KIERAN SHANNON: Time for change: Hurling needs more summer games

Last Saturday up in Croke Park a small group of men were entrusted to make a massively important decision about the future of the game of hurling.

They were faced with two choices.

The first option would represent a bold new departure. The championship would be run off in a Champions League format, starting in early May, with both the Leinster and Munster championships operating on a round-robin basis. Each county would be guaranteed two home and two away games in their own province before the competition entered its playoff phase. You’d still have your Munster final, the clubs would be guaranteed at least one Sunday to themselves every summer month, while at inter-county level there’d be more high-profile games, thus raising the profile of the game itself.