The Calling Off Of Games In Waterford Has To Be Looked At

This evening at rain lashed Fraher Field Passage booked their place in the last eight of this year’s senior hurling championship when they came from being 1-9 to 0-7 behind with thirty eight minutes played to win 1-13 to 1-9.

To have to ask any players to tog out and play a game of hurling this evening was grossly unfair on any player, and indeed it was unfair to ask supporters to turn out in any big numbers to see the two sides in action.

But right now in Waterford it is very much a case of needs must when it comes to games.

Something in Waterford has to change and change very soon.

The first two rounds of this year’s Senior Hurling Championship were completed by the third fourth of five weekends in April and the third round was not played until last weekend. Going into last weekend’s round of games there was three rounds of league games to be played and then the knockout stages of the championship would be started.

If Waterford has to have a team in place to play in the Munster Club Championship against the Tipperary Champions, a county final winner has to be found before the weekend of the 29 of October, the weekend that the game is to be played.

If Waterford are to meet this date, the County Final is likely to be played the weekend before and no doubt when the knockout stages of the competition is reached, as much as the County Board might like it in normal circumstances, the last thing the officers will be looking for is for any game to go to a replay, something that could well just be needed as between many of the teams that are likely to feature in the knockout stages, a puck of the ball is all that is between the sides on any given day.

The monthly meeting of the County Board was held last Monday night and we were told after the meeting in reports that the County will not be in a position to have a team ready to play in the Munster Senior Club Football Championship.

This is something that is likely to anger many, and it is hard not to blame those that will give out.

Just two years ago there was a lot of anger when Stradbally won the County Senior Football Championship on a Friday night and were forced to play again twenty four hours later against Cork side Nemo Rangers in the Munster Championship.

Such is the anger that followed at the time was that no member of the Stradbally Club has played Senior Football for the County in 2016 or 2017. 

The question has to be asked why does this happen. Games running late in Waterford are not something new.

Last year Waterford did not have a representative to take part in the Munster Intermediate and Junior Club Football Championships. In 2009 Waterford did not have a representative to take part in the Munster Intermediate Club Championship. In some years while the county final was played and a team was in place to represent Waterford, the county final at times was played less than twenty four hours before the Munster Club Championship and clubs rather than to ask their players to play two games in quick succession, they opted to give a walk over in the Munster Championship.

The question has to be asked, why we have gone weeks and months without meaningful championship games in Waterford and are now asking players to play week in week out. What does this do for player welfare which we are told at times is very important?

Let us take one group of players and then wonder about Player Welfare.

On September 10 The Nire played Stradbally in the Senior Football Championship. On September 16 Fourmilewater played Roanmore in the senior Hurling Championship. This evening Fourmilewater played Passage and on Thursday night next they play Portlaw in the Senior Hurling Championship. That for most of the players playing both Senior Hurling and Senior Football that is 4 games in 19 days. It is expected that the Ballymacarbry Club will beat Portlaw and therefore qualify for the quarter finals of the senior hurling Championship and be out again on the weekend of 7 and 8 of October.

Yes, I know that we will be told that games were and are called off during the Summer months to allow the different inter county management team full access to the players in their panel and to allow them prepare to try and win an All-Ireland Final.

But to most this is not a satisfactory reason for calling off games.

We have to ask ourselves here in Waterford does the dog wag its tail or does the tail wag the dog.

All summer long we have had players sitting idly not knowing when they were going to get their next championship game. Now they are getting them week in week out with little time to recover from any knocks that they might have picked up during the course of a game.

For next year’s Senior Hurling Inter County Championship there is a proposal that a new championship.

Counties are expected to vote in the coming weeks on a championship where five counties in Munster will play each other in one group and all five counties will play each other once, guarantying them four championship games, while All-Ireland Champions Galway and four sides from Leinster will compete in another group with each side again told they will have a minimum of four games to play in the summer months.

Here in Waterford when it comes to proposals coming from the offices of Croke Park, we have a history of voting for many of what is proposed.

Let us imagine right now therefore if Waterford were to vote in favour of the new proposals and they were to come into play, imagine this time next year where it will leave the club scene if Waterford were to reach the All-Ireland Final once more, something that is very possible, even if the Bookies are making Waterford fourth favourites to win the Liam McCarthy Cup in 2018.

Will we see change in Waterford in the near future and dispense with the idea of calling off games during the summer months, and more consideration be given to the club player.

I for one won’t hold my breath too long hoping changes will happen.

I have heard it suggested that the Munster Council may well give Waterford a little grace in completing championships as the Waterford appeared in the All-Ireland Hurling Final, but why should the Munster Council do this for Waterford or for any county.

Dates for the Munster Club Championships are known now with some time and it is up to each county fixture committee to be in a position to meet these dates.

I am not a Club player in any grade and nor have i for obvious reasons, but if i was I know i would be very angry right now if i felt my club could win a County Final at any grade and was not given the chance to play in the Munster Club Championship, something a player might get one chance to do so in his career.

Munster Club Championship Dates:

W/E 29 October - Waterford Champions V Tipperary Champions in Quarter Finals of Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship

W/E 5 November – Cork Champions V Waterford Champions in Quarter Finals of Munster Senior Club Football Championship

W/E 5 November – Clare or Limerick Champions V Waterford Champions in Semi Finals of Munster Intermediate Hurling Championship

W/E 29 October – Waterford Champions V Cork Champions in Quarter Finals of Munster Intermediate Club Football Championship

W/E 29 October Limerick Champions V Waterford Champions in Quarter Finals of Munster Junior Club Hurling Championship

W/E 19 November Cork or Tipperary Champions V Waterford Champions in Munster Junior Club Football Championship