Jack Prendergast insists Waterford already focused on Limerick showdown after stunning Clare at Walsh Park
WATERFORD set their sights on Limerick straight after beating Clare, says Jack Prendergast.
The Déise tore the
2
Waterford shocked Clare in the Munster SHC round 2 clash on Sunday
2
Jack Prendergast says Waterford are now fully focused on their clash against Limerick
Stephen Bennett starred with 2-8 against the
The hosts won their first Munster SHC game since their round 1 victory over Cork a year ago, but Prendergast knows there is no time to celebrate.
He said: 'A six-day turnaround is not easy but we're training a long time now so we're fit enough to go week on week.
'This is what you want to be doing, summer's hurling in Walsh Park, it doesn't get any better than this.
READ MORE ON GAA
'If people talk about us after this, it doesn't really matter either. It won't make a difference on Saturday when we're playing a team that was going for five-in-a-row.
'We're mad for it obviously but there's four other teams that are mad for it too and unfortunately that alone won't win games, you need to have everything together.
'We'll be looking at next Saturday night the minute we leave here. You never want it to end when it's going well and we'll be looking forward to next Saturday.'
Waterford have failed in their last three attempts to get out of the Munster championship and have never emerged from the province in the round-robin system.
Most read in GAA Hurling
Bennett's display lit up Walsh Park on his 100th appearance for Peter Qualley's men.
But Prendergast knows it was a super team performance as Tadhg de Burca pulled the strings from centre-back and stopper Billy Nolan kept a clean sheet.
'That's the clean version' - Watch RTE pundits Anthony Daly & Donal Og Cusack's hilarious reaction to Clare-Cork draw
But keeping their feet on the ground is vital if they want to end their misery in Munster and hit the All-Ireland series.
The Lismore man said: 'Ah sure look, Stevie in fairness, when you need him he's always there. His ball winning was brilliant, he worked really hard there today and he got some vital scores.
'It's our job around him to give him as much ball as we can and when you give it to him, he'll finish it.
'Our backs really went after their forwards as much as they could, they attacked every ball and it was a real team performance, which is good.
'Yeah there was a lot of preparation put into it of course, we play Clare every year so they know what we do and we know what they do so you can only do so much.
'We really looked at ourselves last week and what we could bring to the table and that was probably the key.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
36 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Horan on Armagh's need to go full bore: The most dangerous thing is to ease off
Despite already securing a quarter-final spot, Armagh will approach their upcoming Sam Maguire series tie against Galway with full intent, according to former Mayo manager James Horan. The All-Ireland champions have already topped Group 4 ahead of their fixture at Kingspan Breffni this Saturday. Remarkably, it is the third consecutive year that Armagh have finished top of their group. In 2023 and 2024, the team who finished one place behind them was Galway. Speaking on the Irish Examiner's Gaelic football podcast, Horan said Kieran McGeeney's side will target another win to set them up for their trip to Croke Park in two weeks. 'There is no such thing as a game meaning nothing at this time of the year,' he said. 'In terms of development and growth, that is where Armagh are. Every game, we have talked about their consistency. Armagh I don't think will change a thing. They have momentum and their belief set is based on hard work and a way of playing. 'They have been doing that for years and years. Look at how much they've grown already. Do you think because they have qualified already, they are going to give away that initiative and momentum by dropping down the gears? It is not in their psyche.' Horan cited the example of Donegal, who started the National League with three victories in a row before winning one of their final four games. The Ulster champions now must defeat Mayo in their final Group 2 game and hope Tyrone lose out to Cavan. 'It is the most dangerous thing you can do as a manager. I think Donegal are trying to chase that momentum since the third round of the league. They started so well, this force of nature coming at us. I think it is such a dangerous strategy. 'I don't see them doing anything different. Maybe they will try one or two other players. They might test one different thing on the field, but ultimately it will be the Armagh we know and expect. There will be nothing easy.' Meanwhile, despite the recent drama, Horan believes the GAA are right to change the All-Ireland senior football championship format. A new format will be in place next season with the group phase abolished and replaced by a qualifier-style series. 'It is classic recency bias. This year it is brilliant, every group has something to play for and this weekend has so much to play for. All people want is a bit of drama where anything can happen,' he said. 'It is great this year. Everything seems to be working right this year, with rules and everything else. It is all combining and working out ok. Should we get rid of it? If you take this year on its own, you would say no but what were we saying this time last year or the year before that? Too many games etc. Overall, the sample size of one year isn't enough to make a decision. Changing it might be the right play.'
The 42
39 minutes ago
- The 42
'I thought Sam played a good match... he's his harshest critic.'
