Waterford minor hurling manager James O'Connor has announced his team for Thursday's Munster championship opener with reigning All Ireland champions Clare at Cusack Park.
Captain Fiacra Cooney and full forward Ben Cummins were part of last year's panel. Cummins, Billy Murphy, Jack Twomey, Joe McDonnell and Conor Lynch all lined out in the All Ireland B final with Blackwater Community School last month. Ballygunner attacker Mark Hartley, son of former Waterford captain Fergal, was named man of the match in last year's county minor hurling final.
Throw in is at 6 o'clock on Thursday evening.
The top two teams in Munster will advance to the provincial final while the third and fourth placed sides will qualify for the All Ireland quarter finals. Waterford lost all four games in 2023 and O'Connor wants to improve on that showing. "The first thing would be to get a win. If we could get out of Munster, that would be a major step forward. A lot of the teams seem to be on an even keel so hopefully our name will be in the hat at the end of the day."
James O'Connor featured on WLR's Lár Na Páirce show.
