JOE BOLLY: Gavin’s rocket ship

THE old rules died at the weekend and good riddance. The finale was the Crossmolina penalty, which was the worst decision since Brexit.

Just before throw in at Pearse Stadium for the Galway Armagh game, I received a Whatsapp: “The rocket is fuelled and the final countdown to a new dawn has begun.” It was not from Elon Musk (or as Donald trump calls him ‘Eli’). It was from Jim Gavin, the author of the Football Rules Review report. There has not been so much anticipation around a document since the 1969 report by the Irish government into the feasibility of an invasion of the North by the Irish army. If that one turned out an anti-climax, Gavin’s looks as though it will be anything but.

Every Gael was watching this game. According to Galway Bay FM, even Donald Trump was watching from the White House. “We’re hearing he has the burgers, the Coca-Cola and the chicken wings ordered and the lights dimmed in the Oval Office.”

The Donald would have been underwhelmed by the first half. “Pure shite,” said the glamorous brunette. “Not great” said Peter Canavan on RTÉ. “I enjoyed it,” said Tomás ÓSé, with a straight face that Michael Healey Rae would have been proud of.

The problem is cultural. The blanket defensive game has become embedded in the psyche of an entire generation of footballers. No man marking – just pointing and shuffling left and right; short kick-outs then back to the goalie; Playing donkey with the forwards until they retreat into their blanket defence; no point in the corner-forward making a run for a long kick pass out of the defence, instead waiting until the ball is slowly brought forward, staying on the sideline, taking the handpass, giving it back, trying to make a cut back and get a handpass over the top, then back to the sideline, repeat, recycle.

With only a month’s training, neither team was able to take advantage of the excitement the new game has to offer. The players are so unused to playing football, that like the Tin Man, they need oiling. Also, neither Kieran McGeeney or Pádraic Joyce are original thinkers. Their successful game-plans were based on copying others. We will have to see Jimmy McGuinness’ Donegal before we can get a better idea of what is possible. But for me, it was the start of the revolution.

Watching the game was like waking up from a bad dream. The laborious slow movement of the ball out of the defence, one of the most depressing sights in world sport, has disappeared. Almost every kick out was long and every one of them was contested. At one stage in the second half, Galway won five long Armagh kick-outs in a row. Indiscipline is a thing of the past, or if isn’t, as Armagh discovered, you will be severely punished. We saw Armagh men “respectfully” handing the ball back to a Galway opponent, a sight never before seen on the Gaelic pitches of Ireland.

If the first half was hesitant, from the 39th minute, when the score was Galway 1-5, Armagh 0-7, the players finally let fly. Every kick out was a battle.

Players were using the solo and go. There were several goal chances, all botched, but this will come. Blaine Hughes was caught outfield and Galway made a mess of the goal opportunity. The crowd was roaring every ball, a rare sound over the last decade. With the ball finally being moved quickly, both teams were struggling to set up their zonal defences – when teams become more confident with the new way this will be impossible altogether.

The game was won in a two minute spell from the 52nd to 54th minutes when Galway kicked three two-pointers in a row. The crowd were on their feet. With the McGuinness formula, the best players did not necessarily win. So, as the game opened up, Armagh’s shortcomings were exposed. Galway, who had started as though the old rules still applied, ran amok. When the hooter went, I texted Jim. “Successful launch. Starship Gavin is in the air.” President Trump has not yet given his opinion.