Walkovers prove that new Under-20 grade isn’t working

THE FOCUS is firmly on the inter-county scene at this time of year, and the most dedicated Wexford hurling followers will be on the road twice in the coming days. Wednesday’s Leinster Under-21 final against Galway in Portlaoise will be followed by the All-Ireland Senior preliminary quarter-final in Mullingar on Saturday, with the enticing prospect of a reunion for Davy Fitzgerald with his native Clare if we manage to overcome Westmeath.

With talking points coming thick and fast, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s going on at grassroots level. Indeed, the casual follower has little or no interest in matters on the club front at present, but it’s a different story for hard-pressed mentors who are finding it increasingly difficult to field teams.

Last week I wondered how many of the 16 Under-20 hurling matches scheduled for last Wednesday would actually go ahead, and the answer should set the alarm bells ringing.

The grand total of nine walkovers were given, with a paltry seven games taking place. This comes after six of the 16 first round matches were conceded, meaning that only 17 from a possible 32 have been decided on the field.

It could be argued with some justification that there will always be teething problems with a new age group, but the sheer scale of the walkovers is a damning indictment of a competition that’s clearly not working.

The 32 teams involved are divided into four grades which is excessive in my opinion, but that’s another day’s work. With only eight teams per championship, a two groups of four system was devised with the aim of providing three matches initially that would be played, if necessary, minus county players.

In theory, the hope was that the large majority of hurlers at this age level would get plenty of game time before being joined by any colleagues involved with Wexford squads for the knockout stage.

In effect, therefore, there is nothing at stake in group games apart from deciding the quarter-final match-ups on a cross-over 1 v. 4 and 2 v. 3 basis.

However, the facts thus far make for grim reading. By now four games each should have been played in all eight groups, but that target hasn’t been attained in any case.

There has been one walkover in Division 1A, two in 1B, two in 2A, two in 2B, three in 3A, two in 3B, one in 4A, and two in 4B.

In other words, the problems aren’t just confined to smaller clubs or those from football strongholds, they’re right across the boards.

For example, Faythe Harriers had to concede last week because only 13 of their 24-strong panel were available.

Naomh Eanna informed the County Board that they hadn’t sufficient numbers to compete without their Wexford players, an issue that mustn’t have been envisaged at the outset.

In a farcical situation, Dunbrody Gaels (Horeswood and St. James’) top Division 2A on a maximum four points even though they haven’t played a game, with their two opponents unable to field.

Moguegeen Gaels (Fethard and Clongeen) and Monageer-Boolavogue are the only entrants who haven’t played at least once, being forced into two walkovers apiece in the rounds scheduled for April 29 and June 27 respectively. Of the 32 participants, 13 have conceded at least one game.

Post Leaving Certificate holidays were a major issue last week, while it’s hard to blame an Under-20 for not trying to get a night off work, given the potential for losing money in the process, when the match is essentially of no consequence.

Then there’s the rather obvious issue that by reducing the grade from Under-21 to Under-20, an entire year of hurlers are no longer available to clubs who were struggling for numbers one way or the other. It’s too late to address this problem for this year, but it’s clear that the new Under-20 grade cannot continue in this present format.

What was wrong with the old knockout Under-21? Even if it’s now altered to Under-20, I always enjoyed watching teams going hell for leather in the knowledge that only one would survive to the next round. Those games were character-building for the losers even more so than the winners, and a return would be warmly welcomed.