Between-competition technical skill characteristics in elite hurling match-play

Abstract

Hurling is one of the most popular sports in Ireland, yet the technical skill characteristics are still unclear. This study investigated the between-position, -competition, and temporal-differences in the frequency of technical skill executions. A total of 27,141 technical skill events from seventy-two (n = 72) team performances during the 2022 League and Championship were analysed using SportsCode video analysis software. For the full team, possessions and tackles were more frequent in the League, while total and successful shots were higher in the Championship. Half-backs performed fewer catches (ES = -0.27), steps (ES = -0.49), solos (ES = -0.48), and handpasses (ES = -0.28) in the Championship than the League. Within positions, there was no difference (p > 0.05) between competitions for jab lifts, long-, or short-strikes. Between-half temporal analysis revealed minimal differences for possessions, total shots, successful shots, and tackles across 5-minute periods, with no temporal decrement observed in either competition. Additionally, no difference (p > 0.05) was found between competitions for possessions and successful shots across any of the 5-minute periods. These findings are the first to highlight the technical skill frequencies between-competition and between-positions in elite hurling match-play, offering valuable implications for coaching, training and profiling of playing positions.

Keywords

Performance analysis playing position seasonal differences team sport

Introduction

One of Ireland's national sports, hurling is a stick and ball invasion field sport which attracts attendances of up to 80,000 people, with several million people around the world viewing the finals on television and streaming services.¹ Each game takes place on a grass surface which is 140 metres in length, and 90 metres wide, and is contested by two teams of 15 players.² Both teams line out with players divided into five playing positions: full-backs, half-backs, midfielders, half-forwards, and full-forwards, with each positional line having a distinct tactical role.^3,4 The aim of the game is to outscore the opposing team by striking the ball over the crossbar and between the uprights (1 point) or below the crossbar and between the uprights (3 points).^5,6 Over the course of a season, twelve teams compete in two national competitions, the National Hurling League (League) and the Championship. The League takes place earlier in the calendar year (February to April), while the Championship is considered as a summertime competition and seen as the most important competition of the season, beginning in mid-April, and running through to the All-Ireland final which takes place at the end of July. The running performances of elite hurling match-play have previously been reported,^{1–3,5,7–9} with differences observed between competitions (League vs Championship)¹⁰ and between positions.^6,7 Hurling is not only a physically demanding sport but also requires a high level of skill.³ Teams often complete multiple phases of play, transitioning from defence to attack, utilising skills such as catching, lifting, soloing, handpassing, and striking the ball, with the aim of scoring or denying the opposition a scoring opportunity.^5,11 Although a number of studies have looked at the demands of the game from a technical and tactical perspective,^11–13 no research has investigated the technical skill characteristics of hurling match-play on a positional level or between competitions. With an earlier study highlighting differences in running performances between the League and the Championship, similar differences would be expected for the technical skill characteristics of the game due to a number of different factors (environmental changes, greater amount of time spent practicing the technical skills before the Championship in comparison to the League, and differences in the quality of the teams competing in the League compared to the Championship).¹⁰

The earliest published research which explored the technical demands of hurling analysed the frequency occurrence of technical skills using notational analysis and found that the three most common skills were the jab lift to gain possession, taking steps as the main method of travelling with the ball, and hand passing as the main method of releasing possession. However, only four games were analysed in the study which was completed in 2008.¹² More recent research investigated the attacking profiles in elite hurling,¹³ reporting that the total shot count and shot count from play had a correlation with match outcome and both could be considered as key performance indicators.¹³ The study also found that possessions which do not require a pass (first phase possessions) and longer passing sequences were reported to increase the chance of a successful shot, while teams who won their own long puckout converted 61% of these possessions to shots. An investigation into the differences in performance indicators between winning and losing teams in the hurling Championship over a three-year period (2018–2020) reported that winning teams had more possessions, goals, points, a greater number of shots, and a greater shooting efficiency, while winning teams also won a greater percentage of their own puckouts in comparison to losing teams.¹¹ The authors also highlighted that contested exchanges such as turnover battles and tackle interactions are considered as key performance indicators, with winning teams being dominant in these exchanges in comparison to losing teams.¹¹ These findings provide valuable insights into the tactical strategies currently employed by elite senior hurling teams.^11,13 However, the only published research which details the frequency occurrence of the technical skills executed during hurling match-play was carried out in 2008 before the introduction of the new Championship format.¹² Further research is warranted to identify the technical demands of elite hurling, particularly between the League and the Championship. Providing this information to coaches may aid in their training design with data from the current game and allow for a more positional specific approach to game preparation. The technical performance of sub-elite Gaelic football (GF) found between position differences for the number of turnovers, frees conceded, opposition kickouts won and lost, possessions, and shots taken.¹⁴ However, the technical demands of elite hurling have not been investigated on a positional level. Given the positional differences observed for running performances,^{1–3,5,7–9} and the tactical roles present in elite hurling,^11,13 it is expected that positional differences in technical performance would also be observed.

