Former Galway hurler Joe Canning has revealed that a particular moment in the GAA last year made his blood boil.
Last May, the Leinster Rugby team played the Northampton Saints at Croke Park due to ongoing work at the Aviva Stadium.
Croke Park, typically reserved for GAA matches, has a blanket ban on foreign sports except in special circumstances. The organisation also does not allow hurlers to bring hurls onto the pitch before their warm-up.
However, Northampton players were allowed to mess around with hurling on the Croker pitch before the Champions Cup semi-final game against Leinster.
In his new book, the Galway legend took issue with the organisation for allowing players like Courtney Lawes and his teammates to use hurls on the grass, even though he and his GAA colleagues were not allowed to.
"This is the kind of thing that exasperates me about the GAA," said Canning via his book
A general view inside the stadium during the Investec Champions Cup semi-final (Photo By Harry Murphy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)"I was genuinely delighted that Leinster got to play their Champions Cup semi-final against Northampton in Croke Park last May. As a GAA man, I'm proud of the stadium and only too happy to have it shown to the outside world.
But it made my blood absolutely boil to see images of Courtney Lawes and other Northampton players messing around with hurls on the field the day before that game when that right is casually denied to hurlers on the biggest day of our year."
Canning did not direct his criticism at the Northampton players but stated that the GAA showed a lack of respect towards its own core members. He believes the GAA often lets itself down with decisions like these.
"Not because I thought the rugby players were doing anything out of the ordinary. They weren't. But because they indulged in something that the GAA denies its own stars literally an hour before they become the centrepiece of Hurling's biggest day.
"To me, this rule is stone-cold ridiculous. It speaks of nothing more than a lack of respect for its own people. Sometimes, the GAA really lets itself down with stupid stuff. And that's about as stupid as it gets."
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