Time to change the nature of the hurling handpass?

BLINK OF AN EYE: Daithí Burke of Galway handpasses the ball during the Leinster SHC Round 1 match between against Wexford at Pearse Stadium in Galway. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

On the stroke of half-time in Salthill last Saturday, Wexford boss Darragh Egan took issue with a decision by referee Sean Stack to penalise Matthew O’Hanlon for a tackle.

They made their way down the tunnel shortly after and a Galway selector bit back. It was harmless stuff, the sort of verbal exchange that occurs on sidelines up and down the country, but it was the source of a wider point Egan wanted to make post-match.

“To be honest if I was showing young lads how to stay in the tackle, how to really work the ball, how to wait for the man to play the ball, Matthew O’Hanlon got an unbelievable flick on the ball and unfortunately Sean gave a free in that instance,” he said when asked about the free. “Tough game, tough game to referee, really tough conditions. Again, some of the decisions go for you and some go against you. Ultimately it is a tough game to ref.” 

Such decisions are decided in the blink. Can it ever be applied evenly throughout? Egan took advantage of the opening to bring up the relentless handpass debate.

“I must mention, we all got a letter during the week about the throw ball and the handpass. It was unfortunate that we had two called against us in the first half and there seemed to be lots of them going on. They are tough decisions and the game is moving at such pace, between the Munster championship, there will be lots of discussion around the handpass particularly with the letter sent out.” 

The letter was issued by GAA director general Tom Ryan and asked players and managers to abide by the hand-pass rule. Did it provide any clarity?

“Not at all,” said Egan with a shrug. “We did a full bit of action on Wednesday, our last training session. A full 25-minute slot based around showing clear action around the handpass. We spoke to the boys about it and again unfortunately got pulled for two in the first half.

“We know it is an issue. But it is unfortunate two were pulled against us.” 

The emphasis on the handpass comes because of its increasing popularity. A premium on possession and prioritising transfers to support runners makes it an essential weapon. It is also a consequence of the swarm tackle. It is now impossible to swing a hurl in the stifling action zones so a handpass becomes the only resort.

On RTE's The Saturday Game, Kilkenny’s Jackie Tyrrell suggested a new rule change to limit the number of successive handpasses: "I believe we need to limit it to two hand-passes and a strike then."

Inevitably teams will react to the clampdown. At the same time, few stakeholders want a spike in frees. Inconsistent application will only add fuel to the fire. A work group has already been formed to analyse the handpass. That report and recommendation will be crucial.

The starting point for any new rule must be defining what exactly are rule makers trying to promote and what are the unintended consequences. In Gaelic football, a limit on handpasses was discarded after referees struggled with counting sequences and it took focus from other aspects of their job. Hurling is a faster game. Counting each pass would be a considerable challenge for officials. At times now the move is so quick that judgement with the naked eye is impossible. Therefore, rather than limit the pass or strive for impossible consistency, what about changing the nature of it?

Last month after they played Clare in the league, Cork boss Pat Ryan offered his own solution.

“I suppose there is a lot of teams throwing it. No doubt about that. It is not for me to say what would sort it but if it was up to me, I’d probably go handpass off the hurley. That would sort it quickly and is a fantastic skill to bring into the game,” he explained.

“If you bring in the handpass off the hurley fellas can’t be grabbing the spare hand because you are tying to throw it up on the hurley, it’d be a free straight away. I think it would clean it up an awful lot and bring in a skilful element that we don’t use enough.

“It would make referees jobs easier and the game is about striking the ball. It is not about handpassing and running up and down the field. That is a different game. That is what is unique to our sport so I’d be encouraging us to strike the ball as much as we can.”