Fogarty Forum: Axing pre-season competitions has backfired

Vacuums are there to be filled, which is exactly what has happened this month as pre-season competitions have been suspended.

Jamie Barron of Waterford in action against Gearóid Dunne of Kilkenny during an inter-county hurling challenge match at Piltown. Photo by Tyler Miller/Sportsfile

In 2022, Cork hurlers opted out of Munster’s pre-season hurling league. The competition clashed with their team holiday to Tenerife for reaching the previous year’s All-Ireland final.

Their absence from it didn’t deter them from seeing action before the start of that year’s league. In late January, they organised three challenge games against Kerry, Waterford and Tipperary. They even squeezed in another with Wexford two days before their league opener with Clare.