Temporal decrements in running performances have recently been described in elite hurling match-play with running performances decreasing over the duration of a game.^1,6 Elite hurlers completed less relative distance, high-speed running distance, and sprint distance in the second half of games compared to the first half.⁶ Further research which investigated the temporal decrement across quarters in hurling highlighted decrements across quarters for total distance, high-speed running distance, and high metabolic load distance.¹ To date, no published research has investigated the temporal change of technical skills within hurling match-play, while relatively few studies have examined the same in other team sports.^15–17 In rugby league, reductions were found in the number of skill involvements and a decrease in the quality of the skill performance in the latter stages of a match.¹⁷ While in elite GF, decreases in turnovers, tackles, and individual possessions were observed as the game progressed.¹⁶ With a temporal reduction in certain running performance metrics in hurling, and temporal differences in technical skill variables evident in other team sports, investigating the temporal change in technical skills across the duration of a game in hurling may provide coaches with more information to aid in the design of technical skill elements within training sessions.

Hurling has been described as a complex and highly skilled sport.^18–20 However, there is no published research which describes the technical demands between the two elite hurling competitions and between positions. Providing coaches with information pertaining to the frequency occurrence of technical skills in the current game may allow for more specific training session design. Therefore, the current study aims to investigate whether competition phase has any effect on the technical performance of elite hurling match-play and whether positional differences exist for technical performance variables. This study also aims to investigate and describe the frequency occurrence of technical skills over the course of a game. It is hypothesised that between competition differences will exist for technical performance variables, that clear positional differences will be observed, and that there will be temporal decrements across certain technical skill variables during match-play.

Methods

Participants

A total of thirty-six games (n = 36) played in the 2022 season were analysed in this study (see list of games in Supplementary Material 1). This data consisted of nineteen (n = 19) League games (including group games (n = 16), Semi-Finals (n = 2), and the Final (n = 1)) and seventeen (n = 17) Championship games (including games from the Leinster (group games; n = 6, and final; n = 1) and Munster (group games; n = 4, and Final; n = 1) Provincial Championships, All-Ireland Quarter Finals (n = 2), Semi-Finals (n = 2), and the All-Ireland Final (n = 1)). To minimise bias from team playing styles, multiple games per team were analysed, and all top tier teams were included. In each game, the technical skills performed by both teams (72 team game samples in total) were included in the analysis (27,141 skill actions). A total of 737 players (n = 737) were included in the analysis. Only players who played for the full duration of the game were included.

Procedures

Video footage from the games (n = 36) were obtained from a national TV company (RTÉ). The games are made available through the RTÉ Google Drive. Post-match analysis was completed using a customised coding template on a MacBook Pro (macOS Catalina, Version 10.15.6) using SportsCode software (Sports Code Elite V12.32.0, Hudl, NSW, Australia). Following an initial coding reliability analysis, it was observed that the number of skills may be too small to present the frequency occurrence of skills per minute. Furthermore, in practice the typical duration observed for small-sided games in training is 5 minutes.^21–23 Therefore, both the first half (00:00–4:59, 5:00–9:59, 10:00–14:59, 15:00–19:59, 20:00–24:59, 25:00–29:59, 30:00–34:59, 35:00 +) and second half (35:00–39:59, 40:00–44:59, 45:00–49:59, 50:00–54:59, 55:00–59:59, 60:00–64:59, 60:00–69.59, 70:00 +) of each game were then broken down into 5 minute periods before being exported to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (Microsoft, Redmond, USA) for further analysis.^17,24,25 Each half officially lasts 35 minutes. However, the referee may add extra time for stoppages due to injuries and substitutions. To capture the additional skills performed during this overtime, extra periods at the end of the first (35+) and second (70+) halves were included in the analysis. Ethical approval was granted by Technological University of the Shannon Ethical Committee who approved all procedures. The study was conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki (1975) for studies involving human subjects.

Technical skill variables were defined (Table 1) after several different stages of development. Firstly, the current literature^11–13 was reviewed which provided insight into several of the skill definitions, supplemented by national governing body guidelines for developing the technical skills of the game.²⁶ Three games (n = 3) were randomly selected and analysed where the occurrence of further skills were noted. In each game, the top three most frequent technical skills were selected from three categories: gaining possession, maintaining possession, and releasing possession.¹² Variable definitions were then validated by an expert focus group consisting of four (n = 4) experienced senior inter-county hurling coaches with a combined coaching experience of thirty-one years at senior inter-county level, all with hurling specific qualifications (three Level 2s, one Level 1), and two (n = 2) senior inter-county Level 4 GAA Accredited analysts. The expert focus group played an important role in the precise definition of each skill, specifically defining a possession and a tackle. To ensure coding reliability of the technical skills, two games were chosen at random (League = 1; Championship = 1) and were coded. These same two games were then re-coded in the 7-day period following the initial coding. The percentage error between initial and follow up coding was low (<2%) across all the performance variables. Using a code template in the analysis software (Sports Code Elite V12.32.0, Hudl, NSW, Australia), the frequency of skills performed by each player on both teams was analysed for every game. Data from players who were substituted were not exported to the final database. A total of 27,141 (∼754 per game) manual codes were completed across the 36 games (72 teams) during the coding process.

