Brian Gavin: Rulemakers need to study direction hurling is going in
Referee Fergal Horgan throws in the ball between Darragh O'Donovan, left, and William O'Donoghue of Limerick and Kieran Bennett, left, and Jamie Barron of Waterford. Picture: Sportsfile
Huge congratulations to Limerick on that performance. It was one of the best we’ve seen in All-Ireland finals in modern-day hurling and they were just unstoppable. Few if any teams would have lived with them and for Waterford to keep up with them for even two-thirds of the game was some feat
As one-sided as things become, yellow cards or the lack thereof stood out. Five in total were shown but that seemed a low number considering some of the tactical fouling which was going on.
Right now in hurling, there are two areas where the majority of fouls are taking place - when a player is about to pull the trigger - William O’Donoghue on Stephen Bennett - and when the defender is coming out with the ball - Gearóid Hegarty being the guilty party on a number of occasions in this game.
All five of the bookings Fergal Horgan issued were correct but it’s the ones he didn’t give that were talking points. Declan Hannon should have received a yellow for a trip on Dessie Hutchinson. Fergal seemed to give Hegarty the benefit of the doubt for a frontal charge on Jack Prendergast in the first half but then the loose hurley on Stephen Bennett should have seen him carded.
It’s the second game in a row that Hegarty has not been booked and it’s astonishing when you think about it. That isn’t a reflection on the player more so a comment on the referees. It’s obvious that they aren’t recording tickings.
Before, we would have seen them warn players with their fingers of how many fouls they have committed but nothing is being done now.
As champions for the second time in three years, they will now be the example to follow and they don’t need goals, winning a Munster final and an All-Ireland final without one.
Austin Gleeson should also have been booked for a high frontal charge but at least Fergal got the yellow cards right for Seamus Flanagan, Ian Kenny, Kyle Hayes and O’Donoghue.
That rugby tackle by O’Donoghue, we’ve seen it so many times before in this Championship and before but are the GAA authorities going to do anything about it?
Overall, it was a satisfactory outing by Fergal and it was made easier because the result wasn’t in doubt from a good bit out. But players are getting away with consistent fouling and that is not good for the game.
That might sound rich coming from a referee who was known to be more on the lenient side of things but hurling is now more congested and so physical that there are more fouls now and they have to be punished.
Fergal, when he puts his mind to it, is the best referee in the country but he still doesn’t look comfortable balancing between calling fouls and letting it flow. The thing about it is I don’t know how long he will stay refereeing at this level.
It doesn’t seem to be of as much interest to him as it does to his peers and I think Croke Park know that too and are keen to keep him on board. Because right now it really comes down to him, Colm Lyons, James Owens and Paud O’Dwyer. Slim pickings.
In the Joe McDonagh Cup final, it was an excellent decision by Liam Gordan’s umpire not to award Antrim that first-half goal when the full sliotar clearly hadn’t crossed the goal-line. Had Kerry won that game by one, two or three points, there would have been outcry from everywhere.
We have been talking these past few seasons about the need for video technology but only for the big calls. With the amount of angles RTÉ had for that moment and the amount of times the replays were pored over, would it have caused so much harm for a former referee or indeed the HawkEye official Dickie Murphy not to be afforded the chance to look at it?
The GAA got off lightly on this one because it won’t be long before it raises its ugly ahead again.
Liam had an awkward game to referee because while it was almost as physical as the Liam MacCarthy Cup final the game was much more disjointed. He can count himself reasonably happy with what he did here.
Onto the football final this Saturday and while I mentioned David Coldrick as a contender for it in last week’s column I didn’t think he would beat David Gough to the appointment. Gough missed out likely for the fact he took charge of last year’s final, which really shouldn’t be an issue but that’s the call.
