Tomorrow afternoon the AIB Munster club hurling final features, for the fourth time in six years, the champions of Waterford and Clare. The routine is even more well-worn as the two counties' representatives have met for each of the past five seasons. Waterford can glumly point to five successive beatings, nearly all of them comprehensive.

Four times, the victims were Ballygunner and once Mount Sion. It's the city side who return tomorrow for what is their first final in nearly 20 years. Loaded with a fair bit of talent, the most nagging question about the team is largely psychological.

Two years ago, Mount Sion were hammered by St Joseph's Doora-Barefield in the provincial semi-final. Not alone was the margin of defeat substantial, 0-7 to 1-13, but the general view was that the Waterford champions had folded rather easily as soon as the stakes were raised.

Brendan Knox, the club chairman, remembers the match. "We were supposed to play at Walsh Park, but because of the weather it was moved to Fraher Field in Dungarvan, a better pitch which should have suited us.

"I don't know what happened because, after watching the Clare county final, we felt we had the beating of whoever won it. We had a big lay-off before it of about six or seven weeks and it's a time of the year when it's hard to get challenge matches because clubs aren't active. Anyway, we were second to the ball and they were physically stronger."

Mount Sion's main rivals in the county, Ballygunner, lost to all four of the Clare clubs who emerged 1995-99. The prevailing view now is that they are unlikely to challenge again. So the focus of the county's interest has shifted.

The club has a proud tradition. Founded in 1932, it has picked up county titles at a rate of nearly one every two years (31 championships). It is the only team from the county to have won the Munster championship, beating South Liberties in 1980-81 season before losing to James Stephen's from Kilkenny in the All-Ireland series.

There is a great deal of star quality in the current side. The versatile Tony Browne, Hurler of the Year in 1998, plays in attack, as does the gifted Ken McGrath. Former Tipperary and current Waterford defender Brian Flannery and Brian Greene are at the back. There are a couple of interesting names not on the team - county players Ger Harris and Anthony Kirwan, both of whom are on the bench.

They also have in common the fact that they are transfers to the club from within the county - as is influential forward Micheal White.

Harris is retired from the senior scene for a few years, but Kirwan is a current panellist, the man who took 2-1 off Brian Lohan in the drawn Munster final of 1998. Complicating the situation is the fact that Harris and Kirwan (Portlaw) and White (Dunhill) all switched from struggling clubs.

"There would be a lot of disquiet in the county over this," according to one well-placed observer. "Portlaw spend year-in, year-out fighting to retain their senior status. Dunhill have already lost it. I know the fellas work in the city, but rural clubs can't cope with this on an ongoing basis."

It's a subject which Brendan Knox isn't entirely comfortable with. "The first thing is that it should be said we have never poached players from other clubs.

"The players you're talking about would have become friendly with Tony (Browne) and Brian (Greene) on the county panel. They came to Waterford and made the approach to us and we decided to accept. If we didn't accept, then some other club would have.

"I have to say I don't agree with swapping within a county. But there's no parish rule in Waterford. I'm from south Kilkenny originally and when I came to Waterford I could have joined any team in the county, but if I went back to Kilkenny I could only play for Kilmacow."

A less contentious form of expansion means that Knox expects a good crowd to travel to Thurles tomorrow. Mount Sion has founded a women's football section which has attracted a new membership into the club. The strength of the game in Waterford made the move an obvious one.

"It means there are new people with new contacts in the club and they see that one of the teams is in a Munster final and they want to go along and support them."

High stakes and high hopes.