Stephen Bennett's 17 points per game the number Cork must watch at Walsh Park

Ben O’Connor’s Cork team head to Walsh Park this weekend for their third Munster Senior Hurling Championship game, where a win would secure their qualification to the All-Ireland series and put them in a very strong position to seal a Munster final spot, too.

But Waterford won’t be easily dispatched of, not on home turf anyway.

They hit four goals past Clare in Ennis and were in the fight for victory right up until the end. Then they came back from 11 points down to secure a draw against Tipperary at home.

Waterford could even count themselves unlucky not to have won that contest, but it was the dire first half that let the Déise down.

But, in that second-half performance where they came surging back, it was the display of Stephen Bennett that caught everyone’s attention. He finished with an impressive 1-10 to go with the hat-trick he notched against Clare the week previous, taking his Munster tally to 4-22 for an average of 17 points per game.

His closest scoring challengers so far in the championship are Jamie Barron (1-3) and Dessie Hutchinson (0-6), which shows just how merited Bennett’s praise has been. He’s been incredible.

His league contributions were impressive too, if limited. Despite only making two starts and playing a total of 189 minutes, he scored 0-14. Between league and championship, he’s featured in five games and scored a total of 15 from play, though across league and championship, Sean Walsh is Waterford’s top scorer, with 3-8 in seven appearances.

Between both competitions Waterford have used a total of 34 different players, while only Billy Nolan, Jamie Barron and Shane Bennett have started all eight available games.

Their top scorer in the league was Reuben Halloran, who managed 1-45 – primarily from placed balls – in five starts, but he is yet to feature for Waterford in the championship, having been sidelined with injury.

He’s not the only injury absence, Conor Prunty is yet to feature in the Munster Championship and both Iarlaith Daly and Seán Mackey missed their opener against Clare.

Kevin Mahony’s heroics against Tipperary will likely have earned him a start this weekend against Cork, especially given Shane Bennett has been the first sub off in Waterford’s opening two games and lasted just 31 minutes against Tipperary.

This one carries a lot of weight for Waterford. Not only do their hopes of reaching the All-Ireland series for the first time under the round robin format hinge on this game, but it’s their last chance to prove that they’ve progressed and learned the lessons from previous years.

Waterford total minutes (six NHL games + two MSHC games):

Billy Nolan (600), Jamie Barron (592), Mark Fitzgerald (542), Shane Bennett (484), Sean Walsh (461), Aaron O’Neill (453), Calum Lyons (425), Iarlaith Daly (378), Paddy Leavey (377), Reuben Halloran (374), Darragh Lyons (373), Michael Kiely (365), Stephen Bennett (340), Jack Prendergast (337), Brian Lynch (287), Conor Keane (284), Ian Kenny (272), Sean Mackey (266), Dessie Hutchinson (249), Patrick Curran (204), Charlie Treen (195), Jack Fagan (186), Kevin Mahony (154), Conor Prunty (128), Tadhg de Búrca (119), Mairtín Power (102), Daniel Lalor (80), James Power (63), Peter Hogan (63), Carthach Daly (57), Austin Gleeson (49), Joe Booth (43), Rúaidhrí Waldron (43), Tom O’Connell (38).