By Niall McCoy

A 22-YEAR wait will come to an end for Down camogie on Saturday afternoon, but their manager Derek Dunne has said that they will not be heading to Waterford simply to celebrate bridging that particular gap.

This is the game that the team have been looking forward to ever since the fixtures were released. After winning the All-Ireland Intermediate title last year, it looked like they would have to play second-tier camogie once again, but they fought hard for their place among the elite and were ultimately rewarded.

After their Intermediate triumph in 1998, Down moved up to the senior level the following season but were hammered 6-22 to 1-3 by Tipperary in the semi-final. They haven’t been back since.

This time the side will have three games minimum with Saturday’s game against Waterford (Walsh Park, 2pm) followed by games with Cork and Dublin – the sort of top-team exposure the side have been calling out for.

“It’s massive,” said Dunne. “I think it’s 22 years since Down played in the Senior Championship.”

“The last ball pucked in Ulster in the Senior Championship was in 2016 (Derry v Tipperary, Celtic Park) so that’s five years now. It’s long a time since Ulster have been represented in this tournament.

“It’s a massive occasion. The build-up is there, the excitement, the anxiousness too. I think a good league campaign, playing the likes of Wexford, gave us a good feel for what’s ahead of us.

“The pace of the game is going to be a big thing for us but we are quietly confident. We have three games, Waterford, Cork and Dublin. We’re going down to Waterford and nobody rates us or gives us a chance.

“We have done our work and we are comfortable in our roles and comfortable in ourselves.”

Rather than head down early on Saturday morning, the team will stay in Clonmel on Friday night in a move, Dunne believes, is another sign of the growing professionalism of the camp.

“We’re going to get down and get relaxed on Friday night. Have a chat about the game and then a bit of fun, a bit of craic.

“We’re leaving no stone unturned for this game. It’s so important this game. We want to keep the team at senior level and that’s the main focus.”

The side warmed up for the clash by claiming the Ulster Senior title with a 1-18 to 3-11 win over Antrim last weekend.

Team captain Sara Louise Graffin scored Down’s goal on the day and she also produced the winning score from distance.

Dunne was delighted to welcome more silverware into the camp, but he felt that the match was scheduled at a bad time for his squad

“We have no injuries, everybody is in good form,” he said. “We have a bit of bruising and a few cuts after the weekend. No serious injuries though.

“I wouldn’t say we’re on a wind down this week, but it’s sort of been a recovery week.

“To me the result was definitely a touch too close for comfort.

“I would have rather not have had to play the game. I would have preferred to have played it the week before.

“Our focus, and no disrespect to an Ulster Championship and no disrespect to Antrim, for the last two heavy weeks in training was about getting ourselves ready for Waterford.

“We tried a few things against Antrim with Waterford in mind but the only thing about Antrim is that they know us too bloody well by now.”

All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship Group 2

Waterford v Down

Sunday, Walsh Park, 2pm

THIS is the big one, Down are heading to the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship this weekend with the hopes of the county on their shoulders.

Last year, Derek Dunne’s team qualified for the top tier thanks to an Intermediate final victory over their neighbours Antrim. There was some debate as to whether the girls from the Mourne county would make the step up, but they did.

Perhaps one of the surprises was that Fionnuala Carr retired before that call was made. She stuck by her decision, but one wonders how Down would perform if the star player was available.

That said, they were still able to annex the Ulster Senior title this year without her. Last weekend they defeated Antrim thanks to superb performances from players like Karen McMullan at centre half-back, captain Sara Louise Graffin and Niamh Mallon. The key to Derek Dunne’s team’s success has been their tremendous confidence.

They have been able to handle all the pressure that has been thrown at them and worked through it. They started the season at a disadvantage as they lost their league opener against Antrim. Dunne pointed out that his team had not had enough preparation and were off the pace in terms of fitness. But they dug in, did the work, and got back up to the standard and then qualified for the league final thanks to wins over Cork and a comeback victory over Wexford.

Dunne said that the key to their big performances this year was that they were getting all round performances from their players. They beat Antrim in the final and then defeated them again in the Ulster Senior Camogie final last weekend. So that is the perfect preparation for a game against the Waterford camogs.

Waterford go into this game having lost to Limerick in the Munster Senior Championship. In the league, Waterford lost both of their games, against Cork and Tipperary, in Division one.

Yet despite those run of defeats, Waterford will expect to beat Down as they have been playing at a higher level. The challenge for Derek Dunne’s team will be to surprise the Deise.

Verdict: Waterford