How very 21st century...

The GAA’s Head of Hurling, William Maher, and Dr Michael McKay of the Games Intelligence Unit are busy canvassing the sprinkling of curious supporters who have been drawn to Billings Park in UCD.

Just before throw-in for this novel third-level colleges fixtures – a round one game between the hosts and Maynooth University – they hand out a sheet detailing the sweeping set of rule changes that will be on show for the first time.

And to a live audience too, courtesy of streaming operation Clubber which has set up a gantry pitch-side with former Wexford footballer Anthony Masterson on commentary duty. On that sheet is a QR code which could well decide the future of hurling.

From being bound up in the ancient warrior myths of Cú Chulainn to a future shaped by smartphone, it’s a hurling world that GAA founding father Michael Cusack couldn’t have imagined.

Because that QR code links to a short survey that canvasses reaction to each key element of the new rules being trialled before they go through the usual formal process of being voted on at annual congress next February prior to officially coming into being.

If they get that far.

An evening like Tuesday will go a long way towards telling what changes might – or might not – be acceptable to a hurling public that is traditionally precious about its game.

While John Meyler and his Hurling Expert Advisory Group have a total of 24 amendments being trialled during three rounds of this Higher Education Hurling League, there are a number of key ones. None more radical arguably than in relation to the handpass, what Meyler says is the one topic that crops up the most.

Being trialled then is not just a ban on consecutive handpasses – only one can be used before the stick has to be employed – but a directive that any handpass has to involve ‘a clear and definite striking action’.

Also radical is the rule around puckouts having to clear the 45-metre line rather than just the 20-metre line. In light of the success of change in Gaelic football where kickouts have to reach the new 40-metre arc, this is an attempt to follow suit and prioritise high-fielding and the contest for possession, while adding a bit of chaos rather than the control – and also limit any short-passing moves out from the back.

Combined with increasing the number of steps a player can take in possession from four to six, the hope is to reduce the number of handpasses in hurling, encourage more striking, and reduce the number of rucks.

McKay and his Games Intelligence Unit will study the tape of each game and crunch the numbers. See how much the rate of handpassing drops – there were 135 handpasses in last July’s All-Ireland final for example between Limerick and Galway, according to Meyler.

So, how did it all work?

The process actually starts before the ball is thrown in. Dublin referee Chris Mooney, part of the inter-county standard referees panel, goes into the dressing room to brief both sets of players and the respective managers – UCD’s Johnny McGlynn and Maynooth’s Crónan Dooley – on the implementation of the rules. This is a good initiative to ensure communication is two-way and to get away from any us-versus-them mentality when it comes to teams and match officials.

At 7.45pm then, the action gets underway. And even the first action is different.

1 v 1 throw-in

‘In respect of all throw-ins, both players contesting must clash for the ball with a ground stroke and a failure to do so will result in the awarding of a free to the opposing team. A second player from each team shall stand on opposite sidelines at the half-way line.’

This is one lifted from the new Gaelic football rules handbook. Just like football, players having to stand on opposite sidelines is slightly odd – it would make more sense to allow them stand in their own half.

But the 1v1 works. The first clash sees a good, old-fashioned clash of the ash, and when the ball doesn’t budge too far, there’s a good honest scramble between just two players rather than the frequent ruck between four. Same for the start of the second half.

A keeper.

Puckouts travelling past the 45-metre line

It took less than a minute for Maynooth forward Michael Brennan to slot a free and prompt the first UCD puckout.

Immediately, there were teething problems. The attacking team have to leave at least three players inside the opposition 45-metre line – and outside the 20 metre line – but one Maynooth forward jumps the gun.

Chris Mooney has to blow again and get the sliotar back to the keeper for a reset. This would be a recurring theme.

As expected, the attacking team pulled their three players right out to the edge of the 45-metre line, knowing the goalkeeper has to go long – or at least mid-range with his puckout. After Maynooth level it at 0-6 apiece just after the first quarter, one of the three forwards has his body one side of the 45-metre line and his arm the other, like a tightrope walker trying to balance. Add in the fact that the three forwards have hurls up and the theme of the puckouts is quickly to go long – to at least midfield or more usually to the half-forward line.

Again – fine, in terms of cutting out the short possession moves out from the back that can break down and lead to rucks, or the one-twos or lateral passes involving the goalkeeper. But it was all a bit one-dimensional.

‘Slow down and wait for the whistle,’ was another refrain. Because the new rules, quite rightly, insist that the puckout can’t be taken quickly after a wide – as referees tended to allow.

The goalkeeper has to wait for the second whistle – which allows the opposition to reset and thus favour more contests for possession, rather than getting a quick, sneaky one away and turning it into a dull pattern of puckout-shot-score – with few contests or tackles being made.

‘Back inside lads. Back inside the 45.’ Again, the line umpire has to remind the Maynooth forwards.

In the second half, it is the UCD forwards turn to infringe.

And Maynooth’s management quickly found a loophole – as his team led late on, Dooley had his backs stand inside the 20m line, meaning the referee had to stop the game and tell them to come out.

‘I think they have missed a trick,’ said Dooley afterwards, ‘in that there’s no consequence for the backs delaying play,’ showing how smart teams will always test the limits.

The handpass

‘It shall be a technical foul, resulting in a free to the opposing team, for a player to execute a handpass, having received a handpass from a teammate. Also to handpass the ball without it being released and struck with a clear and definite striking action of a hand.’

This is the game-changer. Or to its critics, arguably the ruination of the game.

If the rule amendments run to 24 in total, this was the one that impacted the flow of the fixture the most.

