The Leinster Hurling Championship - What purpose does it serve ?

eigrod

Dear god, it just gets worse & worse each year. KK annihilated Offaly yet again today. While Dublin & Wexford was a close game last night, and thus somewhat exciting, the standard of hurling was not good and some of the wides that both teams shot were of Junior hurling standard at best.

What has happened in Wexford ? We were all told in 1996 what the AI win would do for the county. Well, the 11 or 12 year olds of that time are 23 or 24 now, but Wexford are as far away as ever from challenging KK.

Kilkenny don't benefit whatsoever from playing in it. They just sail straight into the AI semi each year and wait for the Munster teams to burn themselves out with 3 or 4 big games before the semis.

The inklings of a Dublin revival are the only positive thing I can think of about the Leinster C'ship. Hopefully its the first steps towards them reaching a standard that will see them give KK a game in the next few years.

damnyanks

It seems that sadly hurling is dead. The big teams stroll through and never get challenged by the opposition.

Daysha

damnyanks wrote: »

It seems that sadly hurling is dead.

LMAO Pessimistic much?

Look a flawed Championship structure does not mean the death of a sport ffs. That said, the new proposals being drawn up by the HDC finally seems to be a step in the right direction.

Two groups, Munster (Clare, Tipp, Cork, Limerick, Waterford) and Leinster/Rest of Ireland (5 of Kilkenny, Galway, Wexford, Antrim, Offaly, Laois, Dublin). Everyone plays everyone in their group once, with each team getting 2 home/2 away. The top two in each group play each other again in the Munster and Leinster finals.

Then the All-Irelands. 3rd Munster vs. 4th Leinster and 4th Munster vs. 3rd Leinster. The two winners then play the provincial runners up in the AI Quarter Finals, with the two winners facing the provincial winners. All matches in neutral venues.

Then, 5th Munster vs. 5th Leinster with the loser relegated to Christy Ring.

Pros
Every team is guaranteed at least 5 competitive matches
It vastly reduces the amount of meaningless qualifiers. Every match really means something
It keeps the Munster and Leinster finals in place
The home away system in provincial matches gets rid of the provincial councils holding matches in crazy locations
It inspires counties with mediocre home grounds like Clare or Waterford to push ahead with redevelopments, as they are always guaranteed to hold Championship matches every year.

Cons
It still isn't exactly balanced. Group A will always be stronger than Group B.
We will be left with a strong Munster team having to face a relegation match
Increase in matches won't please the clubs.
We lose a knockout Munster Championship
A team could lose 3 matches in the groups and go on to win the All Ireland

IMO of all the different structures hurling has been through recently (4 in 10 years!) this seems the best option. And thankfully, it sounds like the HDC see it that way too. All goes well and we could see this implemented for 2010.

Hurling dead? Far from it.

aidan24326

eigrod wrote: »

The Leinster Hurling Championship - What purpose does it serve ?

At this stage not much. Kilkenny are so far ahead of the rest in Leinster it's a waste of time. It's how the Munster Football Championship would be if Cork weren't in it. Wexford-Dublin was reasonably entertaining even if the standard wasn't great, but whichever of those two teams wins the replay will be whipped by Kilkenny anyway. God forbid we have to endure another Kilkenny v Wexford final, it would at least be a change if Dublin got there, although the result probably wouldn't be much different. Today's KK-Offaly game was about as entertaining as a *bad episode* of Fair City, the second half being a Sunday afternoon stroll for Kilkenny. Hurling played well is a great game and it's just a pity that more counties aren't competitive.

*EDIT*: I must apologise for my foolishness in implying that there is any other kind of episode of Fair City!

taidghbaby

eigrod wrote: »

Kilkenny don't benefit whatsoever from playing in it.

well it obviously hasnt hurt them in the last two championships!!!!
wexford,dublin & offally arent near killkenny but im fairly sure that by the end of the summer they wont be the only ones!!! plus if you look at the age of killkenny team today, and the lads that werent playing then its gonna be this way for sometime!!!

you say the leinster champ has no purpose......i say scrap all the provincial champs!!

Keano

An open draw.

aidan24326

taidghbaby wrote: »

......i say scrap all the provincial champs!!

I'm with you there Tadgh, for the hurling at least. In football the system works reasonably well but has no place in hurling given the game is really only played to a high level in one of the four provinces.

Daysha

Aidan, being from Dublin, I don't think you realise just how magical the Munster Championship still is. Theres absolutely nothing like a sunny June/July Sunday afternoon in Thurles Square before a Munster final. The atmosphere in both town and the ground itself is something that isn't replicated anywhere else in the country, ever. Scrapping the Munster Championship entirely would be a travesty and an outrage.

Last years Munster Championship was one of the greatest in living memory, with the 3 Tipp Limerick encounters, that unreal Waterford Cork semi final and then a final between 2 teams who hadn't met at that stage for 50 years. You just couldn't take that away.

While keeping it does mean also keeping 2 unbalanced groups, I would rather let Kilkenny stroll into the AI Semi Finals every year then take away something as unique as the Munster Hurling Championship.

taidghbaby

aidan24326 wrote: »

I'm with you there Tadgh, for the hurling at least. In football the system works reasonably well but has no place in hurling given the game is really only played to a high level in one of the four provinces.

i might consider it for football too!
but i think trying to convice the munster boys (and girls) that this would be best for hurling would be fairly hard-and in fairness i can fully understand why they wouldnt want it!!!

Danno

Run the provincial championships seperate from the AI series.

Keano

Danno wrote: »

Run the provincial championships seperate from the AI series.

My thoughts exactly.

run_Forrest_run

scrap the provincials entirely and have an open draw for all teams...KK would still be seen to be above the rest and at least bitter Donal O'Grady might shut up for a while.

popebenny16

Could you say the same for football from 1974 till 1986? Kerry and or Dublin in every AI?

Besides that, untill the outbreak of Offaly and Galway in the 80's and of Clare in the 90's and Waterford on the '00's it has been ever thus in the hurling.

blackbelt

This suggestion of an open draw is a copout in my opinion.It is not warranted and is not a quick fix solution either.

I hate to praise those Munster folk who are already up their own arses as far as hurling is concerned but I love watching a real competitive Munster hurling match between the likes of Tipp,Waterford,Cork,Limerick and Clare.To scrap the provincials would take away the magic in which the Munster championship produces and we would be less likely to see a 3 match saga between Tipp and Limerick as we did last year.

As far as Leinster is concerned,well you have Kilkenny (the best team in the country) Wexford and now an emerging Dublin.2-3 years ago if anybody said that Wexford would scrape past Dublin in 2007 and be taken to a replay in 2008,that person would be laughed at.Westmeath and Laois are at a similar stage of progression that the Dubs were at 5-6 years ago.The signs are there that they may contend in a few years when they are up to scratch.Provinces like Ulter and Connaught which are a one horse race will be so until the weaker teams play them over and over again and gain experience.

I think the provincials should be kept in place and that we should wait for other improving counties to keep playing in them until they make a breakthrough.Afterall,they do give the teams something to play for.Its an incentive.