Kilkenny v Waterford SHC preview

<notforsyndication>Watch Mayo v Meath and Kilkenny v Waterford live on RTÉ Two and RTÉ.ie (IoI) this Sunday from 11.45am. The show begins with live coverage of the MHC semi-final between Kilkenny and Tipperary. Live updates throughout the day on RTÉ Radio 1's Sunday Sport. </notforsyndication>

RTÉ Sport's Seamus Leonard looks ahead to Sunday's GAA All-Ireland SHC semi-final between defending champions Kilkenny and Waterford.

A repeat of last year’s All-Ireland final, everyone outside Kilkenny will be hoping for a vastly more competitive encounter this time.

Not that much blame can be attached to Waterford for the 23-point loss they suffered last September, as the Cats produced an unprecedented performance that would have blown any opponent out of the water.

It was not unreasonable to think at that time that the nature of the defeat would signal the end of the road of the Déise, who had laboured so hard to reach a decider only for their big day to turn into a disaster.

But the likes of John Mullane, Eoin Kelly and Michael ‘Brick’ Walsh are nothing if not resilient and even after losing the Munster final to Tipperary this year they managed to bounce back to overcome a Galway side that many saw as realistic contenders for the Liam McCarthy Cup.

There were long periods in that game in Thurles two weeks ago that Waterford looked like a beaten side, but Dan Shanahan’s introduction from the bench proved the catalyst for a famous victory for Davy Fitzgerald’s side.

Waterford gained a modicum of revenge for last year’s loss when they turned Kilkenny in their league encounter in March, so that might help them psychologically.

Kilkenny are likely to be able to call on full-back Noel Hickey for the first time this summer, with the Dunnamaggin clubman finally clear of the groin problems that have plagued him.

The Noresiders’ hopes of landing a fourth All-Ireland title in a row have also been helped by the more testing time they were given in Leinster this year. Both Galway and Dublin put it up to Brian Cody’s charges, which means the likelihood of them being caught cold is even more remote than usual.

But, in a strange way, the relative narrowness of their provincial victories has also taken some of the aura of invincibility away from Kilkenny. Although the games will have brought them on, they will also have given the likes of Waterford and Tipperary belief that they can bring the Cats’ domination to an end.

Waterford’s tactics don’t need to change much from the Galway game. If they can hang onto Kilkenny’s coat-tails until the closing stages, they will be reasonably confident that they could edge through.

However, it is three years now since Kilkenny last lost a Championship game of any description, and it would take an unlikely set of circumstances for that record to fall on Sunday.

Verdict: Kilkenny