Ian O'Riordan talks to team captain Paul Flynn as Waterford prepare for Sunday's All-Ireland hurling semi-final against reigning champions Cork.

Waterford against Cork in Sunday's All-Ireland hurling semi-final is one of those games that has crept up so fast that it's easy to forget what's at stake. Waterford - the last team to beat Cork in the championship and attempting to reach their first All-Ireland final since 1963. Cork - unbeaten now in 12 championship matches and edging ever closer to a third successive All-Ireland.

It's hard to imagine a bigger hurling match in the past decade outside of an All-Ireland final. Not that Paul Flynn needs any reminder. The Waterford captain has experienced all the highs and lows endured by his county during that time, including the 2004 Munster final win over Cork, and the quarter-final defeat to them last year.

Aged 31, Flynn knows games like this won't come around again too often - if at all. A groin injury has curtailed his role with Waterford this summer, yet he remains central to their chances of winning on Sunday, even if that means coming off the bench to finish the job, as he did against Tipperary in the quarter-final.

"We always thought to win an All-Ireland this year we'd have to beat Cork somewhere along the line," says Flynn, whose tone of voice alone reflects just how deadly serious Waterford are about Sunday's challenge.

"To me, Cork are still the team to beat. They could just as easily be going for a fourth title in succession this Sunday. We were happy with the way we played the last day, although we always knew we'd need a performance like that to beat Tipperary.

"And it's exactly the same for Sunday. You're not going to make the All-Ireland final and beat the reigning champions with some sort of mediocre performance. Especially with that defence Cork have. So even though we had a couple of excellent performances the last day, we'll need the same from even more players on Sunday to push us on that bit further."

Flynn also knows he'll need an operation to sort out his groin problem, although it can wait. He started in the Munster semi-final against Tipperary in June, but since then has been limiting his training and putting all his effort into impacting on games in whatever way he can.

So far that's included three vital scores in the win over Tipperary last Sunday week: "It's really a matter of trying to play as much as I can without risking it too much, because it does flare up again after any activity."

Yet it seems the injury is the least of his worries right now. Waterford helped set the championship alight with that win over Tipperary - their first major win in Croke Park in eight years - and a close, hard-fought game they might well have lost in other years.

"People will always draw comparisons with previous Waterford performances," admits Flynn. "What happened then compared to what happened now, and so on. But we don't see any comparisons with any previous years or teams. We just see it as this Waterford team. Everything we do now is for one reason, and that's to try to make the All-Ireland final.

"We've a huge stumbling block in front of us in the form of Cork. So there's no way we can afford to look back and be glad about anything we've achieved so far this summer. I don't think we'll have achieved a hell of a lot unless we make the All-Ireland final."

Waterford have certainly put the qualifiers to good use. They looked like a team in decline at the end of the National League but, having competed well against Tipperary in the Munster semi-final, they then turned their season around with the memorable 1-25 to 2-20 qualifier win over Galway.

"Well I can't say it was all planned to work out like this. When you're missing players of the calibre of Eoin Kelly, John Mullane and Ken McGrath like we were then you will struggle. They bring fantastic ability to the team, and even confidence to other players. So once all those lads came back, and we were back playing with a full deck, I always felt we could be potentially dangerous opponents for anybody if we played well.

"Beating Galway probably proved that, though if we hadn't beaten them it would have been a real kick in the teeth. It was vital that we beat them, playing at home. But then I'm not so sure Galway were the same team that day as they were last year.

"But it was still a good win for us. It gave us the momentum to top the group and the extra confidence as group winners going into the quarter-finals.

"So you'd just be hoping now that every game we go out in we would improve that bit more. But if we have to win ugly on Sunday, that's fine by me."