Davy Fitzgerald returns to Waterford: Can the Clare native drive the Deise to the promised land?

When Davy Fitzgerald first took the reins in Waterford in the middle of the 2008 Championship, few knew what to expect.

The Sixmilebridge man had started that season as a member of the Clare panel, but confirmed his retirement in March.

Justin McCarthy's removal as Déise boss created an opening, and Fitzgerald stepped in.

Across his three and a half seasons at the helm, there were ups and downs.

They ran into the greatest team of all time at their peak, as Kilkenny obliterated them in the 2008 All-Ireland final. There was also the seven-goal mauling by Tipperary in the 2011 Munster final, as Lar Corbett took their defence on a tour of Páirc Uí Chaoimh, scoring 4-4 from play.

But between 2008-2011, they were the consensus 'next best' team outside the Cats-Premier duopoly. And during that spell, Waterford did not lose a championship game to any other team.

The shock All-Ireland semi-final win over Tipperary in 2008, the 2010 Munster Championship triumph, and two All-Ireland quarter-final defeats of Galway in 2009 and 2011 were all memorable triumphs.

When Fitzgerald arrived, it was an ageing team, in which some of the stalwarts had their best years behind them. While he did not lead them to the promised land, he came closer than they had been in the past.

In that regard, there are similarities now to when he took charge on Suir-side the first time around, albeit in less dramatic and controversial circumstances than his mid-summer ascension 14 years ago.

This Waterford team have been knocking on the door for several years. The golden generation who won All-Ireland titles at minor and U21 in 2013 and 2016 respectively are in the prime of their career.

Liam Cahill added depth to the team over the past three years. After falling to Limerick in Croke Park in both 2020 and 2021, it appeared they were primed to take the final step this summer.

Things were going exactly to plan after the National League, in which they swept Cork aside in the final.

They remained on course after two games in the Munster Championship. A gritty home win over Tipperary was followed by an away defeat to the Treaty. They came away from the Gaelic Grounds that evening with credit, and it was widely pondered that it was the first of what would transpire to be a summer trilogy between the sides.

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Of course, that did not unfold. The Rebels raided Walsh Park to take Waterford's destiny out of their own hands. And the fight was gone out of the side by the time they pitched up to Ennis.

But despite falling flat in 2022, this is still a team that is 'championship ready'. And they will be hoping Davy is the catalyst for getting them over the line.

Can Davy deliver?

They say 'never go back'. And such are the standards that Davy Fitz has set in management, and indeed the potential of this team, securing the county's first All-Ireland crown since 1959 will be the barometer of success.

The three-time All-Star goalkeeper is the only manager to have won every major title in intercounty hurling: National League, Munster, Leinster and All-Ireland crowns.

To put it simply, he has delivered everywhere he goes.

But in order to be successful this time around, he will likely need to crack the Limerick conundrum.

Speaking in October 2021 following his departure from Wexford, the Banner native said he has ideas how to take on the All-Ireland champions.

"Limerick are an unbelievable team. I think they have brought hurling to a different level," he said 10 months ago.

"They're well-coached, well-drilled, they're in great condition.

"Of course they can be beaten. I think they're good for hurling. It's like the Kilkenny team of the late 2000s, everybody said 'Is this ever going to end? It's going to be Kilkenny and Tipp forever, especially Kilkenny. It wasn't, it changed.

"This will change too. But it's going to be hard for the next year, two or three. They're going to be there or thereabouts.

"The way they carry themselves is top-class. I really admire them.

"But someone will come up with something different and that's what you've got to do. You can't play Limerick at their game, you've got to develop another type of game yourself. I think that's the key to success.

"I definitely have (ideas about that), I just don't get to try them out now, which is a killer. There are one or two things I'd love to do, but that takes time and you need to have the right material as well to do that."

We don't know whether or not he will succeed in leading Waterford to their holy grail over the coming years. But one thing is for sure: whatever happens, Davy back in the Déise will be box office.