The fastest field sport in the world, where balls can reach speeds of 180 km / hour. Where a ball can travel the length of the pitch in under three seconds, if you want it to.
But nowadays, more often than not, the ball will go short rather than long, across the pitch rather than up it. It's not a new phenomenon by any means but it’s being used by the top teams more than ever before.
Case in point for this was in Nowlan Park last Sunday, where I witnessed the reaction and anger from the Kilkenny supporters to this new style of play for their team.
Kilkenny went short on several occasions and tried to work the ball through the lines but found themselves in two minds and turned over by Tipp’s work-rate and desire to win the dirty ball (we'll keep it on the down low for now that Tipp are going well). Queue a chorus of 'Will you drive it up the field' and 'what are ye at with this tippin and tappin'.
For so long the game was simple in Kilkenny: win the ball, drive it long and they should be good enough to win it at the other end regardless of how it’s coming in. It sounds easy but when you had the greatest hurling team ever executing the plan, they often made it look that way. But the landscape has changed, teams are tactically better equipped and organised to cut out space, drop deep and defend, and so these 50/50 balls have now really become 30/70 balls at best due to the number of bodies back there.
So if you want to win or at least challenge the very best you have to adapt and move with the times. That is what Derek Lyng is trying to do and I feel the Kilkenny hurling public need to understand this and give it time. If they keep trying what they’ve always done and hoping for different results than the last few years, well that’s the definition of insanity isn’t it? But as someone once said to me 'The only thing people like to see changed is a baby’s nappy!'
On the other hand I am totally against overuse of this short passing/running game. It can be detrimental to the viewer and also to the talent inside waiting and hoping for this ball to come in. I was in O'Moore Park Saturday night to witness this in the form of Waterford. As I gazed across the pitch in Portlaoise to the block of apartments behind the uncovered stand overlooking the pitch, I spotted one lonely figure who had braved the cold to come out onto the balcony and watch. He had as much influence on the first half of that match as most of the Waterford inside forward line.
It was no fault of the forwards but rather the overuse of the short-passing game or over-complication of a simple pass. They were starved of possession inside and then when it did come in, Laois had enough time to get set and deal with it, in particular when they had Paddy Purcell as a free man due to Mikey Kiely’s sending off. Now contrast that to the second half when tactics went out the window somewhat as it became 14 v 14 and a game of hurling broke out for the Waterford men.
Yes there was still some short passing, but the ball was going in quicker into space and as a result Waterford outscored Laois 1-18 to 1-07. Waterford are trying this game, and fair play to them when they have all the big guns back they will be executing it with much more efficiency, but I feel if you’re setting up to play like this against Limerick, where you are willing to constantly carry the ball into contact and run it through the lines you are asking for a world of pain - both physically and on the scoreboard.
What’s the point in having a Stephen Bennett or a Dessie Hutchinson or a Pádraig Fitzgerald inside if you’re not pumping ball after ball into them? It’s like having a dog and barking yourself. Maybe it’s a ploy by Davy for the league, maybe it’s the way he feels he’ll get the most out of this group. Time will tell. Firstly he needs to have a chat with them about indiscipline – three reds in two games, which would be detrimental to the group come round-robin championship - and also the conundrum now of the impact Aussie Gleeson is having from the bench: he’s playing too well as a finisher, as the top teams now call subs.
Limerick set the bar at this short game but they also know when to mix it. They too had their period of bedding in with this system. It wasn’t always everyone’s cup of tea but now people know what they are at and trust the process, and so the groan from the stand is less and less from the Limerick public. They will suck you in with the short game and create space up front for their lethal forwards. If you stick and don’t follow they’ll just work the ball into a space and score from distance.
Getting this balance right is the key in trying to go toe to toe with them. And until someone does beat them in a big knockout game they will still be the team we are all preparing to try and beat. That's much easier said than done against a group containing several hurlers who are only a season or two away being ranked as some of the best to ever play the game.
So I’m sorry to break the hearts of the generation who love that 'long ball, throw it up there and see what happens' approach – the days of lumping it all the time is gone for now. It might come back but it won’t beat the best right now. Better ball from a certain zone means a better chance of retaining possession.
But have no doubt there will still be room for the moments of off-the-cuff individual brilliance we love to see: a point off the knees, a goal-saving flick, a solo of the ball with no hurley or a sideline in the last minute to win it – the things we dream of in the back lawn of a Sunday evening.
There are two rounds of the league done and three to go. It’s like Halloween now – good craic, enjoyable, but be patient because Santa is coming in a couple of months in the form of the championship.
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