Provincial finals here to stay

THE GAA’s top administrator, Páraic Duffy, has declared his full backing for the provincial championships – as well as the All-Ireland qualifier series which has done so much to undermine them.

The advent of the back-door systems in the 1990s has led to a plethora of tweaks in both championship codes in recent years and yet the mood for change has yet to be sated, particularly in hurling.

Opinion has been sharply divided, with some calling for a return to the old straight knockout format while others have advocated scrapping the current geographical blueprint entirely and starting from scratch.