Hurling Rules being ignored

[manfromdelmonte]

1. add in the constant tapping of opponents by the Kilkenny forwards' hurleys.

using the hurley to strike an opponent is a bookable offence btw

2. also, putting the hurley (in the right hand) and left arm around the body of the opponent to stop them lifting their hands or hurley to play the ball. this shit has to stop.

3. four steps. what has happened to this little rule?

[DD]

3. four steps. what has happened to this little rule?

DJ was getting a good 14 or 15 in, back in the early 90's

[Lone Shark]

I would agree that the "art" of fouling appears to have escalated in a lot of ways - no doubt in response to the assorted other ways that forwards bend the rules.

Overcarrying has been enforced in a hit and miss fashion for as long as I can remember.

[Bord na Mona man]

I think hurling referees are in general lenient.
The strict rules on striking and many other offences are rarely enforced.
We have all seen belts been dished out and not getting a red.

Most people are happy to tolerate this though.
In some ways it because the nature of the game has always been sporting.
There is an understanding that the majority of players will play the game in the right spirit and not take the option to wear timber across each other.

I do think some counties have started to take advantage of this now.
The cynical fouls like the tapping of the hand, the hurley around the neck, the striking of the opponents body are examples.

The problem for referees is that hurling is rarely refereed by the rule book. It is reffed by an unwritten code of standards. The first ref who starts to punish these offences by the book will be a maverick. Most hurling people believe the rules on aggressive play are there to try and tidy up football and that hurling is fine. Which has a certain validity to it, but it the eventual logical outcome is that hurling doesn't really have a rule book. Just an a la carte list of offences that could in theory be applied.

Also, the hurling world is very small, so a sea change on opinion is unlikely. The counties that profit most from these cynical tactics are the small band of keepers of the flame. You won't hear a peep from Nickey Brennan, Ned Quinn etc about the need to tidy up the game. A guy like Loughnane mentions Kilkenny's hand tapping and he is branded a loony, nutter and sore loser. "What would he know about it anyway" sort of attitude. It will take a long time for a clamour of unrest to come about the cynical aspects in hurling.

At least in football, the is a greater democratic feel to it. There are more eyes on the game and it is probably understood by more people.
Hurling takes a bit more of a tuned eye to spot the flick directed at the opponent was actually at his hand and not the ball.

Also, criticising the big guns is seen as off limits. Very little attention to Kerry's aggression in football, or Kilkenny in hurling. They have preened the reputation of being purists of the sport, so few will rock the apple cart and challenge this consensus.

[Efan]

It will be interesting to see if TV3 in their analysis will focus in on this aspect of the game. You can take it as read that RTE will not. In slow motion analysis this type of stuff is much more obvious (much like players diving in soccer versus watching it at full speed). Any criticism of players is taken personally and we within the GAA community are uber-sentisitive to spade calling. You only had to look at the amount of people defending Paul Galvin last week for what was a blatant an infringement of the rules to see there would be no shortage of people up on their hind legs on this one.

I don’t know if you remember a few years back Ciaran Barr from Antrim/Dublin was an analyst on the Sunday Game. He fingered Martin Storey for the Fitzy trick of barging at the defender with his head under his shoulder in an effort to “win” the free. He did some slow motion analysis of it and pretty much nailed him on it. Essentially he made it look blatant. Barr got a load of grief for his analysis and the following year he was playing for Dublin against Wexford in the Leinster Championship in Nolan Park where he was subjected to DOGS abuse on and off the field.

OK a pundit playing is a “No No” but leaving that aside he took flack because he dared to criticize and analyse properly. I think the mentality has not changed in the slightest in 10 years. Interestingly Storey did a huge amount less of that short of barging crap later in his career and Wexford's hurling prospered as a result. He ran us (and Sid) ragged in the Leinster semi final in 98 playing the ball all the way.

[Plain of the Herbs]

Watch out for the next 'trick' over the coming weeks and months in the aftermath of Clare's second goal last Sunday - that of hurlers under pressure throwing/dropping the ball over the goalline!

[Bord na Mona man]

Just to reinforce the earlier point. Over the last few weeks on the Sunday Game, there have been a lot of time spent highlighting incidents missed by the referee but picked up on camera.

The football analysts have come down hard on both rough play and feigning injury.
The hurling ones have tended to dismiss any incidents raised. Though when it is usually Michael Duignan or Cyril Farrell viewing the incident you would hardly expect prolonged moralising over a bad stroke.

Whoever you believe is right or wrong, it shows that in the hurling world there is a bit more leniency towards rules enforcement. Whether it is the feeling that the nature of the game needs this, the small gene pool of the hurling world mitigates against speaking out, or perhaps no one wanting to speak ill of a game that is struggling, I'm not sure.

However, in my view this sort of blind eye does leave the door open to certain players taking advantage.
I would hope that the game is still played with honour as it has been for centuries, but when you see certain players diving like Premiership stars, you'd have to worry.