Grace O'Brien hopes Tipperary and Camogie can flourish
MUNSTER SENIOR CAMOGIE CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINAL PREVIEW
By Cóilín Duffy
TIPPERARY v WATERFORD
The Ragg
Saturday 11th May
Throw-in @ 7.15pm
Referee: Diarmuid Kirwan (Cork)
Grace O'Brien is hoping her sides “strengths” can carry the Tipperary Senior Camogie team through a successful Summer this year.
The Nenagh Éire Óg player just turned 21 on Monday, but certainly has strong formulated views, none more so around the current major debate in Camogie around the use of the 'shoulder'.
As strength and conditioning becomes the norm in the game, and players develop more physically. O'Brien says the rules need to change in order to provide a more free-flowing, exciting brand of Camogie for all.
"A lot of the players have been complaining about this over the last couple of years,” she told the Nenagh Guardian.
“If you look at the All-Ireland Camogie finals and that, all that they are is frees. Those are the games that are on TV and everyone is seeing and the ones that are showcasing the best talent that we have in Ireland. A lot of it is just free-taking unfortunately.
"If you look at hurling, the amount of plays that happen without a free is great, and it makes for real entertainment - that's what we want to get too.
“We want a game that flows a lot more, and is not stop-start even because it's not enjoyable for people to watch, and it's not enjoyable for us to play. It's come to a point where it's up to the referee what foul will be blown.
“Some referees blow for certain things and some won't. To even have that before going out on a pitch is awfully confusing.
"If we look at women's sport, it has become more professional. There's a lot of top class athletes out there who have been training very hard. A lot of the collisions are getting tougher and harder, and it's because of the athleticism of the players now. It really has taken a step up and I think the rules need to adjust to cater for that.
"Otherwise players are wondering why we are bothering with all of these conditioning programmes and strength programmes. At the end of the day it's improving us as players, so there should be no reason why the rules would confine us for that reason.”
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