WEST-MUNSTER RUGBY Thread

mr kilo

This is a forum to descuss west munster rugby
be it underage or senion, school or club
just leave a comment

mr kilo

this is a place to discuss games in the west munster league in club or school

RuggieBear

Don't really know much about West Munster rugby...care to fill us in on some details, news, teams etc?

mr kilo

da main teams would be Killorglin,Tralee,Castle Island, Newcastle West and Killorglin.
its a very competitive league at any age group.
i play for killorglin at u;16 and u;18 and we hav 2 points from 3 games at u;16 and 3 points from 3 games at u;18. but our pitch is on a hill.

where do you play your rugby...........

RuggieBear

i played for Greystones in Wicklow. I'm retired now though due to injury.

If you are playing for two teams , are there small numbers playing?

mr kilo

Killorglin wouldnt be the biggest place for rugby. its all GAA and soccer. we get the leftovers from those teams. so yeah numbers are low. der are about 16 players in u;18 and about 19 playing u;16. what is rugby like in wicklow

RuggieBear

slightly higher numbers alright...but that's probably down to the larger populations.

Greystones would be the Senior club and in the AIL but Wicklow and Arklow are very strong in the Leinster towns cup.

Been a while (lol) since i was playing u/16 but we had about 30 or so and about the same at Mccory cup level (u/19). When i played junior rugby there were the Senior team, Senior 2nd's and then 5 junior teams so the playing numbers were quite high but this has declined remarkably since.

mr kilo

do yee have good facilities for the sport up there.
kerry are the poor relation in munster when it comes to rugby.
our pitch is a joke but we have decatated trainers

RuggieBear

yeah i reckon rugby might find it tough to break the gaa stranglehold.

Facilities wise...Stones had four pitches and a clubhouse but i'd have played in places which were just fields and you'd have to scare the cattle or sheep off them...lol so a bit hit an miss.

TBh the real strength in Leinster under age rugby is in the schools.

mr kilo

wow four pitches yee must be good.
where are your seniors in thier league

RuggieBear

mid table All ireland league divison 2.

They've won 2 lost 2.

mr kilo

killorglin are doing ok in der league.
our league is west munster jounior devision 3
so yeah yee are a bit of a step uf from us.
do yer players get paid..?????????

you said you were injured, are you still involved in the club..

themont85

mr kilo wrote: »

killorglin are doing ok in der league.
our league is west munster jounior devision 3
so yeah yee are a bit of a step uf from us.
do yer players get paid..?????????

you said you were injured, are you still involved in the club..

Bad grammer overload.

I'm not sure what the situation is regarding Greystones but i'm sure like most AIL Div 1/2 players they get a match fee, nothing major really.

Otacon

mr kilo wrote: »

da main teams would be Killorglin,Tralee,Castle Island, Newcastle West and Killorglin.

...and why isn't Abbeyfeale one of the main teams!? :mad:

..oh wait, I know

mr kilo

do you play rugby

FalconXV

Just got involved in kids junior rugby in Tralee. The overlapping GAA season doesn't help with some sessions in the season. The numbers have increased on previous seasons. A lot of parents have got their kids involved in a number of sports. It would be a different story if they had to train on Tuesday and Thursday and play on Saturday. If that happened the numbers would be interesting. There is no cup or league season for the younger kids. More blitz days with a fair bit of travel and training sessions for an hour and a half. Haven't been to other clubs in the county yet, the pitches in Tralee are fine and at the moment there is just enough space for the kids team to train on.

muscleshirt

since 2008 there have been some changes in West/munster rugby ,ages now are u13/15/17 no W/m side can field a u19..the dominent sides are abbeyfeale and tralee,i think it will need to be re-structured in the long term

FalconXV

They have changed the birth dates for eligibility purposes. The problem with the under 19s a lot of school leavers have to move to go to College so the Limerick and Cork clubs probably benefit from that.

muscleshirt

FalconXV wrote: »

They have changed the birth dates for eligibility purposes. The problem with the under 19s a lot of school leavers have to move to go to College so the Limerick and Cork clubs probably benefit from that.

the limerick and cork clubs have their own problems at u19 with the schools and some clubs have combined resources ,the kerry clubs will have to do the same if they are to have any hope at u19

FalconXV

under 19s should be changed to Under 20s. That's how it is in Australia

Eoin

FalconXV wrote: »

under 19s should be changed to Under 20s. That's how it is in Australia

But isn't there U21s now (which used to be U20)? You don't go straight from U19 to senior rugby.

FalconXV

Tralee one of the bigger clubs doesn't have under 21s. Bit of a step up once you get to J1 (if you are good enough) or J2.

ormond lad

FalconXV wrote: »

Tralee one of the bigger clubs doesn't have under 21s. Bit of a step up once you get to J1 (if you are good enough) or J2.

