Derek Kent: Hurling preliminary quarters should be scrapped to allow provincial final replays

"There's no promotion of hurling in that," Leinster chairman Derek Kent said about Joe McDonagh Cup teams being beaten by an average of 22 points in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals. 

PROVINCIAL REPLAYS: Leinster Council chairman Derek Kent has proposed scrapping the All-Ireland hurling preliminary quarter-finals to accommodate potential provincial final replays. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Leinster Council chairman Derek Kent has proposed scrapping the All-Ireland hurling preliminary quarter-finals to accommodate potential provincial final replays.

Speaking in Kilkenny at the launch of this year's Leinster championship, the Wexford man claimed that preliminary quarter-finals typically provide 'no promotion of hurling'.

As things stand, the two teams that finish third in the Leinster and Munster hurling championships, as well as the two Joe McDonagh Cup finalists, meet at the preliminary quarter-final stage.

But those games have been largely one-sided over the years with the MacCarthy Cup teams coming out on top every time apart from Dublin's loss to Laois in 2019.

Kent argued that it would make more sense to give provincial councils the option of hosting final replays where necessary, instead of the current winner on the day arrangement.

"The way our calendar is structured nationally, I believe it's time to have a provincial final replay whether it be in hurling or football," said Kent. 

"We have a (All-Ireland) preliminary quarter-final and in the last five or six years, the Joe McDonagh Cup teams have been beaten by an average of 22 points.

"There's no promotion of hurling in that and that is a week that we could give back to any provincial championship, whether it be Munster or Leinster, for a provincial final replay and I think that's something that we should look at seriously.

"We have seven weeks in the Championship, we have the best game in the world and we're going to run it off in seven weeks in Leinster! It's difficult but that's where we are."

Offaly have competed in All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals in each of the last two seasons having reached the 2023 and 2024 Joe McDonagh Cup finals.

They were heavily beaten by Tipperary in 2023, conceding 7-38 in that encounter, though fared better against Cork in 2024, losing by nine points.

It has previously been suggested that the teams that finish fourth in their province - Galway and Waterford last year - should advance to the preliminary quarter-final stage instead of the Joe McDonagh Cup teams.

Offaly full-back Ciaran Burke said it could be worth considering.

"Maybe they could look into something like that," said Burke. "I do know last year that we won the Joe McDonagh and then six days later we're turning around to play Cork.

"There's something not right there. You're after working so hard to win the Joe McDonagh and you kind of want to enjoy your success as well and then you're having to turn around six days later and play a preliminary quarter-final. The year before we played Tipp after losing the McDonagh final. I don't think the losers should be going into the preliminary quarter-final."

Offaly are back in the Leinster SHC this summer for the first time since 2018 and will open their account against Dublin at Parnell Park on Saturday week.

They will hope to maintain the strong form they showed in the second-half of last weekend's Division 1B final defeat to Waterford.

"We struggled big time in the first-half on our own puck-outs and 10 minutes into the second-half we weren't at the races," conceded the Durrow man. "We showed great character to get back into it in fairness. I think we got it back to four points. There are huge positives to take out of the game but we need to improve massively going into the Championship because we won't get away with being at that level for 45 minutes.

"Having been down in the Joe McDonagh for the last few years, there's a big step up to playing a Munster team like that. You realise the pace that the game is played at and getting that exposure before the Championship is good.

"I'd say hurling that league final is worth two or three training sessions to us. There were great learnings in it, even with the whole occasion and the build up. You gain massive experience from playing on days like that."