News: A Rest of Leinster hurling selection could take part in future championships if a proposal to go before the provincial council is accepted.
The idea for a "Conference" team comes from Leinster's Hurling Development Committee and is intended to dovetail with expected plans to revamp the All-Ireland B competition into the Ring Cup.
"The Conference team would be selected from players in counties that hadn't reached the previous year's provincial semi-finals and that weren't in Division One of the league," says Paddy Kelly, the former Meath and Leinster hurler now chairing the province's HDC.
"Counties like Meath, Westmeath, Kildare, Carlow, Wicklow and even Louth and Longford would be eligible. None of them are likely to have 15 players good enough at the one time but they will have five or six who are up to that level. Hopefully, a Conference team could be a reasonably strong force in Leinster.
"There are current proposals at national level that the top 10 or so counties would take part in the Liam MacCarthy Cup for the All-Ireland and that the next 12 would contest the Christy Ring Cup. Under these proposals all the counties represented in the Conference would be eligible to compete in their own right at this level.
"People say to me that the idea of an amalgamated side in the Leinster championship doesn't sound right but there's an invitation out for Galway to join the province and a Conference team sounds as right as that."
In recent years the weaker counties in Leinster have contested a preliminary competition for the right to qualify for the championship proper. Kelly feels that this format hasn't worked and that players are becoming demoralised.
"I think this is the road we have to go. Counties are flogging their top players in a round robin system for the joy of meeting Kilkenny and getting flogged themselves. There's no profile in it and players are getting disillusioned. We're looking at a way to deal with that. Obviously, we're focused on Leinster but it could work in other provinces."
The idea has already been tried with some success at schools' level with the Dublin Colleges contesting - and winning - the Leinster championship rather than individual schools from the county competing less and less convincingly.
But at county minor level the idea didn't have too happy an experience in Connacht where Galway played a Rest of Connacht selection and defeated them heavily.
Arguments against the idea include fears about the potential impact on club fixtures across a range of counties whenever the Conference team would be in action. There are also doubts that a composite side would have the personality to attract a following but Kelly is dismissive of the latter point.
"People say there'd be no support for this team. Does that mean that the 40 who turn up for Meath's matches wouldn't come out for this?"
If the HDC can convince the Leinster Council the proposal will still require a motion to Congress before a Conference team can compete in the senior championship.
Meanwhile, another opportunity for weaker counties will arise in this year's International Rules shinty series. The GAA has decided to restrict selection to counties outside of hurling's top nine - Kilkenny, Offaly, Wexford, Cork, Clare, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford and Galway.
Both the senior and under-21 Ireland teams will be selected in this way. In recent years Ireland have been winning well at both levels and the decision will make the internationals more competitive as well as giving representative recognition to hurlers who don't get much exposure.
The Waterford under-21 football team to play Kerry in the Munster final at Walsh Park, Waterford, tomorrow evening shows one change in personnel from the side that defeated Cork at the same venue last Thursday. Into the side at right corner forward comes Bob Costello from the Tramore club with the player to lose out being Tom Power. Costello's introduction as a half-time substitute in the semi-final against Cork had a vital bearing on Waterford's success and he now has got a vote of confidence.
WATERFORD (Under-21 F v Kerry): D Hickey; M Crotty, G Hayes, J O'Reilly; N Hennessy, E Rockett, J Hurney; S Dempsey, M Walsh; L O'Lionnain, M Power, T Whelan; B Costello, S Walsh, B Harty.
