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Meath Boss Colm O'Rourke Calls For Dramatic Overhaul Of Provincial Championships

Meath Boss Colm O'Rourke Calls For Dramatic Overhaul Of Provincial Championships
Gary Connaughton
By Gary Connaughton Updated
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In recent years, the GAA have take steps to address the issues surrounding the inter-county calendar.

The implementation of the split-season has given club players more certainty around fixtures at their level, while it has also allowed county stars to divide their time more economically over the course of the year. The addition of the Tailteann Cup has also ensured that there is a tangible link between the league and championship.

However, it seems likely that more changes will be on the horizon.

READ HERE: Roscommon Manager Makes Surprising Admission About County's Training Regime

GAA: Colm O'Rourke calls for overhaul of provincial championships

The Gaelic football provincial championships have long been a point of contention in the GAA calendar, with many feeling that they are outdated competitions. The lack of competitiveness in Leinster and Munster is certainly an issue, while they also muddy the waters when it comes to streamlining the fixture schedule.

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Some have called for the provincial competitions to be removed entirely, while others want them to be moved in the calendar and reduced in importance as a result.

Speaking after his team's victory over Louth yesterday, Meath manager Colm O'Rourke called on the GAA to consider moving the provincial championships to before the league begins, essentially making them a pre-season competition.

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We had up to 15 of our panel involved [in the Sigerson Cup]. We had three involved during the week, two of them not able to play today.

Obviously, our age profile is different to many county teams. Some counties have stopped their players from playing altogether.

I don't think that's right either because the experience of playing Sigerson football is good. A college experience without football wouldn't be really an education.

[Playing on Wednesdays] means in practice means they can't train Tuesday night and they're not able to train Thursday night.

It is a big problem, it needs to addressed. The obvious thing would be to play the provincial championships as the early-season competition and put the league back to when the provincial championships are on, and run the league into the championship.

That would be the answer to it.

This would be a controversial move, especially in Ulster where the provincial competition continues to thrive.

However, it would certainly make the move from league to championship a simpler one, especially in the era of round robins. As O'Rourke points out, it could also lessen the burden on players who are also taking part in third level competitions.

With league performance now linked to the All-Ireland series, it certainly feels unfair that the place of counties in the Sam Maguire could be placed in jeopardy by the fact that they are missing players during the league campaign.

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It is something that the GAA could look at moving forward.

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