The Schemozzle: Tiered hurling system sending ill-prepared counties round in circles

Irish Times

2 days ago

'The success of these competitions in providing competitive games and a pathway to progress is a proven concept, so much so that it has inspired football to follow suit.' Those were the words of GAA president
Jarlath Burns
in the programme for Saturday's triple-header of
Christy Ring, Nicky Rackard and Lory Meagher Cup finals
.
On closer inspection, while there is a pathway, teams often find themselves ill-prepared for progress when they achieve it. The grim reality is that teams who lift silverware in the bottom two tiers usually find themselves out of their depth at the next level up. Relegation often follows, before they win again at the lower level and repeat the process.
In recent years, the record of teams at the next grade up, after winning the Rackard or Meagher Cup, has been very poor. The last three champions of both competitions have a combined win rate of 17 per cent in their first season at the higher grades.
The upshot is that the same counties tend to dominate the lower tiers. Instances of counties progressing up the ranks and consolidating are very rare.
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Mayo, for example, have played in five of the last 10 Rackard Cup finals, winning it twice and losing Saturday's final by a point against Roscommon. Donegal have won the same competition four times since 2013, while Kildare have won the Christy Ring Cup five times since 2014.
Red Hand rising – but how high?
While it's happened several times in hurling, 50 years have passed since Kerry managed a unique feat in football, winning the All-Ireland senior, minor and under-21 titles in the same season. Five decades on, could Tyrone repeat it?
The Red Hand are on a high at underage level, having claimed three of the last four All-Ireland under-20 titles. Their latest success was highly impressive as they beat Armagh, Derry and Donegal in Ulster. Then they overcame Kerry by six points before beating Louth, 5-16 to 0-17, in last Wednesday's All-Ireland final.
Tyrone also claimed the Ulster minor championship and will now face Cork in the All-Ireland quarter-final. Having also won the Ulster minor league, they are favourites to win the All-Ireland minor title.
The closest Tyrone came to the unique hat-trick was in 2008 when they won the minor and senior All-Irelands, but their under-21s lost the Ulster semi-final to eventual provincial champions Down.
Tyrone seniors are currently joint-fifth favourites for Sam Maguire, but their odds have lengthened since they were
unexpectedly turned over at home against Mayo
on Saturday.
Bragging rights for brave Barry
There was a delicious championship moment in the Laois v Offaly Tailteann Cup group game on Saturday.
Six minutes into second-half injury-time, with Laois trailing their local rivals by a point, 3-16 to 2-18, Laois were awarded a penalty. Stepping up to take it was Mark Barry, whose home club, O'Dempsey's, straddles the border between the two counties.
A draw or victory would have ensured qualification to a preliminary quarter-final for Laois, while there was a slim chance a loss would knock them out.
Barry, who hadn't scored in the match, had a decision to make – knock it over the bar and guarantee a preliminary quarter-final or risk it for the same prize by going for goal.
Laois were long overdue a win against Offaly. That and local bragging rights may have swayed things. Barry buried it and Laois won by two.
Every point counts for Mayo
Speaking of Tyrone, there was an unusual incident at the denouement of their loss to Mayo, as noted on social media by journalist Maurice Brosnan.
'Funny moment at the end of yesterday's game,' Brosnan posted. 'Ryan O'Donoghue turns to look at the clock and gets ready to kick it out. Mayo management start roaring to keep playing, score difference could matter. So he takes off and sets up Jack Coyne for his first ever championship point.'
As it turned out, it is unlikely that score difference will come into play in that group. All four sides have a win on the board, so unless both of the final-day fixtures (Mayo v Donegal and Cavan v Tyrone) end in draws, there can't be any more than two teams on the same points, meaning the head-to-head rule will apply.
Quote
'Over the last few years this particular group have been questioned for our commitment and our drive and I think today we answered a lot of f**king questions.' – Roscommon joint-captain
Conor Mulry
was a happy man after accepting the Rackard Cup.
Number: 7
Two-pointers Monaghan scored in the
second half of their win over Clare
, who had scored four in the first half. Neither side managed an orange flag against the wind.