‘We are hostage to the weather,’ says frustrated Herbert

A frustrated Oulart-the-Ballagh manager Pat Herbert said no hurling fixtures should be played in November and December after his side’s Leinster semi-final was yesterday called off due to Wexford Park’s waterlogged pitch.

Referee Barry Kelly took the decision to postpone the game 25 minutes before throw-in as a health and safety precaution after a deluge of rain in the two hours prior to the scheduled 2pm start made the surface unplayable.

The game is now set to take in Wexford Park next Saturday but Herbert claimed a game of such importance shouldn’t be played at this time of year.

“The best teams in the country, playing in the best competition in the country and playing in the worst conditions of the year — November, December.

“You are now looking at a Leinster final being played on December 9. We are hostage to the weather. It is unfortunate for a primary competition like this one, leading up to the grand finale on March 17.

“It’s a pity that they do have to play in November, December and semi-finals in February.”

The GAA’s new fixtures plan, which comes in front of Congress next March, should free up more time for clubs in the summer but Herbert is not optimistic.

“That’s an argument that has been tried on numerous occasions. They have come up with 500 permutations and combinations in the past. We have seen the same with the Railway Cup. They are trying to fit so many competitions into a short window and it’s not going to work.”

Limerick native Herbert admitted he had been keen to play the game despite the conditions.

“We wanted to go ahead with the match because when you have players fired up and ready to go the last thing they want is the disappointment of a game being called off.

“It is disappointing, our whole focus and preparation was towards today and now you have to refocus for the next day. The last match we played in Parnell Park [v Kilmacud Crokes], the conditions were much worse I felt than today. The ref has to make the decision on safety grounds so we abide by that and I have no problem with that.”

Herbert felt for the fans of both teams who had made the journey to Wexford Park in the torrential rain.

“Having made the decision in atrocious conditions to come, they are the real diehard supporters from Kilkenny and Wexford and I’m sure there are plenty of neutrals as well, so it is bitterly disappointing for them.”

Kelly outlined to the press his reasons for opting against going ahead with the fixture, explaining the game would have turned into an embarrassment had he given it the green light.

“Local officials inspected it at 11.15am and it was deemed playable then but they said they would wait until we arrived. We arrived at about 12.30pm and it was barely playable then but we said we would hold off based on the weather that was forecast and it deteriorated considerably from 12.30 to 1.20pm.

“It was health and safety. It’s not an issue, really. There’s water lying on the pitch. The ball is not going to run, it’s not going to bounce and the match would become farcical. You want the best possible condition albeit at this time of the year to see the best team go to the final.

“We had no doubt that the match shouldn’t go ahead. The two managers were in total agreement.”

Ballyhale manager Tommy Shefflin believes the correct decision was taken.

“It was probably the right call. At one end of the field, there was water all over the place so if the ball hit the ground it was going to be a slogging match and someone could get badly injury so you have to think of the players. That’s what it came down to, looking after the players and maybe next Saturday we’ll get a dry day and maybe a decent game of hurling because today would have been a pulling and dragging match and it wouldn’t have been a spectacle at all.”