Inter-county action made its long overdue return yesterday, and while the games weren't quite played at championship pace, it was certainly great to have the hurling back.
The most highly anticipated clash took place in Limerick, with the All-Ireland champions taking on Tipperary. It was an entertaining game, one that would ultimately finish in a draw.
One the most notable aspects of the 70 minutes was the amount of frees that Tipperary won. They would notch 0-20 in the game, but would not score from open play after the 23rd minute.
This led to some suggestion in the post-match discussions on RTÉ that referees may target Limerick this year, with John Kiely's side certainly setting the standard when it comes to physicality in the sport.
Anthony Daly said he is hopeful that referees have not been told to keep a close watch on Limerick this year.
‘I’d be very disappointed if referees have been told to clamp down on Limerick,’ says @DaloAnto #rtegaa pic.twitter.com/4bmrKIwAw3
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) May 8, 2021
I would be very disappointed, to be honest with you, if the referees are being told by the Association to clamp down on Limerick.
I'd be very disappointed...
I would have expected that to be highlighted then, a series of what's a foul and what's not a foul. I wouldn't have thought that.
I thought Tipp were a bit sharper tonight in their thinking and they were getting there slightly quicker and that led to a few extra frees.
I didn't notice it being that lopsided, but if you count them up I suppose it is.
Henry Shefflin believed that the high rate of fouls in this game is not something we would see later in the year.
The former Kilkenny star is of the opinion that referees are often much stricter in the early stages of the league.
Henry Shefflin assesses the reasons behind why Tipperary failed to score from play after the 23rd minute of their draw with Limerick #rtegaa pic.twitter.com/796ZsI2rjY
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) May 8, 2021
I think Colm Lyons (referees) was a little whistle happy and it probably got worse as the game went on.
I think Limerick are a big physical team, they're the top team and everyone speaks about them a lot. Are refs watching them a little bit closer now? That's not to say they're over physical, I don't think so.
To be fair to Colm Lyons, this is his first day out. He hasn't had any training and he is trying to get up to the pace of it.
Always at the start of the league when there is so much talk about rules, I think referees go too hard on everything, they are too strict.
Here's hoping the game are a bit more free-flowing moving forward.
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