Ballygunner manager Darragh O’Sullivan urged the GAA to have a rethink on the club Championships after his side cruised to another county title.
Having wrapped up a seventh Waterford crown in succession with a runaway 17-point win over Passage at a deserted Walsh Park, Ballygunner would be among the leading contenders for Munster and All-Ireland titles having claimed provincial honours just two years ago.
But the GAA has decided to draw the line at county finals for 2020, with the rest of the year devoted to inter-county action once local silverware has been carved up.
However O’Sullivan is hopeful that there may be a change of heart that would see the provincial series start in the new year, once the inter-county county season is complete.
He said: “Maybe there’ll be something then and I’d like to think that there possibly could be because, not just us, other clubs that win their county title deserve an opportunity to represent their county in Munster and I think the GAA mustn’t lose sight of that so look, hopefully the GAA might come to something.
“Look, they’ve a lot to deal with at the moment, I don’t think putting something else on their table at this point in time would make any sense whatsoever.
“They want to get the club championships finished first and then the inter-county and hopefully we can get on top of this thing and it won’t be a problem and maybe in early next year they may be able to play something from a provincial perspective.
“Hopefully the GAA can see some chink of light. I’m realistic in that I don’t think they’re going to at the moment but things can change and change quickly so I wouldn’t be drawing a line through it.”
There was never any doubt about the destination of the Waterford News and Star Cup at any stage yesterday as Ballygunner struck the first five points of the game and though Passage rallied to cut it to two points, the champions streaked away to lead by 1-13 to 0-5 at half-time, Kevin Mahony netting the goal with a brilliantly drilled finish in the 23rd minute.
They tagged on another six points without reply on the resumption, though the teams shared parity in the last quarter as Passage managed to avert what would have been an even more deflating defeat.
It’s their 19th senior title in all, still well short of Mount Sion’s haul of 35 at the top of the roll of honour, but they look well placed to at least equal the city club’s record nine-in-a-row run from 1953-61, which was also achieved by Erin’s Own from 1927-35.
“We identified the start really to be honest with you,” O’Sullivan explained. “We wanted to bring plenty of momentum into the start because look, that’s what we do.
“The reality is we’re starting well in an awful lot of games and we did do tha an the goal absolutely sucked the energy out of Passage. Listen, they’re a young team, they’re going to be back again.
“Seven-in-a-row is a phenomenal achievement for that group of players. It’s down to how hard they work, it’s down to the standards that they set themselves.
“They’re an easy bunch to deal with, they drive themselves on, a careful pair of hands is maybe all they need really at times.”
