Pauric Mahony’s disgusting leg break had his team-mates recoiling in horror

Mahony's initial injury was not thought to have been that serious as a team-mate came over to try and help him stretch out what he believed was some cramp. However, as Mahony recalls in today's Irish Independent, the situation which faced his 'Good Samaritan' was much much worse when he took hold of his foot to pull at the seemingly tight muscle.

(He) ended up sprinting down the other end of the field.. "He couldn't look at it!"

Mahony also details how Derek McGrath was a key support for the forward as he underwent surgery and was the first person he saw sitting at the end of his bed when he woke up. Mahony is unlikely to feature for Waterford in this year's league, as they open their campaign when they face Kilkenny on Valentine's Day in Walsh Park. He feels the county can kick on from their tag as last season's neutral fan favourite, but knows there is a huge amount of work to be done yet.

"Derek keeps drilling home the importance of intensity and work rate. You have to be prepared to put your body through the mill and Kilkenny are experts at that.

"I hear people asking, 'Will Waterford be more attacking this year?'

"It's not that we weren't attacking last year. It's maybe that we just weren't getting back up the field quick enough. And that's certainly an area I'll hope to be working on with my own game this year."