Reale was out cold for five minutes - Bennis

GAELIC GAMES:Limerick hurling manager Richie Bennis has revealed that team captain Damien Reale was unconscious for five minutes during Sunday's titanic struggle with Tipperary.

Reale was stretchered off the field just 10 minutes into the game following an innocuous-looking clash with Tipperary's Darragh Egan.

However, it has emerged that Reale was knocked out cold and upon arriving at the scene, team physio Barry Heffernan and doctor Dave Boylan waved furiously for further back-up.

Reale was detained in Limerick's Regional Hospital overnight, a routine measure for any patient suffering the effects of concussion, before he was released yesterday.

And the Hospital/Herbertstown clubman was well enough to link up with the rest of the Limerick panel last night for a recovery pool session.

"Damien's okay, but he was out for five minutes," said Bennis. "He was kept in overnight at Limerick Regional Hospital as a precaution and let out in the morning. He didn't swallow his tongue, but we believe that the helmet was pulled over his head and may have smothered him a bit."

Referee Seán McMahon has admitted that he made a mistake when he allowed play to resume as Reale was still being treated.

Clare official McMahon restarted the game as Reale was being helped on to a stretcher, but quickly whistled up when play switched to the end of the field where the Limerick corner back was attended to.

Fr Séamus Gardiner, spokesman for the National Referees Association, spoke to McMahon after the game and revealed that the ref held his hands up and admitted that he was wrong to allow the game to resume.

"What he said was that when he stood beside Damien as he was being treated, Damien was on the stretcher and Seán thought that he was being moved immediately," said Fr Gardiner.

"Seán left the scene, but didn't look back, which he accepted he should have. The linesman restarted the game by throwing in the ball and Seán was hoping that play would not go down that end of the field, but, when it went near Damien, he blew up the play.

"The rule is that play should be stopped, particularly for a serious injury. But Seánie said that he made a mistake, he held up his hands. He presumed that Damien was on the stretcher and was being moved away."

Fr Gardiner defended McMahon's general handling of the game, although the referee has come in for criticism within both Limerick and Tipperary.

Finally, Munster Council Chairman Jimmy O'Gorman has expressed his regret following the mass pitch invasion which erupted before the final whistle was blown on Sunday in Limerick. Niall Moran's late point in extra-time sparked delirium among Limerick fans who emerged from both terraces and flooded the pitch as Tipperary looked to launch a quick attack.

Privately, Tipperary are fuming as they believe that they may have engineered a late 21-yard free which if goaled, would have tied the game.

The fans were cleared off the pitch and referee Seán McMahon played out the final few seconds of the game, but O'Gorman insisted: "It's something that should not have happened and we will ensure that it won't happen again. Stewards will be in place for the full duration of the game. I regret that it happened and it's not part of the big day."

O'Gorman also expressed his delight at figures which show that when the Munster hurling championship is finally completed on July 8th, almost 200,000 fans will have attended matches in all grades.

Significantly, Waterford and Limerick will contest the senior decider for the first time since 1934 and it's the first time since 1998 that neither Cork or Tipperary will be involved.

"Is it a sign that that the work being done in the other counties is finally coming to fruition? I would like to think that other counties are going forward and that it's not a case of Cork and Tipp going backwards."

O'Gorman also revealed that the epic Limerick v Tipperary trilogy has banked €1.3 million for the Munster Council.