Camogie's new rules: Will the changes improve the sport?

The All-Ireland Camogie Championships get underway this weekend. But the time of the year is not the only change in store, with several new rules being implemented.

They have been largely welcomed by players.

"I'm all for the rule changes. There was a change needed, and I'm glad the Camogie Association noticed that," said Cork's Hannah Looney on Inside The Game.

"I think we'll see a very exciting championship. That's what we want - the ball going up and down the pitch with minimal stoppages. I think a rule that will have a great impact is the 'contact' [one].

"Personally a habit of mine would be to drop the hurley when you're in trouble, to try and get a hand-pass away. Trying to train the brain to keep a hold of the hurley has been a bit of a struggle for me. But I'm all for it, especially for the contact side of things.

"Camogie has been criticised the last couple of years that there are too many frees, too much holding up the game, let it flow. I'm all in favour for allowing a bit more contact and leaving the game go.

"I think it might take a while to get used to. There's probably going to be a bit of pressure on referees to ensure they are implementing them correctly. If a player drops a hurley and the ref isn't on the ball, that's going to cause conflict on the pitch. But I would imagine they are well in tune with the rules. It will take a bit of getting used to for us all.

"The main thing I hope to see if a free-flowing game, refs letting it go within reason."

There was a change needed, and I'm glad the Camogie Association noticed that.

Looney has welcomed the alterations

Speaking on Thursday, Dublin's Orla Gray echoed Looney's sentiments: "It's hard to adapt with the hand-passing, you can't drop your hurl anymore - it's always something I'd do coming out of the backline but [I'm] kind of getting used to it now. We're settling in.

"I'm so used to doing it with clubs - now coming into county you have to just get used the rules again.

"It's a bit weird, but we'll see what happens anyway in the championship."

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And Sky Sports analyst Jamesie O'Connor feels there could be teething problems.

"Most of them are there to speed up the game. The contact one, players want that contact. When it's stop-start, with referees blowing whistles incessantly, it disrupts the flow of the game, players don't want it, supporters don't want it, and I think it will make for a better spectacle," he said.

"The big thing for me, through my involvement with Camogie, you're coaching forwards when they get inside to drop the hurley and use that hand-pass. That's the one that for forwards in particular, habits like that can be hard to break.

"I'm all for them. I think they will speed up the game."

You can watch the full discussion on Inside The Game in the video at the top of this article.