Table 1.

Technical skill variable definitions.

Action	Definition
Tackle	Physical contact using the body with the aim of successfully disrupting the player in possession. This may also be body contact with an opposition player which slows their forward momentum, where they are required to change direction and/or recycle the ball.
Shot	Any strike that ends with a point, goal, wide, short to keeper, hit the post or is saved.
Successful Shot	Any strike that ends with a point or a goal.
Individual Possession	Each time a player has control of the ball in their hand while the ball is ‘in-play’. Each possession will last until the player releases or loses the ball. When the goalkeeper has the ball in their hand for a puckout, this will not be considered as a possession.
Team Possession	Each time the reference team is in control of the ball. A team possession will last until the team loses control of the ball. A puckout is not considered a possession until a team gains possession of the ball out the field.
Productivity	The number of points scored per 10 team possessions.
Gaining Possession
1^st Touch	Control of a fast-moving ball using the hurl, where the ball touches the hurl once and is then caught.
Jab Lift	Rise of a slow-moving ball below the knee by getting the hurl under the ball and lifting.
Catch	Any occurrence of the ball entering the hand and being held for more than a second as a primary action of gaining possession.
Maintaining Possession
Solo	Any occurrence of a player running with the ball being controlled on the hurl for at least 2 steps.
Steps	Any occurrence of a player running with the ball in their hand for at least 2 steps.
Releasing Possession
Hand Pass	Any passing action completed by a player using their hand.
Short Strike	Any strike from the hurley that does not clear two complete zones (Zone 1 (end-line to 21-m line), Zone 2 (21-m line to 45-m line), Zone 3 (45-m line to 65-m line), Zone 4 (65-m line to 65-m line), Zone 5 (65-m line to 45-m line), Zone 6 (45-m line to 21-m line) and Zone 7 (21-m line to end-line)). Any short strike which is a shot at goal is not defined as a short strike, it is defined as a shot at goal.
Long Strike	Any strike from the hurley that clears two complete zones (Zone 1 (end-line to 21-m line), Zone 2 (21-m line to 45-m line), Zone 3 (45-m line to 65-m line), Zone 4 (65-m line to 65-m line), Zone 5 (65-m line to 45-m line), Zone 6 (45-m line to 21-m line) and Zone 7 (21-m line to end-line)). Any long strike which is a shot at goal is not defined as a long strike, it is defined as a shot at goal.

Statistical analysis

IBM SPSS for Mac (Version 29.0.1.0; SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) was used to perform all statistical analysis. Descriptive analysis and assumptions of normality were verified before parametric statistical analysis was completed. Normal distribution of the data was ensured through preliminary analysis using a Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test. A two-way mixed-design analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the technical skills between competitions (league and championship) and between positions (full-back, half-back, midfield, half-forward, full-forward). Furthermore, four two-way ANOVAs were performed to investigate the effects of the fixed factors, competition (league and championship) and 5-minute time periods, had on possessions, tackles, total shots, and successful shots. Bonferroni post hoc correction was used to calculate main effects when an interaction was observed. Data are presented as mean, standard deviation (±SD), and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Standardised effect size (Cohens d) was calculated with <0.20, 0.20–0.59, 0.60–1.19, 1.20–1.99, and ≥2.00 and interpreted as the following: trivial, small, moderate, large, and very large differences, respectively.

Results

The total, first-half, and second-half descriptive statistics for individual possessions, total shots, successful shots, tackles, and productivity in the League and Championship are presented in Table 2. For the full game, a greater number of total shots (ES = 0.54), successful shots (ES = 0.60), and total points (ES = 0.50) were observed in the Championship compared to the League. Fewer tackles were observed in the Championship compared to the League for the full game (ES = -1.08), the first half (ES = -1.14), and the second half (ES = -0.70). Between halves, no difference (p > 0.05) was found in individual possession, total shots, successful shots, tackles, productivity, or total points in either the League or the Championship. Within halves, no differences (p > 0.05) were observed for individual possessions, successful shots, productivity, or total points.

Table 2.

The full team championship and league technical values for the full game and per half are reported. Data are presented as mean ± SD, mean difference (95% CI) and effect size.

