John Mullane
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John Mullane is a famous Irish hurler who plays for both the Waterford Inter-county hurling team and the De La Salle Gaelic Athletic Association club.
John Mullane's championship debut for Waterford came in the first round of the Munster Hurling Championship in 2001 against Limerick. After a lightning start to the game, John disapointingly had to leave the field after picking up a leg injury in an "off the ball incident".
His most famous moment came in the 2003 Munster Final against Cork. John has the distinction of being one of the very few players, to have scored a hat-trick in a Munster Hurling Final, after finishing the match, having scored 3 goals and 1 point. Sadly for John, Waterford still lost the match.
John most infamous incident came a year later, in the 2004 Munster Final, also against Cork. The 2004 Munster Hurling Final is considered in many circles, to have been one of the best ever, mostly due to the closeness, the skill and the sheer unpredictability of the game. One incident though will never be forgotten. Only a few minutes into the second half of the game, the referee noticed an "off the ball incident" between Cork's Brian Murphy and Waterford's John Mullane. After consultation with the linesman, the referee decided to send off John Mullane. Arguments still arise to why John Mullane was actually sent off, mainly due to the fact that the incident was never caught on camera. This was deemed to be the pivotal moment in the match. After this, Waterford, although down to 14 men, went on to win the Munster Hurling Championship for the seventh time.
Waterford Senior Hurling Team | ||
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1 C. Hennessy | 2 S. Prendergast | 3 T. Feeney | 4 E. Murphy | 5 T. Browne | 6 J. Murray | 7 B. Phelan | 8 K. McGrath | 9 D. Bennett | 10 D. Shanahan | 11 E. Kelly | 12 S. O'Sullivan | 13 J. Mullane | 14 M. Walsh | 15 E. McGrath | |