All Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 2025 (Munster And Leinster Championships,Liam McCarthy Cup)

One thing about diving is that I've been hearing people say "it's starting to creep into the game" for about 25 years now so I think the first thing people need to be honest about is that it is already a well established part of the game that is getting worse, and some teams are getting more systematic about it. The days when a player would never want to even give a hint that he had been hurt because it would give the lad who hit him the satisfaction and the morale boost, are largely gone. And the days when you'd never turn around to the ref looking for help after getting a dunt are definitely gone.

Part of the solution is to clamp down on simulation properly. I would also give cards to anyone who calls for the ref to issue a card, which I think is cowardly and ugly behaviour as well. But really it's about fostering a culture among coaches: you have to instil pride in young players that they wouldn't lower themselves to that stuff, that a good strong player psychologically is one who doesn't need to get one over on the ref or try and scam anyone.

I'm reminded of Liam Griffin when he saw Wexford players taking frees and almost always moving the ball up a yard or two when the ref wasn't looking. He said that breeds a loser mentality, where you psychologically tell yourself you need to cheat for the yard, rather than just believing you'll score. So he stamped that shite out as part of instilling a sense of strength and self belief in his team. Changing the rules is important but as always it's also about changing attitudes.

To take my own county to task, Cian Kenny took a dive in the league and got someone sent off in the process. I thought that was shameful, and I'm a huge fan of him as a player. But lyng should have dropped him the next day as a punishment, the way Cody dropped Dalton, I think it was, after he kicked a Dublin player on the ground. Cody made it clear the standard of behaviour he demanded of anyone who would call themselves a kilkenny hurler. And to me the short term advantage of feckacting for a free or a card will always be dwarfed by the long term disadvantage of teaching yourself that you're the kind of team that needs all the help it can get.

Spot on, great post.

Players didn't dive in the past because refs didn't give frees as easy due to there being no sense of duty of care towards players.

Players have been cheating since the very first day of sport. Difference is diving is now an effective form of cheating and wasn't before.

Nothing whatsoever has changed regarding the morals of athletes. Any " players these days" stuff is bollix.

Kilkenny players went out to "leave a mark" which is a convenient GAA way of saying injure someone.

Was it Babs Keating who wrapped up his good knee rather than the injured one because he knew players would "pull hard" on the injured one.

I've always hated this thing amongst GAA fans where we are supposed to pretend they are all angels and different to other sports people.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who noticed this but at the end of the Clare Cark game on Sunday as the cameras were panning around, most players were shaking hands etc but Corks No. 25 (Kingston ?) and Clare’s No.2 (Leen..?) , were having none of it…..Leen put the hand out but Kingston didn’t reciprocate and gave him a push/shove into the chest….anyone know the background/reason to this….?

Does anyone know was Conor Cleary injured, or dropped ?
I know he struggled v Cork in the league, but that was his first game back

Adam Hogan was the only player I seen shoved afterwards. Adam seems to have a gift at driving the other players demented whatever he is saying to them. Eoin Cody in the last years semi final is a good example of where Adam really gets under a forwards skin.

I only mentioned Kilkenny because your own post did. I wasn't trying to single them out.

My point is all teams in all sports cheat in whatever way is effective to the rules and reffing of their time.

All I can say is that it's a real shame at least one of the four Munster teams we saw yesterday will be done with the championship by the 18/25th of May, and basically only have one month out of 12 to be involved in a hurling championship they care deeply about. It's a very poor structure.

While there has always been rule breaking, dark arts and so on, it is not unexpected that people would have a different reaction to and opinion of, two players hopping off each other than they would to a player deliberately manufacturing a physical incident so that they can go down holding their head to get a player sent off. While some regard the latter as just another form of cheating, it is in my opinion shameful behaviour

When Clare went ahead you could actually feel the place shake. It was a real sucker being Cork fan at that moment but it was sensational for Clare fan.

I have been lucky to have been to 2 Ulster finals, 1 Connacht, few leinster finals in both codes, but nothing and I mean nothing comes close to Munster Hurling. The 5 counties are blessed to be involved.

Were you in Ennis?

Hogan wasn't alone - Cork backs weren't exactly standing around having the chats with Clare forwards in between play they were all at similar.

Lots of off the ball nonsense on both sides. It ended up sucking the life out of the game at times.

It's Munster who won't change the format so that's the consequences.

A 8/10 team group would be great but will never happen

It's a fair point. But on one hand you'll have some Munster folk giving out about how easy Kilkenny have it, "walking" into an AI semi final most years, and on the other hand the same folk would be unwilling to have an open draw.

There's no denying the Munster Championship is in fine fettle at the moment, would love that competitiveness in Leinster, but it's not the case, Kilkenny have dominated for a long while.

The provincial system is broken, there's only 2 in hurling and one of them is cat (excuse the pun). Ulster Championship in football is the only one that persistently delivers.

not going to disagree that Adam is an annoying corner back to all the forwards he marks and he seems to really get under their skin but he does get pulled by refs and it's likely why the cork players reactions to him on Sunday went unchecked because I'd say the umpire and linesmen said let it off sure Hogan is dragging and pulling off them.

But on Sunday he was no different to Corks backs at a few points even Patrick Collins was dragged into off the ball aggression stuff. Which would be unusual for him.