		Full Game	1^st Half	2^nd Half
Individual Possessions (n)	Championship	148 ± 25	74 ± 14	75 ± 15
	League	159 ± 31	81 ± 17	78 ± 20
	Diff (95% CI)	−11 (−24 to 2)	−8 (−15 to 0)	−4 (−11 to 4)
	ES	−0.40	−0.50	−0.21
Total Shots (n)	Championship	38 ± 6 *	19 ± 5	19 ± 4 *
	League	34 ± 7	18 ± 4	17 ± 5
	Diff (95% CI)	4 (0 to 7)	1 (−1 to 3)	2 (0 to 4)
	ES	0.54	0.28	0.52
Successful Shots (n)	Championship	23 ± 5 *	12 ± 4	12 ± 3
	League	20 ± 5	10 ± 3	10 ± 3
	Diff (95% CI)	3 (1 to 6)	2 (0 to 3)	2 (0 to 3)
	ES	0.60	0.43	0.52
Tackles (n)	Championship	24 ± 11 *	11 ± 6 *	12 ± 5 *
	League	35 ± 9	18 ± 6	16 ± 6
	Diff (95% CI)	−11 (−16 to 6)	−7 (−10 to −4)	−4 (−7 to −1)
	ES	−1.08	−1.14	−0.70
Productivity	Championship	3.72 ± 0.89	3.84 ± 1.37	3.58 ± 0.92
	League	3.69 ± 0.86	3.91 ± 1.21	3.47 ± 0.90
	Diff (95% CI)	0.04 (−0.79 to 0.86)	−0.07 (−1.08 to 0.95)	0.11 (−0.90 to 1.13)
	ES	0.03	−0.05	0.12
Total Points (n)	Championship	26 ± 7 *	13 ± 5	13 ± 3
	League	23 ± 7	12 ± 4	11 ± 4
	Diff (95% CI)	3 (0 to 6)	2 (0 to 4)	2 (0 to 4)
	ES	0.50	0.33	0.47

CI = Confidence Interval, Diff = Mean difference, ES = Effect size

* Significantly different (p < 0.05) from League

The 5-minute temporal occurrence of possessions, total shots, successful shots, and tackles for the full team in the League and Championship are presented in Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, and Figure 4, respectively. No difference (p > 0.05) was found between competitions across any of the 5-minute periods for both possessions and successful shots. There was a greater number of total shots in the 0–5 (ES = 0.53) and 45–50 (ES = 0.53) minute time periods in the Championship compared to the League. Significantly less tackles were observed in the Championship compared to the League in the 0–5 (ES = -0.67), 10–15 (ES = -0.51), 15–20 (ES = -0.71), 20–25 (ES = -0.66), 25–30 (ES = -0.58), 35+ (ES = -1.01), 50–55 (ES = -0.48), and 70+ (ES = -0.62) minute periods. Between 5-minute periods, little differences were observed for possessions, total shots, successful shots, and tackles. There were less (p > 0.05) possessions in the 35 + minute period than any other period in both the League and the Championship, while there were no other differences observed between periods across either competition for possessions. The 35 + minute period was the only period which had a smaller occurrence (p > 0.05) of total shots and successful shots than any other period in both the League and the Championship.

Figure 1.

The temporal occurrence of possessions for the league and championship. Data are presented as mean ± SD. *Different (p < 0.05) from Championship. §Denotes the injury time period at the end of each half.

Figure 2.

The temporal occurrence of total shots for the league and championship. Data are presented as mean ± SD. *Different (p < 0.05) from Championship. §Denotes the injury time period at the end of each half.

Figure 3.

The temporal occurrence of successful shots for the league and championship. Data are presented as mean ± SD. * Different (p < 0.05) from Championship. §Denotes the injury time period at the end of each half.

Figure 4.

The temporal occurrence of tackles for the league and championship. Data are presented as mean ± SD. *Different (p < 0.05) from Championship. §Denotes the injury time period at the end of each half.

Overall, each team performed an average of 13 first touches, 30 jab lifts, 55 catches, 27 instances of taking steps with the ball, 24 solos, 38 handpasses, 14 long strikes, and 22 short strikes per game. For the full team, short strikes were the preferred method of striking in both the League (61%) and the Championship (60%). The total game descriptive statistics for 1^st touch, jab lift, catch, steps, solo, handpass, strike long, and strike short per playing position for the League and Championship are presented in Table 3. Across positions, there was no difference (p > 0.05) between the League and Championship for jab lifts, long strikes, or short strikes. In the Championship, full-forwards had less catches than full-backs (ES = -0.65), half-backs (ES = -0.89), midfielders (ES = -0.48), and half-forwards (ES = -0.42). Full-forwards completed less handpasses, long strikes, and short strikes in championship games than full-backs (ES = -0.79, ES = -0.90, and ES = -0.99), half-backs (ES = -0.80, ES = -1.21, and ES = -0.91), and midfielders (ES = -0.71, ES = -0.81, and ES = -0.56).

Table 3.

The league and championship technical values per player per position are reported. Data are presented as mean ± SD, mean difference (95% CI) and effect size.

