Leinster hurling is in need of drastic change

THERE is no crisis in Leinster hurling according to Council chairman Liam O’Neill. I don’t know, Liam, I don’t know.

I’d love to agree with you, and I have no doubt that there is a bright side, as you point out, with more kids than ever playing hurling in the eastern province. But I was at the Dublin/Wexford Leinster semi-final on Saturday evening in Nowlan Park while I saw the highlights of Sunday’s other semi-final, between Kilkenny and Offaly, and there can be absolutely no doubt – in Leinster hurling, there’s Kilkenny, and there’s the rest.

At every level the Cats are dominant, with no sign of any let-up. On Saturday, before the Wexford/Dublin match, Blacks and Whites beat Coill Dubh of Kildare in the Leinster club senior B league and beat them well. Blacks and Whites are a junior club in Kilkenny, from half a parish while Coill Dubh are one of the top senior clubs in Kildare. And consider this. Among the many locals who were around us in the Nowlan Park press-box, none were that impressed with the standard of hurling being displayed by Blacks and Whites, even as they strolled to victory. Junior team or not, they set the bar high in Kilkenny, very high, and very few allowances are made.