"If Ring was playing today, he wouldn't get a look in"
July 16, 2015
Justin McCarthy
Justin McCarthy isn't a fan of the defensive tactics that are creeping into hurling.
McCarthy's former Waterford charges have been described as the "Donegal of hurling" after adopting a defensive gameplan this season which saw them remain unbeaten up until last Sunday's Munster final against Tipperary.
"If Christy Ring was playing today, he wouldn't get a look at the ball because there'd be four players around him. A lot of sports are going that way: Gaelic football, soccer, rugby," McCarthy said in the Irish News.
"You have 13 men down the field and two up the field. Who'd want to be a forward? I want players to enjoy themselves and think on their feet, not be programmed all the time.
"It was a congested Munster final. Now, there are more people playing hurling and the game is prospering in west Cork and north Kerry, but nationwide what people see on television, I don't like the way it's going."
The Cork man added: "It's over-tactical, it's condensing the game, coaches are protecting themselves an awful lot. I would never coach a team like that. I like to see players express themselves and think for themselves on the field."
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