The GAA All-Ireland championship series is heating up both in gaelic football and hurling, with matches being played week in and week out.
Over the past few weeks, we have seen temperatures reach 20-plus degrees in Ireland, with good weather expected to continue well into the summer, resulting in players asking for water breaks to be reintroduced to prevent dehydration or passing out from fatigue due to the heat.
Limerick hurler Darragh O'Donovan is the latest player to hit out at the GAA for not allowing water breaks to take place during this period of extreme heat.
O'Donovan questioned the absence of the water break in Limerick's Munster Hurling final clash between Clare on Sunday.
“Why wasn’t there one today?” he asked reporters after Limerick's fifth Munster in a row. “We’re amateur players going back to work tomorrow morning. Someone gets dehydrated there, someone collapses … who’s going to be held accountable then?''
“I would say there might be a need to look at a water break there. It doesn’t have to be a situation where you have people talking about doing tactics.
“But professional athletes can have them in an FA Cup final. Why can’t we have the same as amateurs?”
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Teams Using The Stoppage To Their Advantage
One water break each half was provided to teams during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Water breaks were introduced by the GAA as they served a purpose during Covid-19 when it was felt the sharing of water bottles, wasn't the best practice during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The water breaks sparked some controversy, however as some teams were accused of using the break to gain a tactical edge on the game. Water breaks allowed teams to break their opponent's momentum and regroup during the stoppage which usually took place between the 15th and 20th minutes of each half.
One team which was accused of using the water break to their tactical advantage was O'Donovan's Limerick side. During the 'water break' era Limerick won five out of six trophies available to them. Many supporters believed that Limerick hurlers created the water break to serve a purpose and adjusted their game to favour the water break.
Limerick's manager John Kiely spoke about the removal of the water break back in 2022.
''By all accounts, it is going to be a major setback to us!'' said Kiely smiling last year after their winner against Clare in 2022.
With temperatures continuing to rise, it will be interesting to see if the GAA brings back water breaks, even if it is a one-minute stoppage to limit the disruption to the game's flow.
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