Munster champions Kerry, chasing three successive titles, were happy enough to get the chance of a replay after Sunday's deluged draw with Cork in Killarney.

The teams meet again this Saturday in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. One of the few things that may prove of longer-term significance on an awful day for football was the performance of Seamus Moynihan at centrefield where he was moved from full back.

Kerry selector John O'Keeffe was always confident that the move would be a success despite Moynihan's scarce enough experience in the position at inter-county level.

Although he made his debut there 10 years ago and has turned out in the middle on various occasions during league campaigns, his county championship career has been almost entirely in defence.

But playing for Ireland against Australia, the Kerry player has made a considerable impact playing in the central zone despite not having great height.

Sunday's switch was prompted by Moynihan's experiencing difficulty with Colin Corkery and at the same time Kerry's centrefield being in eclipse.

"I think at that stage we had to make a move. It has always been in the background of our thoughts as selectors that we could make that switch. We know what a great midfield player Seamus is, particularly in creating things around the middle. And he had been a great success in the creative midfield role in Australia on the International Rules tour. That creativity is nullified when he's on the full-back line.

"Then Colin Corkery was going very well and at the best of times he takes a lot of marking. So the move of Seamus made sense on two fronts."

So will the move influence tonight's selection for the replay? "We'll be keeping our options open. On the sort of day it was you couldn't really judge players, but we used four substitutes which was good - maybe not for the players coming off but it's more and more a 20-man game."

In the lottery conditions O'Keeffe says it was only fair that each side got a second chance. "Given the day that was in it, it was a good outcome. Both had spells when they should have built up bigger leads. Cork in the first half had a lot of possession and gave us problems. In the second half, when we got on top, we should have scored more."

He acknowledged that the slippery underfoot conditions and wet ball made decent forward play next to impossible. "When the ground is like that, forwards can't turn quickly or control the ball. It was a very difficult day for kickers.

"Conditions made it very hard for them to keep their footing, particularly on the support leg with all the water lodging on the pitch. Free takers found the wind a bit puzzling because it wasn't blowing down the pitch but swirling around."

In relation to the ground, it was probably lucky that Fitzgerald Stadium was the venue as it has a high tolerance for wet weather with a substantial tier of sand beneath the surface.

"Thurles is the best surface we have, the best in the country," according to Fr Seamus Gardiner the Munster Council PRO, "but Killarney would be next. Páirc Uí Chaoimh has been greatly improved by the work done on the pitch but I haven't seen a big match on it in really bad conditions. The Clare-Tipperary replay in Limerick was touch-and-go because of the rain."

The record rainfall that has coincided with the busiest championship schedules in the GAA's history caused the Ulster fixture between Down and Donegal to be called off three weeks ago - the only championship tie to suffer such a fate in recent years.

John Prenty, secretary of the Connacht Council, said that whereas his inter-county fixtures list had survived, "a lot of club fixtures have been called off - all the Galway championship fixtures for Tuam Stadium went - which is creating quite a backlog. The only relief we have from the weather is the fact that there's no inter-county stuff in the autumn, which frees up dates a bit."

Finally there was a certain irony in the farcical situation at Clones when only 5,000 (1,500 at throw-in) attended the Derry-Donegal Ulster semi-final, which ended up clashing with Ireland's World Cup match against Spain. Donegal is a very strong soccer county and, for instance, the current team has been dealing with Brendan Devenney's desire to combine his football with playing for Finn Harps.

Yet the only two football championship fixtures to clash directly with World Cup matches involving Ireland have both been between Derry and Donegal. The 1990 clash was with Ireland-Egypt and drew an attendance of 5,000 exactly 12 years ago yesterday. Donegal were winners on both occasions.