What did people think of this? Or think of the concept in general? The Scots love it and send their best players..

The game on Saturday was a bit low scoring and the pitch was too big for Scotland I think which meant it was not most exciting spectacle.

That said, we see virtually no ground hurling in the modern game. In modern inter county hurling, you must get the ball in your hand. In this game, that is not allowed so we get to see 'real' or 'pure' hurling skill on view. For Ireland to get points, they really have to be top quality scores (from play). In this sense it it is interesting enough (IMO).

bennybunny (Cork) - Posts: 3917 - 23/11/2015 08:43:01    1809121

I can't see it ever being a big event for the GAA because the 2 teams are almost playing different sports. Maybe if there was a compromise stick but that would probably mean neither side could show off their skills.

Like yourself benny I enjoyed the stick work though. As kids we used to play out training games with no hands to bring on the skills. It would be very interesting to see an intercounty tournament played in this way even as a one off. It would change everything, it is all about getting the ball in to the lámh these days and keeping possession by getting it safely into another mans lámh.

dahayeser (Cork) - Posts: 336 - 23/11/2015 09:35:13    1809132

Great to see players striking off the hurl you don't see enough of it in the modern game and yet you would imagine it would be more widespread given how defensive the game has become. I don't think this compromise works, but that said I love the ground stick work of shinty - lovely swing almost golf-like.

arock (Dublin) - Posts: 4895 - 23/11/2015 10:02:15    1809148

It really showed up the modern game's lack of first time striking and the lack of ground hurling.

Hurling has gone to a more possession based game with getting the ball into your hand being the primary objective rather than striking away on the ground or indeed overhead.

That's not necessarily a criticism of modern hurling either. Just an observation.

Although I think there's still room for more ground striking in particular to be brought back in. A lot of goal chances go a begging because players rise the ball first when they have a half yard of space, they're not comfortable with having a go on the ground so they rise the ball. A lot of the time the goal chance is gone by the time they've the ball in hand and they'll pop it over the bar or even lose the chance entirely. Same is true out the field. There's chances to move the ball on the ground to a man in space that are being lost because of the insistence on picking the ball up.

I feel the teams that cotton on to this idea of using a little more ground striking could do well out of it.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13705 - 23/11/2015 10:16:20    1809157

bennybunny
County: Cork
Posts: 3047

That said, we see virtually no ground hurling in the modern game.

Good point, deserves a whole thread on its own.
I don't want to complain too much because there have been some fantastic games and players over the last 10-15 years but the lack of ground hurling is a real problem with the modern game and a real loss. It must be tactical because when I played we were encouraged to let fly unless there was a better reason not to, basically if you're surrounded don't try and lift the ball.

With regard to the main point of the thread I think it's a good idea. Shinty doesn't get much mainstream coverage in Scotland, some of the finals/semi-finals (Camanachd cup etc) are shown on BBC Alba (similar station to TG4), but other than that not much. Although it is very big in some parts of the country in the cities it's soccer soccer soccer which is fine but overshadows pretty much everything else. And there is more to the link up than just the games, the GAA is a major cultural organisation and anything that concerns gaelic culture should be in its interest to support. The hybrid game is one way of doing this. After all there has been plenty of negative irish/scottish interactions (particularly for irish people) so a positive cultural one should be encouraged.

rcarragh (Dublin) - Posts: 305 - 23/11/2015 11:08:17    1809177

I though it was rubbish, there is little or no hurling in the game, Ireland were better off using hockey or polo players, the only similarities between the 2 games is players wearing football boots, play on grass, that's it, we use hurleys they use polo sticks, we pick the ball up, they don't, it is as compromise as Gaelic footballers playing soccer or rugby or American football and using all their rules instead of a mixture of both, don't get me started on the rubbish that was played in Boston yesterday, scrap both games and concentrate on our own game and promote the railway cup with the 4 provinces, we are not promoting our game abroad with complete changes of our rules in favour of others

riverboys (Mayo) - Posts: 1389 - 23/11/2015 12:39:47    1809219

Didn't think much of the Ireland v Scotland game to be honest and even less of the Fenway match. Neither would entice me to attend.Just doesn't have that spark that you get from our own game and don't see it as anything but a warm up for the bigger ball game.

Dubh_linn (Dublin) - Posts: 2312 - 23/11/2015 12:51:40    1809222

I am not from a hurling background, but the simple fact must be what the more efficient and effective way of playing hurling is, ground hurling or the more modern brand of it. With ground hurling, the percentages of losing possession are massively increased. That would be reason enough to deviate from it.

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 23/11/2015 13:33:56    1809237

Donegalman
County: All
Posts: 2258

1809237
I am not from a hurling background, but the simple fact must be what the more efficient and effective way of playing hurling is, ground hurling or the more modern brand of it. With ground hurling, the percentages of losing possession are massively increased. That would be reason enough to deviate from it.

That's it in a nutshell. It's more efficient generally to always try and rise the ball.

However that does not equate to it being ALWAYS the more efficient thing to do. That's where a trick is being missed sometimes in my opinion.

I hurled in the full back line always and you can see it clearly that players haven't the confidence to beat the keeper with a ground strike from anything more than 10 yards out, the attempted rising of the ball often gives the defender/keeper the crucial second to stop the goal chance.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13705 - 23/11/2015 14:24:32    1809257

i think the 2 games are too far apart to have a compromise game. The irish don't play enough ground hurling and the hurley is much shorter than the shinty stick.
I think for the game to work there would have to be a compromise stick somewhere in between the 2. it's very hard for hurlers to compete on the ground with someone using a stick that is so much longer.having said that the hurlers use of the ground stroke was very poor. compared to the football it was overall a dissappointment , especially the second half where only a few points were scored. I don't think it does either game any favours.

s goldrick (Cavan) - Posts: 5518 - 23/11/2015 14:37:44    1809261

Decent first half but the second half never got going until the few scores at the end. I thought our midfield & half forwards should've been moving the ball into the full forward line using fast ground/first-time hurling. This rarely happened & slowed down our attacks which was to Scotland's advantage.

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 23/11/2015 18:13:24    1809332

Personally I can't see the point of it, there are more differences than similarities, the scots can bring over who they like yet we can only use three top tier players. The scots can turn on a six pence and drive the ball over the bar off the ground effortlessly while the Irish guys have to raise the ball and shoot off the stick. Apart from giving weaker county players a run out in Croker it's a farcical game. Can't understand why the GAA persevere with it, at least in the compromise rules it's the same rules and set up for both teams.

Bon (Kildare) - Posts: 1898 - 23/11/2015 18:55:37    1809345