If you could predict with any accuracy the outcome of sporting fixtures, there'd be no point in playing them. This glorious unreliability was affirmed in spades at Thurles yesterday as the province's new order served up an enthralling Guinness Munster hurling final.

Clare, their apparent invincibility advertised three weeks ago in the defeat of Cork, may be the more rattled by yesterday's events, but Waterford will be concerned that their breathtaking reversal of expectations didn't quite dethrone the champions.

In the last minute, the 51,417 crowd trembled on the precipice of a major surprise as Paul Flynn addressed a 100-metre free, awarded in the wake of a bad foul on Tony Browne by PJ O'Connell who was given the line by referee Willie Barrett in a rare moment of decisiveness on an afternoon when he let an astonishing number of fouls pass without comment or whistle.

Flynn had a lot of open space between him and the goal. Maybe had a team-mate shown for the ball, it would have been possible to exploit the uninhabited territory with a quick ball, but in the end he assumed the responsibility of taking a shot. The ball went the distance and the height but to the right of the posts.

Within seconds of the puck-out, time was blown.

It was a thrilling roller-coaster of a match full of the unexpected. The lion's share of the kudos will be justifiably claimed by Waterford, who could be bought during the week at 11 to 5.

In the thicket of adversity through which they emerged were less than full-throttle displays from leading marksmen Ken McGrath and - to a lesser extent - Flynn, who demonstrated nerves of steel when dispatching a 20-metre free to the net with two minutes left.

Their full back line had its unconvincing moments, but even here worse trials awaited when experienced full back Sean Cullinane aggravated an injury and had to retire after 44 minutes.

Most debilitating for first-time finalists, Waterford conceded a goal after two minutes and spent the remainder of the half wasting a surprisingly generous supply of possession, while Clare, cast in an uncharacteristically thrifty role, cashed in a substantial proportion of their chances.

Yet Waterford summoned up so many heart-warming feats from their unfancied hurlers that all the above deficiencies were made good. Primarily it was a day on which Tony Browne presented his credentials in the highest company.

Since captaining the under-21 All-Ireland winners of 1992, Browne has always been known as a high-class player. Generally he has been at wing back, but throughout this year's league, and especially in the championship, he has made centrefield his own. Yesterday he was in exalted company, the indisputably pre-eminent pairing in the game, Ollie Baker and Colin Lynch.

Baker had the better of Peter Queally, who in fairness improved in the second half, but Lynch was very subdued while Browne ran the show and was the most dominant influence not alone in the sector but in the match as a whole.

In attack, there were further heroics. Although Flynn honestly expressed himself disappointed with his display, he did enough to cause flutters in the Clare defence and three times he penetrated deep into the champions' territory on raids that yielded a total of 1-1.

But it was Anthony Kirwan who took the scoring plaudits. Supposedly under pressure from the return to the panel of Sean Daly, Kirwan had a thoroughly satisfactory afternoon on the best full back of the last few years, Brian Lohan.

When winning a couple of early balls led to nothing, there were valid fears for Waterford that Lohan would gradually wring the life from his man's performance. Instead, Kirwan scored 2-1. The first goal came from one of Flynn's runs at the defence after David Fitzgerald had brought of a stunning save and Kirwan followed up into the net.

The second brought the match to life 25 seconds into the second half and created the momentum for Waterford's overhauling of their eight-point interval deficit. Robbing Lohan of the ball, Kirwan raced in on goal and finished with a flourish.

Waterford's ability to mix it physically was hugely impressive. Furthermore, when the match edged into endgame, the question of whether their fitness was all it was cracked up to be was legitimately asked but answered conclusively as the challengers hunted down a fourpoint deficit in the last nine minutes.

Clare's manager, Ger Loughnane, was effusive in his praise for Waterford, but he will be unhappy with many aspects of the champions' performance. Their defence has never been under such pressure in the four years of their ascendancy.

Sean McMahon obliterated the succession of markers sent into occupy him but never took command of the game in his usual manner. Brian Lohan survived the attempt to disorientate him by sending in various markers to lure him out the field, but had the more conventional problems mentioned with Kirwan.

Despite mutterings that not just Clare but Waterford as well were going to spring surprises in their starting selections, both teams obediently took the field as listed, although Waterford switched both the corners and wings of their defence.

In the second minute, a 70-metre free from McMahon came back off the post and the waiting Alan Markham capitalised on the opportunity to score a goal.

But as their opponents frittered away good chances, seven in all in the first half, Clare began to pick off points. By half-time all their forwards had scored and their lead would have been even more daunting but for Kirwan's 29th-minute goal. Still, eight points is a sizeable lead.

Waterford rejigged their attack, bringing in Michael White for Dave Bennett and the changes worked. Although Jamesie O'Connor - who played a stunning first half and a necessarily more constrained second to end with seven points, four from play - whittled away the advantage of Kirwan's goal with two points, six unanswered scores came from Waterford.

Anthony Daly appeared to have turned the match with a long-range free in the 59th minute - similar to the one which turned the semi-final - and substitute Conor Clancy confirmed the impression by pointing within two minutes.

Instead, the clock ran down with Waterford keeping in touch through two fine points from Tony Browne. The final moments were dramatic with Flynn potting his 20-metre free in the 69th minute, O'Connell deservedly sent off and Flynn just missing out on immortality.

Even if Waterford had lost, there would have been another chance in the All-Ireland quarter-final. But Flynn and the team will prefer this sort of second opportunity.