Motorsport
The year began with real excitement as Craig Breen had nailed down his first full-time drive on the WRC stage.
The Slieverue native was confirmed as the lead driver for M-Sport Ford and would head up their challenge against Toyota and his former team Hyundai as rallying embarked on its hybrid era.
Unfortunately, the year did not go to plan.
An excellent start at Monte Carlo saw Breen standing on the podium but that third-place finish in the snow outside of Monaco was one of only two podium finishes in the year. The Waterford man was blighted by bad luck throughout the year and would ultimately end up losing his seat with the Cumbrian team.
You can read the full breakdown of his year here. While it was not the news he would have wanted to receive, it was likely expected considering the return on investment for M-Sport, but there is always a silver lining and Breen will be back racing in 2023 when he returns as a part-time driver for Hyundai.
Basketball
One team has impressed in the early stages of the season, while the other has struggled for form as they reach the Christmas break.
The Wildcats picked up where they left off last year and have put in an impressive run of games, albeit their last couple of outings have left a bit to be desired. Tommy O' Mahony's team will sit down for the turkey and ham knowing that they are fourth in the table, but team management will be worried about the growing number in the losses column. They have now been beaten four times in the Super League while Glanmire and Trinity Meteors have started to put a significant gap between themselves and the chasing pack.
In their last outing, the Wildcats were 11-point losers at the hands of Glanmire, having lost their previous game also. That prior loss came at the hands of the Liffey Celtics who were out for revenge having lost to the Wildcats in the cup a week before hand.
They will ring in the new year with a 5-4 record in the league, while they do have a cup semi-final to look forward to for the second year in a row. It will however be a short Christmas break as they return to league action on January 2nd with the long trip to face Ulster University.
4 December 2021; WIT Waterford Wildcats players, from left, Kate Hickey, Sinead Deegan, Helena Rohan, Stephanie O'Shea and Jasmine Walker, celebrate after their side's victory in the InsureMyHouse.ie Paudie O’Connor Cup Quarter-Final match between Fr. Mathews and WIT Waterford Wildcats at Fr. Mathews Arena in Cork. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile *** NO REPRODUCTION FEE ***
The Vikings meanwhile have not been having the year they would have hoped for. It's a disappointing 2-8 record they hold with both wins coming against the bottom-of-the-table Killarney Cougars who are yet to register a win this season.
Dean Kavanagh's team have struggled for form in the First Division and will need to have a quick start after New Year if they are to move up the table. It is not too daunting a task, however, as four points would send them into 9th spot and leave them comfortably mid-table. They will be back in action on January 2nd when they face their SETU cousins from Carlow - a team who are 5-4 so far.
Boxing
Another good year for Waterford boxing has come and gone, but it won't be long until we get back to top class action with the National Senior Elite Championships just over the horizon.
Tramore boxing club will be happy with the performance of Zara Breslin who won a National U22 title at 57kg. SHe would follow that up by appearing at the European U22 Championship where she would fight her way to the quarter-finals in Croatia. Her club mates Ellie O Brien, Dylan Rockett and Tadgh Denton also picked up titles at 44, 54, and 49kg respectively.
Former national senior elite champion Lynne McHenry O' Shea was on duty with the High-Performance unit when she traveled as coach to three separate tournaments with team Ireland. Lynn was part of the coaching team for the same Euro U22 Championship where Breslin competed; Team Ireland came home with seven medals from that tournament. She was also on the plane for the European Schoolboys competition and the World U18 Championships last month.
Saviour's Crystal's meanwhile traveled to Portugal for the Algarve boxing cup just a few weeks ago.
Chantelle Robinson fought her way to a bronze medal in the flyweight division, Sean Purcell won his gold medal match with Norweigian Biniran Gerebihan, while Kelyn Cassidy won male boxer of the tournament as well as winning the gold medal at light heavyweight. Cassidy has spent the majority of the year injured owing to two separate hand issues. He had carded two consecutive losses prior to his trip to Portugal but got back on the horse right in time for the defence of his National Senior Elite light heavyweight title in the New Year.
Petanque
A new club was formed this Autumn in Waterford, and only just four weeks into their existence, they can now call themselves Munster Champions.
The club began playing in the people's park on Sunday mornings and just weeks after they had begun, they entered the Munster club petanque championship where they would go on to win.
The game which originated in France is similar to boules where players throw a steel ball into a court trying to play a better shot than their opponent.
Founding member of the club Tom McPhillips sat down with WLR Sport to tell people how they can get involved.
