Rugby hooliganism -- cause for concern or moral panic?

Snickers Man

I was listening to the radio today and there was a load of old guff on it about how kids at middle class rugby schools are using the rivalries of the schools cup to engage in all manner of loutish and violent behaviour, from vandalising the cars of parents of players on rival teams to plain old-fashioned kicking the ****e out of each other at the Wesley Disco.

now forgive my utter cynicism but this has emerged in the week after the more proletarian sports followers who prefer round ball to oval and favour Glasgow Celtic only because it gives them ample opportunity to beat up a few Protestants and claim it's all in the national interest disgraced themselves completely with a riot in central Dublin.

ireland and celtic jerseys were very much to the fore and it appears that the lads were in the pubs getting tanked up when they saw the demo outside and decided to join in.

so naturally those with a guilty conscience take to the airwaves in the following week and put forward teh preposterous notion that 'Those rugby fans are just as bad and they're all toffee-nosed middle class gits from Dublin 4 anyway'

Well, I must admit, at times like these one is so glad one is middle class but likening inter-school rivalry to the thuggery and wanton damage to property that took place last Saturday is just preposterous in the extreme.

Do some of the people making the accusations not realise that Ross O'Carroll Kelly is in fact a fictional character?

Here's some facts to ponder.

there is no segregation at international rugby matches because it's not necessary.
The governing body of soccer is so afraid of crowd violence it insists that all fans are segregated even when games are between two countries whose fans have no hostory of causing trouble.
Rugby is a genuine cross border cross community body in Ireland. Probably the only one that really works.
If a protestor had been hit a little too hard on the head by a cop's truncheon and been accidentally killed, the GAA would probably have named a football team after him.

daveirl

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Funkstard

This inter-school-alcohol-fuelled-violence thing came into the fore with the Brian Murphy case didn't it? I remember a two page spread in the Irish times detailing Blackrock college, the various ways in which the accused were middle class and should have left the killing to the council estate heads etc.

The majority of times I go out a fight erupts under the pretence of school rivalry, but it's just drunkeness and the same thing you see in O'Connell street on Saturday night.

It's funny the way it's implied that fighting and violence is stuff of the 'working class' when people are so shocked that these D4 heads are bringing out the handbags, it's young men drunk having fisticuffs, no more no less.

The thing with the vandalising of the cars recently, I've heard several different stories about what happened, all conflicting so I don't really know what went on. It was an isolated case and in no way can be compared to people looting shops and breaking into cars last saturday.

super_furry

Do some of the people making the accusations not realise that Ross O'Carroll Kelly is in fact a fictional character?

Judging by the likes of your "more proletarian sports followers" comments, I wonder myself.

Davei141

Its hilarious people getting angry when people say that rugby is for the middle class, while calling all football followers thugs in the same breath.

It's funny the way it's implied that fighting and violence is stuff of the 'working class' when people are so shocked that these D4 heads are bringing out the handbags, it's young men drunk having fisticuffs, no more no less

Exactly, but listening to snickers you would swear that these things didnt happen in the rugby fraternity, its just football following thugs propaganda.:rolleyes:

Can we have less posts on this board about football please? Every single one of them is about how theyre thugs, scum and whatever phrase you want to enter.

sioda

The big problem with football is like the problem with a bad area of a town everyone get branded a knacker whether they are or not. Football fans aren't the worst its the attitude behind it and the time the games are held.

With most football games being evening affairs it gives ppl time to get tanked at the pub and then go to the game and they are much more easily sawyed towards violence.

Now Rugby most games are mid afternoon and thus sober ish.

but this whole middle class crap bout the oval ball set foot in Thomond park and you'll learn that Rugby is across all denominations and demographics.

"Goddamn Ulster 27 - 3 but at least humphries couldn't kick"

WallysWorld

Im biased in saying this as i play and follow rugby, but ive been to one soccer international in my life, Ireland v England in landsdowne around 94' - 95' i think. Ireland go one up, the hardcore English hooligans rioted and the match was called off. Ive since been to many England V Ireland rugby matches and never seen any trouble, this is down to the fact that about 150 or 200 hooligans got into the stadium for the soccer in '94 fully intending to rip the place apart, the rest of the English fans were as well behaved as at any rugby match. Soccer has got a bad rep because of this "tradition" of groups of fans travelling together to cause trouble when they arrive and they encourage others by just being there. The vast majority of fans are just that, fans.

damnyanks

Also in the rugby world generally anyone cares about is beating the english. Sort of focues everyone to one target

Snickers Man

super_furry wrote:

Judging by the likes of your "more proletarian sports followers" comments, I wonder myself.

Well they were.

Look at the pictures. How many of those guys rioting on O'Connell St in Celtic Jerseys do you think were called Oisin or Fiachra?

Snickers Man

Davei141 wrote:

Exactly, but listening to snickers you would swear that these things didnt happen in the rugby fraternity, its just football following thugs propaganda.:rolleyes:
.

Well all I will say is, I;ve been tosoccer internationals in three different countries and rugby internationals in five and I know which is the more Neanderthal.