Kilkenny–Waterford hurling rivalry

Kilkenny-Waterford

Locale	County Kilkenny County Waterford
Teams	Kilkenny Waterford
First meeting	Kilkenny 4-10 - 3-12 Waterford 1957 All-Ireland final (1 September 1957)
Latest meeting	Kilkenny 1-21 - 0-18 Waterford 2015 All-Ireland Hurling Semi-Final (19 August 2015)
Statistics
Meetings total	11
Most player appearances	Henry Shefflin (5)
Top scorer	Henry Shefflin (3-33)
All-time series	Kilkenny 9-1 Waterford (1 draw)
Largest victory	Kilkenny 3-30 - 1-13 Waterford 2008 All-Ireland final (7 September 2008)

The Kilkenny-Waterford rivalry is a hurling rivalry between Irish inter-county teams Kilkenny and Waterford, who first played each other in 1957. In spite of the infrequent nature of the meetings, it is considered to be one of the most intense rivalry matches in Gaelic games. Kilkenny's home ground is Nowlan Park and Waterford's home ground is Walsh Park, however, all of their championship meetings have been held at neutral venues, usually Croke Park.

While Kilkenny have the highest number of All-Ireland and Leinster titles, Waterford have enjoyed success at sporadic intervals throughout their history winning just two All-Ireland titles.

Roots

History

Kilkenny are one of the most successful teams in the championship, having captured thirty six All-Ireland titles, and together with Cork and Tipperary form hurling's 'Big Three'. Waterford, on the other hand, have had sporadic periods of success throughout championship history resulting in two only All-Ireland titles. After a golden age for the team in the 1950s and 1960s Waterford went into severe decline in subsequent decades.

The Kilkenny - Waterford hurling rivalry first began in 1957 with their first meeting in the All-Ireland Hurling Final. Kilkenny won on a scoreline of 4-10 to 3-12. Two years later, in 1959, the teams played out a draw. Until 2012, this had been the last drawn game in the All-Ireland Hurling Final. The replay saw Waterford win their 2nd, and last to date All-Ireland Hurling Championship. The game was also notable for the Kilkenny debut of Eddie Keher. The two teams also met in the 1963 Final, with Kilkenny winning. This would be the last game between the two teams for 35 years.

During the 1990s and 2000s, Waterford hurling experienced a resurgence after the dark periods of the 1970s and 1980s. Waterford met Kilkenny in two semi-finals in both 1998 and 2004, with Waterford losing in two close battles. Having not played in a final since 1963, Waterford again met Kilkenny in the 2008 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final. Since then, the two teams have met in two Semi-finals and a qualifier. Kilkenny were triumphant on all occasions.

Outside hurling

The intensity of the rivalry has also been stoked outside hurling. The two counties share a border. which is the river Suir. Due to the expansion of Waterford City, numerous areas of south County Kilkenny have been transferred to County Waterford by an Act of the Oireachtas. Future expansion of County Waterford into County Kilkenny has been muted which has heightened the rivalry.

Statistics

Team	All-Ireland	Provincial	National League	Total
Kilkenny	36	70	17	123
Waterford	2	9	3	14
Combined	38	79	19	136

All time results

	Kilkenny win
	Waterford win
	Draw

	No.	Date	Winners	S	Runners-up	Venue	Competition
	1.	1 September 1957	Kilkenny (1)	4-10 - 3-12	Waterford	Croke Park	AISHC final
	2.	6 September 1959	Kilkenny	5-5 - 1-17	Waterford	Croke Park	AISHC final
	3.	6 September 1959	Waterford (1)	3-12 - 1-10	Kilkenny	Croke Park	AISHC final replay
	4.	1 September 1963	Kilkenny (2)	4-17 - 6-8	Waterford	Croke Park	AISHC final
	5.	16 September 1998	Kilkenny (3)	1-11 - 1-10	Waterford	Croke Park	AISHC semi-final
	6.	8 September 2004	Kilkenny (4)	3-12 - 0-18	Waterford	Croke Park	AISHC semi-final
	7.	7 September 2008	Kilkenny (5)	3-30 - 1-13	Waterford	Croke Park	AISHC final
	8.	9 August 2009	Kilkenny (6)	2-23 - 3-15	Waterford	Croke Park	AISHC semi-final
	9.	7 August 2011	Kilkenny (7)	2-19 - 1-16	Waterford	Croke Park	AISHC semi-final
	10.	13 July 2013	Kilkenny (8)	1-22 - 2-16	Waterford	Semple Stadium	AISHC qualifiers
	11.	9 August 2015	Kilkenny (9)	1-21 - 0-18	Waterford	Croke Park	AISHC semi-final

Top scorers

Rank	Player	County	Tally	Total	Opposition
1	Henry Shefflin	Kilkenny	3-33	42	2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013
2	Eoin Kelly	Waterford	2-23	29	2004, 2008, 2009, 2011
3	Eddie Brennan	Kilkenny	4-8	20	2004, 2008, 2009, 2011
4	Richie Hogan	Kilkenny	2-11	17	2009, 2011, 2013, 2015
5	Eddie Keher	Kilkenny	0-16	16	1959 (replay), 1963
	Paul Flynn	Waterford	0-16	16	1998, 2004, 2008
	Eoin Larkin	Kilkenny	0-16	16	2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015
8	T.J. Reid	Kilkenny	0-15	15	2008, 2011, 2015
	Frankie Walsh	Waterford	0-15	15	1959, 1959 (replay), 1963
10	Tom Cheasty	Waterford	2-7	13	1959, 1959 (replay), 1963
	John Mullane	Waterford	1-10	13	2008, 2009, 2011

External links

• All-time Kilkenny-Waterford results