Tipp and Waterford would cherish rare Munster Camogie success

CAMOGIE: Munster Senior Championship Final Preview

TIPPERARY v WATERFORD

FBD Semple Stadium

Saturday, 16th May

Throw-in @ 4.45pm

By Joe Scully

There will be plenty of drama in FBD Semple Stadium this Saturday evening when Tipperary and Clare meet in the Munster Championship, but before that at 4.45pm there is the curtain-raiser when Tipperary and Waterford renew rivalry in the final of the Munster Senior Camogie Championship.

These two teams have gotten to know each other very well in recent years and have produced some quality games which have been decided by just a single score for the most part, with Waterford tending to have the edge.

It promises to be another tight affair on Saturday, and one which will be fiercely contested as Tipperary look for a second Munster title in four years, and a fifth overall, while for the Deise they are looking for a first Munster crown since 1959 and a third overall.

For both sides a win would be of huge importance ahead of the upcoming All-Ireland series, as they both look to show they can make the breakthrough to All-Ireland success and end the recent dominance of Galway, Cork and Kilkenny.

This will be the sides second meeting of the year, following their game in the final set of group fixtures in the National League, which Tipperary won easily by nineteen points, but not a lot can be read into that game as Waterford had already been assured of a final spot and rested a number of key players on the day.

The sides met at the semi-final stage of the Munster championship last year, with Waterford coming out victorious by one point, albeit in controversial circumstances, after a 54th minute Karen Kennedy shot which seemed to hit the back of the net and bounced back out was not giving with Tipp ahead by a point at that stage.

Both teams have come through two fixtures to reach this stage, with Tipperary beating Cork in impressive fashion in the quarter final, coming through by a six-point margin, before seeing off a gallant Limerick side by nine points in the semi-final.

Waterford meanwhile were pushed to the limit in the quarter-final, coming through by just a solitary point, after extra-time, against Clare, before a far more comfortable 29-point winning margin against Kerry.

Key for Tipperary’s chances of winnig will be how they deal with Waterford’s Beth Carton, arguably the best player in the game currently, who is not just a scoring threat but someone who can has been assisting a lot, and the Tipp management team of James Heffernan and company will have to come up with a plan to stop the De La Salle star.

In saying that, Tipperary have a few forwards of their own capable of causing Waterford problems, with the likes of Eimear McGrath in fine form after missing out last year through injury, and Caoimhe Stakelum in her first year at senior level continuing her excellent underage pedigree.

Tipp seem to have been improving game-on-game as the year has progressed and go into Saturday's game full of confidence and in with a great chance of winning more silverware, but will have to be at their very best against a Waterford team which have been coming for a number of years now and are desperate for a first piece of silverware to show they are genuine contenders to the throne.