Seven times I counted that the match officials called foul on a handpass not being given with a clear and definite striking action. Twice, the line umpire on either side of the field – now empowered to do so – called the foul.

One happened right in front of where I was standing beside the Clubber gantry. With the referee blindsided, the line umpire got it spot on. He was standing just yards away and being wired up with Chris Mooney, told him immediately. A similar foul was called in the second half by the line umpire far side.

What all the frees did was disrupt the flow of the game and lead to an amount of frustration – both on the pitch, and outside the wire fence for those watching.

At one stage in the first half, UCD number eight Doran Daly O’Toole was pinged and put his head in his hands – part frustration, part disbelief. He clearly thought it was legit.

In the second half, Maynooth’s Jeff Neary – a Kilkenny county player – also shook his head in disagreement. He was then punished further for dissent.

Now this clampdown alone and reinterpretation would help to move the game away from a game of control and possession with high numbers of handpasses. It would encourage players towards using the stick for passing or striking.

A portion of blame lies with the players, but then, they have had a very short lead-in time. And even with the change in emphasis, a handpass happens so fast that ‘clear and definite striking action’ is still hugely subjective.

The one-handpass limit though was the most striking change. It certainly served to reduce the number of handpasses dramatically. But, in this reporter’s view, taken in tandem with the new puckout, it was all a bit one-dimensional.

Credit to the players – they were so smart in adapting to this huge mindset change.

‘Flick, flick, flick’ was the call by Maynooth in the second quarter after one handpass had already been given. Just like the new trial of Gaelic football rules I watched last week in DCU, the players help to self-police this.

The ‘Brick Flick’ – named after the scooped pass that was a trademark of Waterford star Michael ‘Brick’ Walsh – has never been as popular as it was on Tuesday evening.

Indeed, it wasn’t until the 19th minute that the first two-handpass infringement was blown.

But right then, the second pass had just released a Maynooth player to have a shot. It was the right option – and perfectly natural. But it’s now against the rules.

This feels like playing the game with one hand tied behind the back.

Certainly in an attacking sense. There were very few ‘moves’ as such in the game. Because the handpass is often the thread that runs through a phase of possession play.

In the 36th minute, Maynooth attacked. Lorcan Byrne ran through. Because he had taken a handpass, he opted to step inside when the tackle pressure came on – and got easily hooked. A simple handpass would have released a man outside him.

Now, in fairness, there were plenty of examples of the ball being transferred quickly to the forward line for the very same reason. Harry Shine’s 12th minute point – a fast, stick pass from centre-back Tommy Maher set it up – was just one example. But there were plenty of examples too of the ball being pucked away, just because a player felt his options were limited to retain possession. Three handpasses are being trialled in football – why not hurling?

The rules assessor on the night was Dave Conway. He explained how most referees in Dublin are dual and that’s why it’s so important to have as much alignment with Gaelic football as possible to avoid confusion.

The games are hard enough to referee without separate, added complications.

And if you include the one-handpass restriction, do you really want to go short? Because a turnover is more likely if you can’t use a quick handpass to get out of trouble. In the 48th minute, the shouts of ‘Two!’ go up from the Maynooth players near the ball. The ref agrees. UCD are punished for what will be only the second two-handpass indiscretion on the night.

Steps

‘He uses his six steps’ – not a phrase we’ve heard before but one used by Anthony Masterson describing one Maynooth attack. Afterwards, Crónan Dooley again spoke of trying to encourage forwards to take on their men more, because they have an extra two steps.

‘I’d say of all the rules it’s the one that came across my mind the least,’ said Chris Mooney when I spoke to him afterwards. ‘I actually got a bit of lip off a couple of players for allowing extra steps and I had to remind them that there was extra allowed.’

The new 65 metre free – from the opposition 65

Around the three-quarter mark, a penalty is awarded for a foul on Harry Shine, for holding off the ball. The same player steps up and draws a wondrous flying save from goalkeeper Seán McGrath, who tips it out for a 65.

Cue a bit of hurling history. Michael Brennan strides with the ball in his hand and places it on his own 65 – in his half of the field. As per the new rule to make it harder. He slots it. And he does it once again before the end of the game.

No black card – just a penalty for denying a goalscoring opportunity, plus a yellow or red if required

Shine’s penalty would likely have resulted in a black card for the UCD defender and a 10-minute sin bin. But that no longer applies. There was a straight red card for Shine with seven minutes to go when he ran through his opponent as he went to gather possession – anything around the head leaves Mooney with no choice. Similarly when a Maynooth player reacts and strikes out with his hurl.

A super goal by Dara Queally puts Maynooth in command and a late goal by man of the match Michael Brennan settles it, Maynooth winning on a final scoreline by 2-18 to 1-17.

The verdict

First, the referee. Mooney admitted all the frees around the handpass did lead to frustration but added: ‘Look, I’m confident under the new rule that the throws I blew were throws. Probably a lot of frustration on the pitch I think from players because they thought they were doing it right and look, truth be told, were they always doing it right? Were we always doing it right in terms of how we were refereeing the two?

‘So it’s learning for us all.

‘One that I was very surprised at how difficult it was, was the puck-out. I just felt it was quite difficult to write scores, watch umpires for wides, coming out and making sure the lads behind aren’t pulling and dragging, and in the middle of that you have to count the six [players]. I think a club game on your own, that puckout one would be very, very difficult.’

Head of Hurling William Maher struck an upbeat note.

‘I think there was a lot more first-time striking – again, what people are craving for in the game.

‘Look, there will be holes in this. This is not perfect. But for night one, I thought the application of the new rules was fantastic. The communication between the line umpires was really, really good. Everything was slick.’

The results from the QR code survey will tell a tale.