LEINSTER ATTACK COACH Tyler Bleyendaal has backed out-half Sam Prendergast to continue driving the team from the number 10 shirt and bounce back from a frustrating goal-kicking display in the URC semi-final. 22-year-old Prendergast has established himself as Leinster's first-choice out-half this season, starting all of their knock-out games, and is expected to continue in that role for this weekend's URC final against the Bulls in Croke Park. Prendergast missed a few tackles in the semi-final win over Glasgow and was also inaccurate off the tee with five missed shots at goal. The Kildare man contributed some strong kicking from hand, as well as guiding Leinster towards a six-try haul in their 37-19 victory. Those are the kind of qualities that Bleyendaal focused on as he backed Prendergast. 'I actually thought Sam on the weekend played a good match,' said Bleyendaal ahead of the URC decider against the Bulls. 'His goal-kicking maybe was one skill error, but the way he led the team around, I thought, was great. The stats showed that we played well and we applied a lot of pressure and I think a lot of that is from Sam's leadership on the field. 'He is probably one of his harshest critics, it's getting him back into the plan for this week, take the learnings. He has been engaged and he's looking to get a plan in place along with the other game drivers. Advertisement 'I'm enjoying Sam and how he operates and I'm sure he's still learning, but he's a competitor.' Prendergast at Leinster training yesterday. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO Prendergast has played 23 times for Leinster and Ireland this season, with only six of those appearances coming in the URC regular season. The majority of his games have come on higher-profile, higher-stakes occasions. That has led to fears in some quarters that Prendergast has been pushed into prominent positions with Ireland and Leinster too soon, but Bleyendaal doesn't agree. 'I don't think there's any ill effects, I think he's getting through the season fine,' said Bleyendaal. 'I don't look at him and think he's getting beaten up or he's slowing down. I feel like he turns up every week, he's got good energy and he's young, I think he recovers well. 'The pleasing thing to see is that he puts in the work during the week and he goes out and backs himself on the weekend.' 35-year-old Bleyendaal is a former out-half who captained the New Zealand U20s before breaking into the Canterbury and Crusaders set-up as a youngster, so he understands some of the pressures Prendergast is now facing. He also appreciates how goal-kicking accuracy can sometimes desert the players tasked with that job. 'Jeez, being a kicker myself and sometimes you have a bad day,' said Bleyendaal. 'Sometimes you have a rubbish warm-up, a great game. Sometimes you have a great warm-up, a rubbish game. But he was back to work today kicking a lot of balls. As far as I'm aware, he wasn't kicking yesterday, but you never know, he might have been at home nudging a few. Prendergast had a frustrating day off the tee. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO 'Like I said, he puts in the work, prepares well. He's his harshest critic, but he's got a great work-rate. This week is another week. He's enjoying engaging with the planning of the week and putting in his own skill development as well.' Prendergast has taken over from the experienced Ross Byrne as Leinster's first-choice number 10 this season, with the latter set for a move to English club Gloucester this summer. Byrne is one of a number of players that Leinster hope to send off with a winner's medal this weekend. 'There's Ross, there's Church [Cian Healy], there's a lot of people in there who have played their last game, are playing their last game and are moving on, management as well,' said Bleyendaal. 'There's a lot of people at this club who have been here longer than I have who have experienced lows and a lot of success, this is our opportunity to try and perform well, get another trophy and send them off well.'
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Kildare's Leinster SHC clash with Galway will be special for the Qualter family
Joe McDonagh Cup final hero David Qualter says facing Galway in next year's Leinster SHC will be a particularly special moment for him and his family. Free-taker Qualter blasted 13 points at Croke Park to help Kildare secure a breakthrough tier two title win, returning them to the MacCarthy Cup race for the first time since 2004. The Maynooth clubman is the grandson of Galway great PJ Qualter who, ironically, lined out in the 1975 National League and All-Ireland finals alongside Joe McDonagh, scoring a goal in both deciders. David's father, Paul Qualter, is a Turloughmore stalwart too while his uncle, Seamus Qualter, had spells in charge of the Westmeath and Roscommon senior teams, as well as Ireland's hurling/shinty side. "My Dad is Turloughmore and growing up I would always imagine myself playing for Galway nearly when I was out on the green playing hurling with the lads," said Qualter. "That's what we're trying to be now for the young Kildare hurlers, a team to look up to and aspire to. Hopefully young lads are looking out at Cian Boran, James Burke and lads like that. We just need to give them a platform to look up to, at what they can be when they grow up. "And look, now we're in the Leinster championship ourselves and we'll be facing them (Galway). It's unreal, I can't believe it." Read More Kildare roar to Liam MacCarthy status with convincing victory over Laois Kildare will have another opportunity to promote hurling in the county when they host Dublin in an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final tie this weekend. "We'll get a big crowd into Newbridge," predicted Qualter. But it's a MacCarthy Cup fixture that few anticipated, particularly when Kildare started the McDonagh Cup campaign with a loss to Kerry. "We were in a dark place," acknowledged Qualter. "Especially after losing to Down in the league final before that, and then the loss to Kerry. I don't know if I've ever been in a worse room in my life, never mind a dressing-room, after that loss to Kerry. "But we had a chat about it and said a few realities there on the Tuesday night after that and we've just come such a long way since then." Sunday's 10-point defeat of Laois followed Kildare's 11-point win over the same opposition at the group stage last month. They beat Westmeath and Carlow along the way too. It has the appearance of an overnight success story though Qualter smiled at that misconception. "It's just absolutely savage work that's been done by people in the background and Jesus, it's something to be really proud of," he said. "That work didn't just appear after we beat Westmeath, Carlow and Laois, that work was already done even after we lost to Kerry." Qualter said that he personally felt a Joe McDonagh Cup triumph was a possibility from as far back as a couple of seasons ago. That's despite losing all of the games that they'd played in the competition in their two previous seasons in it, 2021 and 2023. "When we got relegated from it two years ago, we were in the pub the day after and we honestly said, 'We are good enough to win the Joe McDonagh'," said Qualter. "We knew we had the talent within the group but then after the loss to Kerry, look, there might have been a seed of doubt out there but between us in the dressing-room and in the panel, and the management, we knew we were going to come back."
