The tweaked advantage rule in hurling has not had the desired effect of improving the sport, according to two-time All-Ireland winner Paddy Stapleton.

For the 2021 season, the advantage rule in hurling has been tweaked so that, if there is a foul within goal-scoring range of the posts, the referees are encouraged to blow the whistle rather than let play continue.

In fact, the new advantage rule resulted in a point being overturned at the weekend, when the ball went over the bar, but the referee awarded a free instead, with the free being missed.

Speaking on Monday’s OTB AM, Stapleton was not in favour of the tweaks to the advantage rule, believing that only a minor change needed to be made.

“No, it isn’t [an improvement in the game],” Stapleton said. “It was very stop-start.

“I will say that when you are coming back and your fitness probably isn’t just at the level of the other team you are more likely to foul, but we can’t put up with that sort of stuff.

“We had a pretty good advantage rule. It needed a tweaking, but to rely on the referees, and there is nothing against them, they are doing their best and most of them are very good, but to rely on them to read the game that much in advance, I wouldn’t be trusting them.

“I think to give them the extra few seconds to read the game to see where there’s a development, I think people appreciated that over the last few years.

“I think the only thing that I saw a problem with was if the attacker got the ball, he got fouled but he got the advantage and he got fouled again and he got the free closer to the goal that they gave that decision instead of going back for the previous [foul].”

Jack Fagan of Waterford in action against Cork players, from left, Sean O’Donoghue, Mark Coleman and Niall Cashman during the Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Group A Round 1 match between Cork and Waterford at Páirc Ui Chaoimh in Cork. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

For Stapleton, the change to the rule came out of nowhere, when there are other changes that many people have been calling for with little to no action being taken.

“Sometimes you’ll be looking for a rule change for 10 years and they’d be slow to make it,” Stapleton said.

“I didn’t hear anybody saying that this rule needed to be changed and here we are. First day of the league, talking about it, giving out about it.”

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