		Full-Backs	Half-Backs	Midfield	Half-Forwards	Full-Forwards
1st Touch (n)	Championship	1 ± 1	1 ± 1	1 ± 1	1 ± 1*	1 ± 1
	League	1 ± 1	1 ± 1	1 ± 1	1 ± 1	0 ± 1^bd
	Diff (95% CI)	−0.08 (−0.29 to 0.14)	−0.16 (−0.38 to 0.05)	−0.01 (−0.24 to 0.22)	−0.25 (−0.44 to −0.06)	0.01 (−0.18 to 0.20)
	ES	−0.11	−0.18	−0.01	−0.27	0.01
Jab Lift (n)	Championship	2 ± 2	2 ± 2	2 ± 2	2 ± 2	2 ± 2
	League	2 ± 2	3 ± 2	2 ± 2	2 ± 2	2 ± 2^b
	Diff (95% CI)	0.16 (−0.28 to 0.59)	−0.22 (−0.66 to 0.22)	0.02 (−0.45 to 0.49)	0.01 (−0.38 to 0.40)	0.12 (−0.26 to 0.50)
	ES	0.10	−0.12	0.01	0.01	0.07
Catch (n)	Championship	4 ± 2	5 ± 3*	4 ± 3	4 ± 3^b	3 ± 2^abcd
	League	4 ± 3	5 ± 3^a	4 ± 3^b	4 ± ^b	2 ± 2^abcd
	Diff (95% CI)	−0.03 (−0.68 to 0.62)	−0.71 (−1.34 to 0.05)	−0.31 (−1.03 to 0.40)	−0.06 (−0.63 to 0.51)	0.29 (−0.27 to 0.85)
	ES	−0.01	−0.27	−0.11	−0.02	0.13
Steps (n)	Championship	2 ± 2*	2 ± 2*	2 ± 2	2 ± 2*	1 ± 2
	League	2 ± 2	3 ± 2	2 ± 2^b	2 ± 2^b	1 ± 2^abd
	Diff (95% CI)	−0.60 (−1.07 to −0.12)	−0.93 (−1.40 to −0.46)	−0.35 (−0.86 to 0.16)	−0.44 (−0.86 to 0.01)	−0.22 (−0.64 to 0.20)
	ES	−0.30	−0.49	−0.18	−0.23	−0.13
Solo (n)	Championship	2 ± 1	2 ± 2*	1 ± 2*	1 ± 1	1 ± 1^a
	League	2 ± 2	3 ± 2	2 ± 2^b	2 ± 2^b	1 ± 2^ab
	Diff (95% CI)	−0.21 (−0.62 to 0.20)	−0.82 (−1.22 to −0.46)	−0.48 (−0.92 to −0.04)	−0.18 (−0.54 to 0.18)	−0.24 (−0.60 to 0.11)
	ES	−0.13	−0.48	−0.29	−0.11	−0.17
Handpass (n)	Championship	3 ± 2	3 ± 2*	3 ± 2	2 ± 2*^abc	1 ± 2^abc
	League	3 ± 2	4 ± 2	3 ± 2	3 ± 2^b	2 ± 2^abcd
	Diff (95% CI)	−0.28 (−0.79 to 0.22)	−0.64 (−1.13 to −0.14)	−0.25 (−0.76 to 0.26)	−0.63 (−1.07 to −0.19)	−0.12 (−0.56 to 0.31)
	ES	−0.14	−0.28	−0.11	−0.33	−0.08
Long Strike (n)	Championship	1 ± 2	2 ± 2	1 ± 2^b	1 ± 1^abc	0 ± 1^abc
	League	1 ± 1	2 ± 2^a	1 ± 1^b	1 ± 1^ab	0 ± 0^abcd
	Diff (95% CI)	0.07 (−0.26 to 0.40)	−0.20 (−0.53 to 0.13)	0.02 (−0.34 to 0.37)	−0.23 (−0.53 to 0.06)	0.17 (−0.12 to 0.46)
	ES	0.05	−0.12	0.01	−0.21	0.26
Short Strike (n)	Championship	2 ± 2	2 ± 2	1 ± 2^ab	1 ± 1^ab	1 ± 1^abc
	League	2 ± 2	2 ± 2	2 ± 2^ab	1 ± 1^ab	1 ± 1^abc
	Diff (95% CI)	−0.18 (−0.57 to 0.20)	−0.19 (−0.57 to 0.20)	−0.20 (−0.61 to 0.21)	−0.26 (−0.60 to 0.08)	−0.14 (−0.47 to 0.20)
	ES	−0.10	−0.10	−0.06	−0.12	−0.06

CI = Confidence Interval, Diff = Mean difference, ES = Effect size.

*=Significantly different (p < 0.05) from League.

Within the same level, significantly different from ^a = full-backs, ^b = half-backs, ^c = midfielders, ^d = half-forwards.

Similar to the Championship, full-forwards had less catches than full-backs (ES = -0.79), half-backs (ES = -1.22), midfielders (ES = -0.70), and half-forwards (ES = -0.59) in the League. Full-forwards also performed less (p > 0.05) handpasses and long strikes in League games than full-backs (ES = -0.85 and ES = -1.15), half-backs (ES = -1.01 and ES = -0.62), midfielders (ES = -0.71 and ES = -1.09), and half-forwards (ES = -0.52 and ES = -0.91). The results also highlighted that half-backs performed (p > 0.05) more catches (ES = 0.43 and ES = 0.64), steps (ES = 0.52 and ES = 0.35), solos (ES = 0.34 and ES = 0.52), long strikes (ES = 0.49 and ES = 0.83), and short strikes (ES = 0.31 and ES = 0.57) than midfielders and half-forwards in the League.

