After proving wrong those who doubted Waterford's ability to reproduce the form that saw them defeat Clare, Justin McCarthy can now begin plotting the downfall of his native Cork.

With Tipperary now consigned to the scrap-heap of the Munster championship, Waterford progressed to their third successive provincial final with renewed vigour but the price may be high.

With the most demanding challenge yet to come, the question remains as to whether they will have anything left in reserve. The versatile Ken McGrath is nursing damaged ribs, Eoin McGrath has a dodgy back, while Tony Browne has been struggling with a hamstring for some time.

"Actually, I haven't thought too much about it or about Cork," claims McCarthy. "What with all the injuries in our own camp. We will sit down and talk it through this Thursday. Cork in the final are, well, Cork."

Of course, if anybody in the country can plan the downfall of Donal O'Grady's side it is McCarthy. The lessons of last year's final will be of some help and he readily admits to knowing the inside track. Having Cork hurling blood coursing through his veins always helps.

"I know them as well as anybody. They were always in control against Limerick but that was down to the extra experience. I just couldn't see Cork losing that match. A Munster final is different than what's gone before. It's a totally different day. A big day in itself."

McCarthy learned an extra lesson about this Waterford side last Sunday: their ability to win two epic clashes in succession. Now they have three weeks to raise their game to yet another level.

"We've a lot of games played already this year. We took the league very seriously and always tried to win matches so now we have to keep it fresh. Make sure the appetite is still there."

The expectation levels on Waterford were massive in advance of last weekend. The second-day syndrome of the Munster championship turned out to be a pivotal victory. Like their next opponents, they now have developed the kind of experience to make a challenge for the All-Ireland.

"We withstood enormous pressure coming back into the game. I was impressed by the experience we showed. The lads are doing a little better.

"Yet, we are not overly happy. We missed a good few scores by going for goals instead of taking our points. We'll need to brush up on that as it nearly cost us the game."

When asking McCarthy who really impressed he hesitates. He never likes to go into the detail of individual performances but when pressed he doesn't see the need to extol the continued virtuoso performances of John Mullane or Dan Shanahan but rather the players that made the little differences.

"We came out the other side of it. Our character was strong. There were a lot of excellent individual performances. I don't like to mention particular players but the lads who came in made the difference. Paul O'Brien's goal was obviously important."