Seven weeks after Derek McGrath said the team that beats Waterford will win the All-Ireland, the Deise are out of the championship following a thrashing by Clare.
The Banner's 12-point win added to the games Waterford had already lost to Limerick and Cork. They went into Sunday's final round of the Munster Hurling Championship with an outside chance of progressing. That chance was quenched by half-time at Cusack Park with Clare holding a 13-point lead.
"I think we're all disillusioned about how the train has come off the track in the last couple of weeks," Waterford great John Mullane told RTÉ Radio One's Sunday Sport.
"It's hard to put your finger on where it has all gone wrong. I was one of the guys that thought genuinely after the league semi-final, after the league final, and after watching Limerick in the league, that this could possibly be the year where Waterford we could push on. Year three of Liam Cahill, we could push on and win the All-Ireland. For the campaign to end in the manner that it's after ending, I'm just lost for words.
"3-31 to 2-22, and you think of the personnel that Clare didn't have on the field today (Tony Kelly and John Conlon), it's thoroughly disappointing. You've got to consider [Waterford] missing Prunty, Tadhg de Burca going off injured."
22 May 2022; Rory Hayes of Clare prepares to clear under pressure from Jack Prendergast of Waterford during the Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Round 5 match between Clare and Waterford at Cusack Park in Ennis, Clare. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile
Mullane said that the leaking of the Waterford team in the build-up to the game will be "thoroughly disappointing" for Liam Cahill.
"The lads touched on it there, taking off Jamie Barron after 10 or 15 minutes, and his reaction, his body language..." said Mullane.
"I just think something's not right in the camp. It's not a good sign, the team being leaked. The team that they named within their own camp, that got leaked during the week. That for me is not a good sign.
"You go back to the last two years under Liam Cahill, nothing came out of the dressing room, absolutely nothing - you wouldn't have a clue what was going on in there.
"For the last couple of days, there was a team circulating around the county. I think Liam Cahill will be thoroughly, thoroughly disappointed that team was let out.
"Look, as it played out, it didn't really matter. When you have that break down of trust within your camp, you're fighting a lost cause."
Former Tipperary hurler Shane McGrath added:
"More people around the country knew what the Waterford team was going to be before some of the Waterford players did. If the trust is gone there, and these things are getting out, in sport, life or anything... how can you get a team to go out and do everything for you? How can you get a team to play to a style you want when somebody has leaked the team?
"As regards the hurling side of things, it was just so lifeless from Waterford, from the throw-in. Marty Morrissey is here beside me, and I think he has a Junior C medal, but he could have scored a few points from play today [for Clare].
"David Fitzgerald was playing in midfield, and he scored 2-3 from play. He had three wides. David Fitzgerald could have scored 2-6 from play from midfield today. They were walking through them.
"Clare brought on their sub goalie. You'd hardly see that happening in a challenge match. That will tell you the dominance they had here today."
Picture credits: Sportsfile
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