Within positions, there was no difference (p > 0.05) between the League and the Championship for jab lifts, long strikes, or short strikes. Full-forwards were the only position to have no difference (p > 0.05) in the occurrence of any technical skill between the League and the Championship, where all other positions displayed differences in some technical skills. Half-backs had less catches (ES = -0.27), steps (ES = -0.49), solos (ES = -0.48), and handpasses (ES = -0.28) in the Championship compared to the League. Finally, within positions, there was no greater (p > 0.05) occurrence of any technical skill in the Championship compared to the League.

Discussion

The purpose of the current study was to describe the positional and between competition differences in the frequency occurrence of technical skills in elite senior hurling match-play. As hypothesised, between competition differences were observed in some, but not all metrics. Senior elite hurlers had more total shots, successful shots, and total points (small), while they completed less 1^st touches, steps, solos, handpasses, and short strikes (trivial-to-small) in the Championship compared to the League. Between position differences were also observed in both the Championship and the League with full-forwards having a lower occurrence of a number of technical skills compared to all other positions. Surprisingly, little differences were observed temporally in both the League and the Championship, with only the 35 + minute period consistently having a lower occurrence of certain technical skills. This 35 + minute period signifies the added injury time (at the discretion of the referee) at the end of the first half and is shorter (mean: 2 minutes and 48 seconds) than the other 5-minute periods. The consistently lower occurrence of technical skills observed in this period is due to this period being shorter.

Previous research^11–13 investigating the technical demands of hurling match-play failed to highlight the demands across competitions and on a positional level, while no research to date has investigated the temporal occurrence of technical skills. For the full team, a greater number of possessions (League = 159 vs Championship = 148), and tackles (League = 35 vs Championship = 24) occurred in the League, while a greater number of both total shots (League = 34 vs Championship = 38) and successful shots (League = 20 vs Championship = 23) were observed in the Championship. Due to the League being held during the winter months (January to April), the softer playing surfaces and often adverse weather conditions may result in more frequent interruptions in play, potentially leading to an increased number of ruck ball scenarios.¹⁰ This may facilitate an increased opportunity to tackle opposing players as they may be more frequently within range for physical contact. The total shots observed in the League and in the Championship are similar to the total shots previously reported for both losing (40) and winning (39) teams, respectively.^11,13 The number of successful shots in Championship games was similar to those reported for winning teams (25.8 shots¹¹ and 23.5 shots¹³). Conversely, the successful shot count in League games aligned more closely with the lower averages observed for losing teams (19.3 shots¹¹ and 17.4 shots¹³). It is also important to note that in most cases teams tend to put a greater emphasis on the Championship, with the League providing an opportunity to give game time to less experienced players with a view of having them better prepared for the Championship. An earlier study found that winning teams had a greater number of total shots, and with the Championship being viewed by most as the most important competition of the season, teams may place a focus on increasing total shot count in Championship games.¹¹ Furthermore, a decreased number of tackles in Championship games may allow an increased opportunity to execute more shots at the goal. Interestingly, with a greater number of successful shots and total points being observed in the Championship, higher productivity might have been expected. However, no difference in productivity was observed between competitions. Interestingly, the productivity observed in the current study closely aligns with that reported for winning teams.¹¹

Research which investigated the temporal running demands of elite hurling match-play found a temporal decrement across several running performance variables, with elite players completing less total distance, relative distance, and less sprint distance in the second half of games.⁶ To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the temporal occurrence of technical skills in elite hurling match-play. Interestingly, there was no common trend among the variables analysed which would signify a drop off in the frequency occurrence of any skill as the game progressed. The 35 + minute period was the only 5-minute period in both the League and the Championship which had significantly fewer mean possessions across the team. In comparison, the 70 + minute period signifies the added injury time at the end of a game, and this typically lasts for 4 minutes and 21 seconds (mean). Despite this, the 70 + minute period was not significantly lower than the other 5-minute periods when looking at possessions. Within 5-minute periods, there were no differences between the League and the Championship for possessions and successful shots. However, there were differences within-periods for both total shots and tackles. There were more total shots in the 0–5 (small) and 45–50 (small) periods in Championship games compared to League games, while there was a drop off in the number of tackles across multiple 5-minute periods in Championship games compared to League games. With an increase in the running performances, as well as improved playing conditions being observed in Championship games compared to League games in earlier findings, it suggests that in Championship games, players are running with the ball more, avoiding contact with opposition players while in League games, softer playing surfaces may slow down the players, allowing for an increased opportunity to execute tackles on opposing players.¹⁰

