Diarmuid Connolly: Provincial championships are dead in the water

'There have been too many washouts; it’s no good for the team that gets beaten or the team that wins'

Dubs ace Diarmuid Connolly believes the time has come to scrap the GAA's provincial championships - or at least move them to the spring to make way for a new summer format.

EX-DUBLIN talent Diarmuid Connolly believes the provincial championship structure is dead in the water. The six-time All-Ireland winner told BoyleSports’ Leon Blanche that one-sided championship fixtures have damaged provincial championships and called for the implementation of a league system to ensure teams of a similar standard can compete with each other.

“There have been too many washouts; it’s no good for the team that gets beaten, it’s no good for the team that wins and it’s no good for the spectators," he reckoned. "Traditionalists won’t like me saying this, but provincial championships are dead in the water. There are high scoring games, but they are just mismatches. I’ve always liked the league, why can’t they scrap all the pre-season tournaments, play provincial championships as a knockout in March and April and then start an All-Ireland series with more emphasis on the leagues?