Carlow County Board fixtures secretary Ger Lennon has defended the structure of the U21 hurling championship amid the possibility that Mount Leinster Rangers will play their first game in the final.

Mount Leinster, the reigning county senior hurling kingpins, were awarded a bye in the quarter-final and look set to go straight into the decider after scheduled semi-final opponents Naomh Brid refused to play the game with five key players away on holiday.

A decision to award a walk-over to Rangers has not yet been taken but that appears the likeliest scenario, prompting criticism from various quarters.

However, Lennon insists the situation is down to circumstance. He told the Carlow Nationalist, "[The quarter-final] was pure accident about the bye, that was just the draw Rangers had. With regards the semi-final, that's just the way it worked out. No-one would have known five Naomh Brid lads were away for a fortnight." Tweet

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