The findings from the current study are the first to provide an insight into the technical demands of hurling match-play on a positional level. Previous research which investigated the running demands of elite hurling match-play, described the middle three positions of half-backs, midfielders, and half-forwards having a greater work-rate in comparison to the full back and full-forward positional lines.^6,10 The current findings do not support this from a technical perspective for all positions. However, they do support the fact that the half-backs have a more dynamic role than other playing groups. For the three skills that fall under the ‘gaining possession’ category, half-backs had a significantly greater number of 1^st touches (small) and jab lifts (small) compared to full-forwards, while the half-back positional group also had a greater number of catches (small-to-large) than all other positions in the League. Earlier research highlighted the dynamic role of half-backs assisting the full back positional group in defence and assisting the midfield group in attacking.^9,10 Prior research has emphasised the critical role of the ‘midfield battleground,’ highlighting the importance of winning puckouts in this area and effectively transferring the ball from one end of the field to the other, with the half-back positional group playing a key role in these processes.¹¹ This dynamic role may expose the half-back positional group to increased opportunities for gaining possession, as they can be involved in both defensive and attacking scenarios. The full-forward positional group had less 1^st touches than half-backs (small) and half-forwards (small), less jab lifts than half-backs (small), and less catches (small-to-large) than all other positions in League games with significantly less catches (small-to-moderate) than any other positional group in Championship games also. Recent tactical gameplans have seen some teams adopting a two-player full-forward line, with the other full-forward player assisting in the middle third area of the field in certain circumstances (e.g., playing against the wind). The current findings support the hypothesis that the full-forward positional group stay close to the opposition goal, with the aim of getting on the end of an attacking sequence and converting scoring opportunities. Consequently, full-forwards may not get an opportunity to gain possession as much as the other positional groups who may be more involved in each play. Additionally, since players can score points from long distances, they might opt to take a shot at goal rather than risk losing possession by passing the ball to the full-forwards. Intriguingly, there was no difference between any positional group for 1^st touches or for jab lifts in Championship games. An earlier study reported that winning teams prioritise shot location to enhance both execution and shot efficiency.¹¹ This is an interesting finding and suggests that in Championship games teams may transition the ball throughout the different positional lines with an aim to get the ball into full-forward positional group as they are closer to the goal and the chances of a greater shot efficiency may be increased. The current findings also bring present training practices into question. The perceived importance of the 1^st touch skill and the amount of time that many teams devote to developing this skill is not backed up by our findings, with no player within any positional group having more than one 1^st touch in either a League or Championship game. With a higher occurrence of jab lifts, and in particular, catches, as methods of gaining possession, developing training drills which promote the occurrence and execution of these skills may be more beneficial. This highlights the importance of striking the ‘ball to hand’ accurately when releasing possession in the current game.

In League games, half-backs completed a greater number of both steps and solos when compared to midfielders (small and small, respectively), half-forwards (small and small, respectively), and full-forwards (moderate and moderate, respectively). This supports the suggestion that a key role of the half-backs is to transition the ball from defense to attack, particularly in League games. This also suggests that players may have more time on the ball in League games compared to Championship games, with a greater opportunity to maintain possession in these instances. However, there was no difference between positions for steps in Championship games, while only full-forwards completed less solos (small) than full-backs in Championship games. Positional differences were also observed for the three skills (handpasses, long strikes, and short strikes) that are categorised as ‘releasing possession’. Half-backs had a greater number of handpasses than half-forwards (small) and full-forwards (moderate) in the League, while full-forwards had a lower number of handpasses than full-backs (moderate), midfielders (moderate), and half-forwards (small). In the Championship, full-backs, half-backs, and midfielders had a greater number of handpasses compared to half-forwards (small) and full-forwards (moderate). As previously discussed, full-backs, half-backs, and midfielders can often help in defensive plays and the subsequent attacking play. Handpasses are often used in these attacking plays as they may be a more secure option of releasing possession to another teammate which is similar to findings observed in GF, where there was a higher success rate when handpasses were used to release possession compared to a kick-pass (96% vs 79% success rate, respectively).²⁷ In games, handpasses are often considered a safer way to maintain possession, as strike passes carry a higher risk of being incomplete.¹³

Full-backs, and half-backs in particular, generally had the greatest number of both short and long strikes. Although a 2017 study¹³ described short puckouts as ‘a much less efficient puckout option’ for creating scoring opportunities, both full-backs, and half-backs are frequently targeted for these short puckouts, with a strong focus on retaining possession from the restart. These short puckouts also provide a platform to attack from, where full-backs and half-backs may use both short and long strikes to deliver the ball to the half-forward or full-forward positions. Previous research indicated a trend toward shorter puckouts in the three-year period from 2018 to 2020.¹¹ Over the ∼6 years between the 2017 study and the current investigation, the differences seen in short puckouts may be due to an evolution of the game, where recently, teams have become more effective at creating scoring opportunities from such restarts. This theory of evolving puckout strategies is further supported by recent findings.¹¹ With significantly less long strikes and short strikes than full back, half-back, and midfielders in both the League and the Championship, the explanation that full-forwards stay close to their own goals with an aim of getting on the end of passages of play and ultimately trying to score, is further validated. To avoid ‘doubling up’ on skills during the coding process of this study, shots were not counted as either a short strike or a long strike. Although full-backs, half-backs, and midfielders do have the option to take a shot, they may use a short or long strike more when transitioning the ball from defense to attack in comparison to the full-forward position group, who may more often than not use their short or long striking actions in an attempted shot at goal. In 2008, research showed that the jab lift, steps, and handpassing were the main methods of gaining, maintaining, and releasing possession respectively.¹² The current findings suggest that these remain similar with the exception of jab lifts, with catches now being the preferred method of gaining possession.

