
Leinster champions Wexford also fell at the last four stage, the game after winning the Prvincial title.
In 2018, Limerick overcame Munster champions Cork in the All-Ireland semi-finals following in Waterford’s footsteps as they did the same 12 months previously.
As such, winning the Province in recent years hasn’t signalled towards All-Ireland success with many teams benefitting from the quarter-final stage.
However, in such a truncated championship with teams playing week in week out, the benefit of having a weekend off should prove crucial and will await the winners on Sunday.
The post Talking Points as Limerick meet Waterford in the Munster Hurling Final appeared first on Sporting Limerick.
