National Hurling League assessment: Seán Moran runs the rule over the concluding phase one games with Tipperary great Nicky English.

Phase one of the Allianz National Hurling League concludes today. Its final programme was brought forward to prevent it clashing with tomorrow's rugby match but it's already been well overshadowed by its football equivalent, which comes to a gripping conclusion next week.

In contrast, the hurling has virtually no issues to be decided today - short of exotic combinations of results unlikely to eventuate outside a parallel universe.

There may be a redemption around the corner in phase two when the top three teams in Divisions One A and One B play each other but so far there has been a worrying lack of competitiveness: "just not enough good teams" was the fatalistic summary of one leading GAA official.

The average winning margin in Division One matches has been nearly nine points (8.9). Of the 24 fixtures only five have ended with a score or less between the teams. A third of the matches ended with double-digit margins of victory.

This has been fed by the supremacy of Kilkenny and Tipperary in their respective sections. With point totals carrying over to the second phase the two counties are already hot favourites to contest May's final.

Nicky English managed Tipperary to the league and All-Ireland double in 2001, a feat repeated by Kilkenny last year. Having ended his tenure last autumn, English is concerned by the trend so far this season.

"I can't see any one particular reason for this. Tipperary and Kilkenny have continued to take the league very seriously. I can't understand why the other counties wouldn't so I'm assuming they are. But I would be worried about the performances of some teams. Some have serious internal problems. At the same time the Tipp and Kilkenny managements know that their teams haven't been tested."

The league has also suffered from its structural inadequacy. Despite all the evidence that an eight-team top division would make for a more competitive league, the GAA have persisted with the 12-team format, divided into two sections of six.

This has meant a number of teams in Division One have not been competitive. Derry have held their place for four years but have not taken a major scalp in that time, instead surviving at the expense of Antrim, Kerry, Meath and Laois. For Derry this has been solid achievement but no guarantee of competitiveness against hurling's elite.

"There is a need to develop hurling," says English, "and market it properly. This year we had Tipp-Limerick being played at the same time as an Ireland rugby match. That's not going to maximise its appeal.

"There are two main objectives in the league: to generate money going forward and to develop teams for the championship. Ideally there should be more competitive games - the eight-team first division worked very well in 1997. Let the top two teams play in the final and finish it a couple of weeks before the championship. I do think it's been a good idea to get rid of the play-offs."

Up until recently the tendency was for high performers in the championship to have low-key league campaigns. Once they had won an All-Ireland Clare, for instance, rarely bothered to raise a gallop in the spring. Former trainer Michael McNamara is on the verge of taking an inexperienced Offaly to the second phase.

"The aim was to peak on a certain number of occasions," he explains. "That approach has been blown away by Tipperary and Kilkenny in recent years. But it's only blown away by counties with big reservoirs. DJ Carey was held back until the All-Ireland semi-final last year. What other county could do that?"

Whatever about the destination of the title, the GAA will be hoping phase two of the NHL is more competitive and that the championship can perform its usual function of making spring-based assumptions look foolish.