Between competitions, little within position differences were observed. Half-backs had significantly less catches (small), steps (small), solos (small), and handpasses (small) in Championship games compared to League games, while full-forwards had no between competition difference for any technical skill reported. Full-backs had less steps (small), and midfielders had less solos (small) in the Championship compared to the League. Further to this, there was no within position difference between competitions for jab lifts, long strikes, or short strikes. Although distinct differences are evident between positions for certain technical skills (catch, steps, solo, handpass, short strike, long strike), the differences between competitions within positions are small (<1 occurrence). The current findings suggest that when planning training drills, coaches are not required to increase or decrease the exposure that players get to practicing specific skills as the season progresses from the League competition to the Championship. However, coaches should take playing position into consideration when planning training drills, all year round. With previous findings highlighting a greater physical workload in Championship games, coaches should also consider the physical intensity of technical skill development drills in training, particularly in the lead up to the Championship.¹⁰ As little differences were observed in the between-competition occurrence of skills within positions, this may allow coaches to invest more time into developing certain tactical plans, focusing on specific styles of play.

Although this study provides valuable information for coaches, it also comes with some acknowledged limitations. Individual teams often have tactical setups or ‘styles of play’ which are specific to that team. This study investigated the frequency occurrence of technical skills within match-play without taking the specific styles of play into account. Depending on the way in which teams set up and play, this may influence the frequency requirement of certain technical skills, thus having specific training implications. While the current study analysed 13 teams to minimise the impact of any single team's playing style, future research should explore what different styles of play are evident in the current game and how these may influence the technical skill demands. Outside of tackles, the current study analysed only the most frequently occurring skills for gaining, maintaining, and releasing possession, all of which are categories that require the player to be ‘in possession’. Other skills such as hooking, blocking, and batting the ball all may occur when a player is not ‘in possession’. To gain further insight into these skills during match-play, future studies should investigate the technical skill characteristics when the player is not in possession. Finally, the current study did not investigate the amount of time that players are in possession of the ball. The amount of time that a player has in possession or ‘on the ball’ may have an influence on the number of skills the player can complete within that possession. Future research should investigate the duration of time on the ball in both the League and the Championship.

There are some key practical applications arising from this current research study which may aid coaches in their approach to individual training session design and how these sessions may change over the course of a season. As there is a greater number of total and successful shots observed across a number of 5-minute periods in Championship versus League games, coaches should place an increased focus on increasing total shot count in the period between the League and the Championship. With the half-back and midfield positions using handpasses as the main method of releasing possession, combined with research highlighting the higher high-speed running demands of these positions, coaches should focus on designing training drills that emphasise ‘off-the-shoulder’ running to support the player in possession. These drills effectively integrate both handpassing and high-speed running, making them particularly beneficial for these two positional groups.^6,10 Finally, coaches should focus on the development of both the jab lift and catching skills as methods of gaining possession. Previous findings reported that winning teams had a greater number of possessions when compared to losing teams, and without being able to effectively gain possession, the ability to execute specific tactical game plans may be limited.¹¹ The current findings highlight the increased frequency occurrence of these skills, particularly catching, compared to the 1^st touch skill in both League and Championship games.

This study was the first to describe the between-competition positional and temporal differences in the frequency occurrence of technical skills in elite senior hurling. The findings reveal that there were fewer total possessions, tackles, 1^st touches, steps, solos, handpasses, and short strikes in the Championship compared to the League. Temporally, no drop off was evident in any technical skill examined as games progressed both in the League and the Championship competitions. Half-backs had less catches, steps, solo's and handpasses in the Championship, while for full-forwards, there was no difference between competitions for any skill examined. Although differences between competitions were observed, practically, these differences were minimal (<1 occurrence of the skill). The findings from this current research study provides coaches with information which may aid in the preparation of players for both the League and Championship, particularly on a positional level.

Supplemental Material

sj-docx-1-spo-10.1177_17479541251368230 - Supplemental material for Between-competition technical skill characteristics in elite hurling match-play

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-spo-10.1177_17479541251368230 for Between-competition technical skill characteristics in elite hurling match-play by Brendan Egan, Denise Martin, David T. Kelly, Giuseppe Coratella, and Damien Young in International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Ethical considerations

Ethical approval was granted by Technological University of the Shannon Ethical Committee who approved all procedures

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Supplemental material

Supplemental material for this article is available online.

ORCID iD

Brendan Egan

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