Galway gain lop-sided plan

The first thing to be said about the Hurling Development Committee proposals is that, like their football counterparts, anything beats the current situation. Unlike football, hurling has already come to terms with a dilution of the knockout format but the widespread availability of second chance will develop the advantages already evident in the current system.

There will be a greater range of top-class matches and teams won't be faced with the prospect of blowing months of preparation on one championship match. As is the case with the new football structures, the reform extends to only one extra match for most defeated teams but this should enable those teams to remain in summer training for, on average, a month longer.

The main questions prompted by the HDC blueprint are: could the same objectives have been more satisfactorily met and will it secure the approval of Congress?

There is no clear answer to the first point. It depends on how much latitude you believe Galway should have been given in determining the final draft. Had the HDC taken a more brusque line with Connacht's only serious hurling county, some of the structural acrobatics could have been avoided. But all GAA reforms are about optimising the balance between real-politik and genuine progress and Galway have been supportive of progressive moves in the past.

The county has been probably too fond of the advantages conferred by its automatic entry to the All-Ireland series. It has certainly overestimated the impact of them. Most observers believe that had Galway contested provincial championships, either in Munster or Leinster, the county might not have reached as many All-Ireland finals but would probably have won more titles.

It was only last summer that the dismal run in the All-Ireland quarter-finals came to an end. But far from persuading Galway that the straight qualification was becoming a hindrance, the experience seems to have made the county more determined to hang on to the privileges of their unique situation.

There is an argument which says that Galway are trying to have their cake and eat it. The desire for a guaranteed second match is reasonable, the demand that they too be allowed lose a match along the way is not. This attitude seeks to benefit from the county's isolation while claiming the same entitlements as teams who must contest a competitive provincial championship.

An early proposal discussed at the HDC would have made more sense. This involved the creation of three, three-county round-robins: one would involve the team beaten in Leinster's first round and the two defeated Munster semi-finalists, another Leinster's semi-finalist and the county eliminated in the first round in Munster and finally Galway plus the defeated provincial finalists in Munster and Leinster.

Although Galway's pool is noticeably stronger, its winners would proceed straight to the All-Ireland semi-final and Galway would have the first match at home. In each pool, the team defeated in the first match would automatically play in the second with the result that there would be no dead rubbers.

Winners of groups one and two would play off for the right to play the Ulster champions in a quarter-final with the county emerging proceeding to the semi-finals to join the Leinster and Munster champions and the winners of Galway's group.

This structure would guarantee more high-profile matches and dispense with the haphazard approach of inventing mezzanine rounds to accommodate a defeated team. Objections to it would be two-fold. Given that each round-robin would have to be decided on scoring averages because replays would not be feasible in the extended programme, it would be possible for Galway to lose only one match and be eliminated. Secondly, the Ulster semi-finalists would not be involved.

Neither case is particularly strong. As argued above, Galway's entitlement should be to a second match rather than a second defeat. Ulster's situation is that in nearly 80 years, the province has returned two significant championship victories. Accordingly the right to have its beaten semi-finalists included in the qualifiers is weak when it has to be accepted that every other county involved would have realistic hopes of winning a match.

As to whether the present proposal will pass Congress, it's hard to know. At least it has been handled sensibly and released ahead of the inevitable leak which would have resulted had the daft idea to hold it until after next weekend's management committee meeting prevailed.

One problem any hurling proposal has is that about half the counties are blissfully unaffected by the senior championship. Therefore proposals are as likely to be scrutinised for their capacity to hinder football as their chances of advancing hurling. It has yet to be decided whether the proposals will need a two thirds majority but the precedent governing experimental changes is that a simple majority will suffice.

One crucial indicator will be the attitude of Cork. Experience shows that the major hurling counties have to be ad idem if reforms are to succeed. And virtually nothing changes without the say-so of Cork county secretary Frank Murphy whose forensic skills frequently make or break arguments at Congress.