Having recently travelled around the globe, Waterford's Prodigal Son Johnny Brenner is back in the county senior ranks and planning a trip to Croke Park. Gerry Robinson reports. The most notable aspect of Waterford's first round national hurling league victory in Derry was that it heralded the return of inspirational midfielder Johnny Brenner to the Decies side. Brenner had been absent from the county scene since 1997 but his return to the fold could prove the catalyst to spark another memorable summer for the Suirsiders. Gerald McCarthy will be delighted to have Brenner back. It softens the blow of the realisation that Brian Greene will be unavailable this year and provides the manager with the option of reuniting Brenner with his old partner Tony Browne, thus releasing Pete Queally for defensive duties. During his intercounty sabbatical, Brenner saw the world; he is now hoping to embark on another odyssey . . . one with Liam McCarthy waiting at the journey's end. So, where exactly has Johnny Brenner been for the past two championship seasons? And how disappointed is he about having missed out on the Decies' glorious summer of 1998? "To be honest, I'm not a bit disappointed," he confides. "A few years back, myself and my fiancee decided that we were going to travel and see the world, and I wouldn't have changed that for anything. It was something we really wanted to do and it was the experience of a lifetime, so I have no regrets. The fact that Waterford did well during those years was great and I was delighted for them. I wasn't disappointed about missing out because I was off enjoying myself." Johnny and his fiancee set off in January '98 and spent that whole year travelling around the world, predominantly in the antipodes. "It was a great year," he reflects. "We spent one month getting to Australia and one month getting home, visiting the States, Fiji, New Zealand, Bali, Thailand etc." On arriving in Australia, the pair immediately purchased a camper van which they used to travel all over the continent for nine months. Prior to this voyage of (self)discovery, Johnny had given much of his life to hurling - the highlight being the U21 All-Ireland breakthrough in 1992 - and the break was a welcome one. He wasn't exactly sitting up sleeplessly every night under the starry Oz sky, playing a sad tune on a didgeridoo and joining the dingo chorus in a tearful lament to the lack of ash in his hand: "I didn't miss hurling. I didn't travel half way around the world to hurl or to think about hurling. I had decided to enjoy myself without hurling and it was a good break for me. When I came back the batteries were recharged and the hunger was there again." Fitness-wise, Brenner has now made up whatever ground he may have lost during his time away from the intercounty scene: "Even though I was active enough while away, I did no real training. I played with the club [De La Salle] last year but was still well behind when I joined up again with the county panel in October. Since then, however, I've done a lot of work over the winter and that's paying off for me." Johnny was content to ease his way back into it. Although he hurled with the club all last season, thoughts of rejoining the county panel never entered his head. "It was nice to get back slowly," he says. "I never really thought I'd get back onto the county team. I was enjoying just playing with the club - intercounty hurling has progressed to such professional levels now, with astronomical levels of commitment required, that I wasn't sure if I'd be up for it. When I was invited back, I said that I wasn't sure if I could give it that commitment but I then discussed it at home and decided that, at 29 on my next birthday, this would be my last chance to win something with Waterford and I gave it a go." Having played under Gerald McCarthy in the Cork man's first year in charge ('97), Brenner made his return in the tricky away assignment against Division One newcomers Derry on February 20th. The Oak Leafers were in determined mood but Waterford's extra class saw them through in the end. "It was played in Derry and they were really up for it. It was their first game in Division One and they are a strong physical team. The weather favoured them and we knew they'd give us a hard game. When you travel so far up the country, it's always going to be difficult. In the end, the difference between Munster hurling and Ulster hurling showed." And that was it. Johnny Brenner had slipped quietly back into the Waterford team and, in many respects, it was almost as if he'd never been away. Will they be using the league as a training ground? "Absolutely not. We have to look at the league seriously. We need as many good competitive games as we can get. Our intention is to win every game and make the knock-out stages. If we could win it out, that would be great." The Decies are determined to prove that last year was just a temporary lull [they lost to Cork in Semple Stadium] - and to prove the critics wrong by actually winning something. "After getting to the All-Ireland semi-final in '98, it was disappointing for Waterford to go out in the second round last year. The fact that they reached an All-Ireland semi-final shows the talent is in the county but a lot more was expected last year and it proved an anti-climax. However, Cork are a very talented young team and will be hard to beat again this year. They have an in-built belief in their ability and that is very important." Waterford have their work cut out if they're to progress in 2000. Outside of Kilkenny, all the frontrunners for Liam are in Munster and the Decies will have to topple two of them if they're to make the provincial final. "Personally, I wouldn't discount Galway, Offaly or Wexford either," Brenner interjects. "You then have five contenders in Munster. We have Tipp in the first round and will then have to beat Clare to get to the final. There's very little between any of those teams and it's going to be really difficult. "Tipp are something of an unknown force at the moment in that they're a young side that hasn't clicked. They should have beaten Clare the first day last year and we'll have our work cut out against them. But I wouldn't have came back if I didn't believe there was great talent in this Waterford team. There is potential in this county but we have to now bring it further than we have in the past. "I think expectations within the county are a lot higher now than when I last played championship. It took a long time for the U21 team to produce a Munster final team and the fans now have the taste of success and there's a lot of anticipation." The pressure is on. Looks like Johnny Brenner couldn't have timed his return much better! Tweet

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