By Daragh O'Leary and Cillian Mac Sweeney
The only permanent thing in life is change and this is certainly true of sports. Today I will be taking a look at changes in the scoring patterns of All-Ireland hurling finals. For Cork the most recent All-Ireland final was again a painful one, but it does provide observations for my latest analysis – take the rough with the smooth.
I’ve looked at the score lines from the All-Ireland hurling finals from 2013-2024 and 1913-1924. Immediately one can see that there are now far more points scored in these matches than there was 100 years ago.
The only permanent thing in life is change and this is certainly true of sports. Today I will be taking a look at changes in the scoring patterns of All-Ireland hurling finals. For Cork the most recent All-Ireland final was again a painful one, but it does provide observations for my latest analysis – take the rough with the smooth.
I’ve looked at the score lines from the All-Ireland hurling finals from 2013-2024 and 1913-1924. Immediately one can see that there are now far more points scored in these matches than there was 100 years ago.
On average, there is roughly 42 more points being scored in hurling All-Ireland finals now than there was a century ago. Additionally, there are also fewer goals being scored now. The change in the game from goal scoring to point scoring in the modern era is quite stark when graphed – see below.
From 2013-2024 there has been a clear trend in the scoring patterns of All-Ireland hurling finals whereby the number of points being scored is increasing, but the number of goals being scored is (slightly) decreasing. The 1913-1924 period tells a very different story.
For the majority of this period, goals are the more common type of score in finals and it is only in the last few years (early 1920s) that the number of points scored catches up to and surpasses the number of goals being scored. To put this into context with the modern game, in the last decade of All-Ireland hurling finals there are 3 instances where the winning county scored no goals at all (Limerick twice & Galway once).Overall this means that today we are getting FAR more scores, but fewer goals.
There may be a few reasons for this. The most obvious one would be the evolution of the game away from ground-hurling. This shift is captured well by photos from back in the earlier half of the 20th century where the difference in shape of the bosses on older hurleys is far closer to that of a hockey stick and more conducive to hitting the ball on the ground – see below.
For the majority of this period, goals are the more common type of score in finals and it is only in the last few years (early 1920s) that the number of points scored catches up to and surpasses the number of goals being scored. To put this into context with the modern game, in the last decade of All-Ireland hurling finals there are 3 instances where the winning county scored no goals at all (Limerick twice & Galway once).Overall this means that today we are getting FAR more scores, but fewer goals.
There may be a few reasons for this. The most obvious one would be the evolution of the game away from ground-hurling. This shift is captured well by photos from back in the earlier half of the 20th century where the difference in shape of the bosses on older hurleys is far closer to that of a hockey stick and more conducive to hitting the ball on the ground – see below.
Another factor which may have also influenced this trend was a cultural legacy of goals being far more valuable than points. Since they were introduced to the sport in 1886, points have always had a value of 1 on the scoreboard. Whereas goals were worth 5 up until 1895 and only reduced to 3 in 1896. It is possible that in the 1910s a lot of the coaching and tactical thinking surrounding hurling was still aligned with the ideology that goals were five times more valuable than points. Subsequently, it may have been that it took time for the greater relative value of a point to be properly realised and then reflected in scoring patterns.
Finally, it is worth noting that modern day sliotars are far lighter than the ones which were used in the 20th century. Subsequently, it’s simply easier to hit the ball higher and further now which is conducive towards scoring points.
It’ll be interesting to see what the future holds for the scoring patterns of hurling. Will we ever see a goal again?
Finally, it is worth noting that modern day sliotars are far lighter than the ones which were used in the 20th century. Subsequently, it’s simply easier to hit the ball higher and further now which is conducive towards scoring points.
It’ll be interesting to see what the future holds for the scoring patterns of hurling. Will we ever see a goal again?
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