There was an infamous Five Nations match at Murrayfield in 1963 when an under pressure Wales captain Clive Rowlands got his wish and the Welsh pack was stacked with beanpoles to secure line out possession. Wales kicked everything to touch, there were 111 line outs in the match with the ball barely in play for more than a few seconds at a time. Wales won 6-0. The IRB changed the rules shortly afterward that you could only kick directly to touch from your own 22. An innovative change that greatly improved the spectacle of rugby union.
The ball rarely been in play for any prolonged period of time in a hurling match now rather oddly seems to have been embraced by most people as a positive development.
I stand corrected on that point of order. My substantive point still stands though. The law makers in rugby union took decisive and successful action in the mid 1960âs to counteract the evolution of the sport to a stage where the ball was rarely in play.
Hurling is evolving that way now and seems to be just a never ending sequence of puck outs.
On the plus side, Gaelic football has evolved into an attractive, methodical, possession-based game with a much increased ball in play time, thanks to the tactical innovations of coaches like Mickey Harte and Jim McGuinness.
Thatâs to be welcomed.
Hurling and its bang bang shootouts are far less attractive in comparison.
âTippy Tappyâ ? Lazy term for fellas who just want hurleys broke at every opportunity.
Skill level gone through the roof in recent years & high scoring games. Give me that any day of the week. Game is still physical as ever, in fact itâs even more physical with the conditioning of players in the present day,
09 was an incredible game. Especially with Kilkenny having looked so invincible for nearly 4 years on the trot. Only downer was the farcical penalty that gifted Kilkenny the upper hand on the home stretch.