Dithering over Ring result was shameful
THE pity that Meath did not get to travel to Newry yesterday evening is that we were denied a very important scientific experiment to see if a bus could really travel on fumes.
Apparently, the Meath hurlers partied so hard last Sunday that the driver who was ferrying them around the county gave up waiting on them outside one hostelry and let them at it. Good for him; good for them.
We have no desire to hop on the high moral platform which was flash-mobbed this week.
Some were there to bellyache that Meath management and players should have been blessed with the moral fibre to leave the Christy Ring Cup behind them and head home to suck some protein juice in anticipation of the inevitable replay, rather than drink up their good fortune.
Seriously, young bucks with access to a cup they might never get a hold of again should have shelved the opportunity to be kings for a day in the hope that one day the meek might inherit a place in the Leinster SHC.
On the other side, you had others seriously suggesting that, after the referee had admitted his error, the Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) should have left the result stand and treat the competition as an extension of the Late Late Show by ensuring that there was something for everyone in the audience by allowing both teams to be promoted. Again, seriously?
But while the CCCC made the right decision ultimately, it once more underlined the laboured way the GAA goes about its business. It was unforgivable that it took until Tuesday morning to order a replay and even more baffling that, having taken so long, they then wanted it played in such haste.
Instead of briefing journalists immediately post-match that everything was hunky dory with the scoreline, the GAA should have established definitively from the referee as to whether his numbers added up and what was going in his report. The CCCC should then have consulted and ordered a replay, which could all have been done early on Saturday night.
It might have pooped the party but it would have spared us the earache.