There has been a critical reaction from both Clare and Waterford camps to the prospect of playing three intense championship matches in successive weeks. This possibility has come about because of an unfortunate combination of circumstances which started with the need to switch the Munster and Leinster hurling finals in order to accommodate the Tour de France in Dublin over the weekend.

With a week less between it and the All-Ireland quarter-finals, the Munster final ended in a draw for the second time in three years. Given that the losers and their counterparts in Leinster will contest the quarter-finals on Sunday week, July promises to be a particularly taxing month for whoever loses out in Thurles, particularly if the draw pits them against Galway who are said to be in good form at the moment.

Waterford manager Gerald McCarthy said: "There's no doubt it will be very tough for the loser of next Sunday's game. If fairness was taken into account, there should be a break. A team shouldn't have to play three Sundays in a row. Even niggling injuries will have no time to recover."

McCarthy has one serious injury to consider. Full back Sean Cullinane was taken off on Sunday after damaging his hamstring and it won't be until tonight that the prognosis is clear. But with only five days to go to the replay, the odds are stacked against him.

Clare's trainer, Mike McNamara, alludes to a nightmare vision for the GAA's Games Administration Committee - the possibility of another draw which would force the postponement of the quarter-finals, a course of action not being planned at the moment despite the demands it will place on Waterford or Clare.

"It's crazy after two bruising encounters to have to play a match a week later," says McNamara. "It shouldn't be scheduled as tight as that. This is a championship you can win over four matches and yet one team will have to play three hard matches in successive weeks.

"From a physical point of view, it's a nightmare. It takes a full seven days to recover from a match and another seven to tune a team in for the next, and that's not taking into account the little knocks and injuries players will pick up.

"It's been nearly an unwritten rule that a replay should take place two weeks after a drawn match - except maybe in the case of a second draw. Even down to parish hurling. You're going to have a stamina-sapping match like last Sunday, maybe even two hours of it if it goes to extra time, and a very dejected team at the end which then may have to play Galway a week later."

Meanwhile, the national referees' work group has announced that it has taken steps to resolve the confusion arising from the implementation of the new personal fouls directive. Nine days ago, during the Kerry-Cork match in Killarney, it was impossible to work out whether referee Paddy Russell was booking players or merely giving them a warning.

According to the work group's PRO, Fr Seamus Gardiner, a decision was taken last weekend that referees will in future raise a hand when administering a warning to players for having committed a foul, but will just note their names in the book when giving a caution.

An obvious solution would be the introduction of a card system as used in other field sports.

The Munster Council has announced that it will not be in a position to process individual ticket applications for next Sunday's replay in Thurles, given the short lead-in time. Anyone looking for tickets is advised to apply through their club.