COLUMN: New championship rule throws up confusion and excitement in Tipperary

Eoin Kelly summed it up best in the aftermath of Mullinahone’s win over Nenagh Éire Óg last Sunday afternoon, in reference to the high levels of drama across the county in the final round of group games across the top three grades in this year’s championship.

He described it bluntly, saying, “Tipperary have got it right. It’s a very exciting championship.”
And it is made all the more exciting by the Tipperary legends’ continued involvement for Mullinahone as he was a big part of the act in what was a helter-skelter final weekend, with drama and last-gasp drama present across all the grades in one fashion or another.

The word “permutation” has probably been the most-used word in the county over the last week, and it was never more evident than late on in various groups when punters and supporters were trying to calculate how groups were going to look at the end of the action, with the new national rule implemented this year - coming from GAA top brass - throwing huge confusion into the mix.

The old system which has been used since the inception of the round robin some five years ago meant that - when three teams were locked on equal points with head-to-head taken out of the equation - it would come down to the team with the more significant scoring difference to determine who finished second in a group.

However, that rule was changed under instruction from Croke Park for this year’s championship, unbeknownst to most clubs and counties around the country, and it came into sharp focus ahead of the Tipperary club games on Friday evening when Sixmilebridge were sent packing from the championship under the new rule.

The Bridge crashed out of the championship despite having a one point better-scoring average than Crusheen, and they did so under the new rule which only takes into account the results between the three tied teams in question, thus eliminating the results against the team who topped the group.

In essence, it turned into a three-team mini-league, and recent county champions Sixmilebridge became the first to suffer under the new rule. While this new rule caused a lot of confusion as the games were happening and no shortage of annoyance, it certainly has added spice and excitement to what was already shaping up to be a brilliant weekend of club action ahead of throw-in on Saturday.

The Templederry Kenyons versus Holycross Ballycahill game was a case in point. The north team came away from the game with a four point win thanks to a late Éanna Murray penalty and themselves and Holycross were dropping in and out of second place all game long, despite Templederry leading for nearly the whole game, and when the final whistle blew in Borris-Ileigh, both sets of players and management were utterly confused as to their fate.

As it turned out, there was only a single point separating the teams with Holycross skimming through in second by the skin of their teeth, thanks largely to two late points from Darragh Woods who dragged his team to the quarter-finals in an incredible individual display.

The qualified teams are all but confirmed for the three grades - save the few games left to be played next week in the Premier Intermediate and Intermediate grade - but the most fascinating draw to look forward to will be the relegation in the senior championship.

This is arguably the first year since this championship format came into being that there is no clear favourite for the drop with Clonoulty Rossmore, Upperchurch Drombane, JK Brackens, and last year’s county champions Kilruane MacDonaghs making up the four teams, one of which will drop to Premier Intermediate next year.

It is incredible to think any of those four teams could drop out of the Dan Breen race. Unthinkable for those involved with them you would think.

Upperchurch Drombane were just one game away from making it to a county final last year, while JK Brackens won a Mid title just last year, and made the last eight of the championship in 2022, and most recently on Sunday gone, handed out a big beating to a fancied Drom & Inch team in Templetuohy, sending out a warning to potential opponents in the relegation semi-finals.

Incredibly, Clonoulty Rossmore will have to put the relegation worries to one side for the time being, as their West title win earlier in the summer means they have a preliminary quarter-final to contend with, in what will be a difficult situation for the management team and players to approach in the coming weeks.

However, most startling is the presence of Kilruane MacDonaghs in the bottom four, in what is surely one of the tamest defences of Dan Breen in living memory, losing three from three in their group and finishing on -17 scoring difference.

They have had a torrid year after a brilliant breakthrough county title win in 2022, but injuries and loss of form have contrived to send them towards the precipice, and with so much quality in the mix for the trapdoor, they will be anxious in the weeks to come with Premier Intermediate hurling looming.

All-in-all, it will be a disaster for any of those clubs to drop down a grade but what it makes for great interest and intrigue for the neutral GAA man in the county.

It’s hard to argue with Kelly’s opinion. It doesn’t get more competitive than this and after so many years of modifications to our championships in Tipperary, it is finally fair to say that our competitions are bang on!