This game - that no one really wanted or needed -proved to be a cracking affair at Walsh Park in Waterford yesterday, where the established rivalry between the counties saw the teams produce the kind of tie that would have taken place in the league proper but for the Cork players' strike. Despite the fact that both sides had already qualified for the League quarter-finals and the order of finishing could have been decided by the toss of a coin, they went at this game with genuine fervour from the start and left the 6,000-plus crowd satisfied with a great afternoon's entertainment. Waterford, fielding at full strength against a more experimental Cork side, got off to a flying start with an Eoin Kelly point inside 10 seconds and 30 seconds later Kelly again raced through only to see his shot stopped by Donal Og Cusack, who could not stop Seamus Prendergast blasting the rebound to the net.

Conor Counihan was refusing to blame the absence of several key players from his Cork team for their surprise NFL Division 2 defeat to Cavan. The Rebels fielded without regulars Noel O’Leary, Anthony Lynch, Derek Kavanagh, Pierce O’Neill, Michael Cussen and James Masters, but Counihan wasn’t using this as an excuse. "I don’t want to go into it," he said of the absentees. "In these games you get 70 minutes to do a job and if you don’t do it, you don’t do it.

Ben O’Connor will make his first start of the season in a much-changed Cork line-up for Sunday’s NHL play-off against Waterford at Walsh Park. The former All-Ireland winning captain has been named at right half forward in a team which is also notable for the inclusion of debutant Stephen White. The Ballygarvan clubman will partner another relative newcomer, Leigh Desmond, at midfield. Donal Og Cusack returns in goal in place of Anthony Nash, while Cian O’Connor is introduced in defence as an indirect replacement for Shane Murphy. A new half back line of Kevin Hartnett, Eoin Cadogan and Sean Og O hAilpin takes over from Shane O’Neill, John Gardiner and Kieran McGann. Tom Kenny switches from midfield to centre forward, while Patrick Horgan, Fintan O’Leary and Cathal Naughton form a new full forward line.

Cork senior hurling selector Martin Bowen has confirmed that four top players will return to county panel training this evening. Centre back Ronan Curran, midfielder Jerry O'Connor and attacking pair Joe Deane and Kieran Murphy (Sarsfields) are back in the fold, but Sunday's unexpected league tie with Waterford, which will decide second and third placings in Division 1A, may have come too soon for the quartet. Newtownshandrum ace O'Connor, Hurler of the Year in 2006, underwent groin surgery before Christmas, while both Curran and Murphy have also recovered from groin injuries. Deane took an extended break from the inter-county game following last year's championship campaign and is now ready to return.

The GAA’s Central Competitions Control Committee has decreed – citing rule 116 of the Official GAA Guide - that Cork and Waterford must meet next Sunday in a play-off to decide the placings in NHL Division 1A. The two sides finished level on points but the GAA has opted not to take scoring averages into account because the counties were affected by Cork’s two unplayed matches in the division. Cork finished in second place in the table with a superior points difference. Next Sunday’s play-off will determine who qualifies for the quarter-finals of the league in second and third place. A GAA statement read: “Following a meeting of the Central Competitions Control Committee this morning, the GAA have confirmed that the hurlers of Cork and Waterford (who both finished on six points in Division 1a of the Allianz League) will play-off in Páirc na nGael, Limerick on Sunday next, March 30th at 2.30 pm to establish which of the teams will qualify for the quarter finals in 2nd and which in 3rd place.

Wexford will be playing Division 2 hurling next year after they conceded four late points at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Scores from Neil Ronan (0-02), Cathal Naughton and captain John Gardiner rescued the win for the Rebels, who are through to the quarter-finals. Full-forward Ronan pointed six times as Cork claimed a 0-11 to 1-07 interval lead. Rory Jacob grabbed Wexford's goal and although he finished with 1-04 and Diarmuid Lyng, Stephen and PJ Nolan supplied some fine points, the visitors were denied at the death. The result completes a remarkable turnaround for this Cork side after they belatedly came into the league, forfeiting two games due to their involvement in the players' strike. Gerald McCarthy's men, recent winners over Dublin and Antrim, thrived early in the dry and sunny conditions.

Kerry produced a superb second-half performance in Tralee to end five years of playing second fiddle to Cork at this level. Boss Sean Geaney was thrilled: "I am delighted with the win, as a win against Cork any day is a great win. "They gave their all today and thankfully on the day it was good enough but that was only the semi-final and with the pressure that is here in Kerry, we need to be winning titles." Cork looked very lively early on and forwards Colm O'Neill, Sean Cahalane and Colm O'Driscoll were hurting Kerry with some fine points. However, Kerry upped the tempo in the second half with man-of-the-match Alan O'Sullivan and David Moran dominant figures at midfield, while a master switch saw Killian Young go to full-back in a swap with Michael Moloney and Cork found scoring difficult.