Im not sure if tralee has ever had 20s/21s. With lads going away for college, stop playing at 18 etc they have seemed to prefer to have lads playing on their j1/j2 teams.

muscleshirt

ormond lad wrote: »

Im not sure if tralee has ever had 20s/21s. With lads going away for college, stop playing at 18 etc they have seemed to prefer to have lads playing on their j1/j2 teams.

tralee put out an u19 last season with great difficulty,could not manage this year.they use j2 in place of u21

FalconXV

muscleshirt wrote: »

tralee put out an u19 last season with great difficulty,could not manage this year.they use j2 in place of u21

Probably to do with the combination of college or people emigrating. The never ending GAA club season doesn't help with players who wish to play both sports

muscleshirt

FalconXV wrote: »

Probably to do with the combination of college or people emigrating. The never ending GAA club season doesn't help with players who wish to play both sports

i agree the gaa don't seem to have a season anymore,it goes on all year round, club finals up to xmas..choices have to be made can't blame the GAA for everything

FalconXV

muscleshirt wrote: »

i agree the gaa don't seem to have a season anymore,it goes on all year round, club finals up to xmas..choices have to be made can't blame the GAA for everything

Of course not. I think Rugby does a better job at structuring their season for the younger kids. Players get used to travel at a young age too which is a part of the game.

pmct

mr kilo wrote: »

do yee have good facilities for the sport up there.
kerry are the poor relation in munster when it comes to rugby.
our pitch is a joke but we have decatated trainers

That's for sure it gives new meaning to playing with the hill

FalconXV

depends on the club. The pitches at Tralee are fine and there are extra training areas for the juniors. The club would be in trouble if those weren't there. Pitches get cut up badly if they are overused. The potholes in the car park are more of an issue.

FalconXV

pmct wrote: »

That's for sure it gives new meaning to playing with the hill

Killarney have got approval to move to Aghadoe will be interesting to see what they will put up. They will be a huge threat to Tralee if they put in excellent facilities. Tralee does have a good bar and function room for meetings and parties. Tralee badly needs more training aids (maul pads, proper tackle bags) for the younger kids and more modern dressing rooms. The tackle bags (if you can call them that) are ridiculously heavy even for the seniors. The kids I coach are at a crucial age where they are learning more technical parts of the game. After going to Skibbereen recently Tralee have a bit of catching up to do. Skib did a good job on the Tralee J1s.

FalconXV

muscleshirt wrote: »

tralee put out an u19 last season with great difficulty,could not manage this year.they use j2 in place of u21

Tralee have got an under 19s side this season. The Avonmore League which looks like it is structure in to groups. Tralee I say would lose a few to UL, UCC etc no different to other teams in Kerry really. I haven't seen Abbeyfeale play in the juniors (kids).

There is a lot of young talent in Kerry. I have heard that the Dingle club is doing good stuff. Hanrahan and Barnes have proved you can make it to Munster squads from Kerry. To open the gates properly they really need to get in to AIL premier clubs, which Kerry doesn't have (and desperately needs).

muscleshirt

FalconXV wrote: »

Tralee have got an under 19s side this season. The Avonmore League which looks like it is structure in to groups. Tralee I say would lose a few to UL, UCC etc no different to other teams in Kerry really. I haven't seen Abbeyfeale play in the juniors (kids).

There is a lot of young talent in Kerry. I have heard that the Dingle club is doing good stuff. Hanrahan and Barnes have proved you can make it to Munster squads from Kerry. To open the gates properly they really need to get in to AIL premier clubs, which Kerry doesn't have (and desperately needs).

tralee did put a u19 team in the pan/munster,but i think they should be in a development league..beten 50 points yesterday by highfield..their is no league for u19 in west munster so they should be allowed into the south development league..castleisland conceded their game to waterpark..
i think they lose more players in kerryto GAA than to limerick clubs,you need a good u19/20/21 setup for a decent senior side

ormond lad

muscleshirt wrote: »

tralee did put a u19 team in the pan/munster,but i think they should be in a development league..beten 50 points yesterday by highfield..their is no league for u19 in west munster so they should be allowed into the south development league..castleisland conceded their game to waterpark..
i think they lose more players in kerryto GAA than to limerick clubs,you need a good u19/20/21 setup for a decent senior side

That has been done at least once in recent years, tralee competed in the main south 19s league against the likes of highfield, sundays well, crosshaven and tralee didnt go back for the next season even though they performed fairly well in the league
The kerry clubs do lose more to GAA than limerick.

If tralee want to improve they should look to play in the south 19s league and if they dont make pan munster they will then be able to play in the souths 19s development league

FalconXV

muscleshirt wrote: »

tralee did put a u19 team in the pan/munster,but i think they should be in a development league..beten 50 points yesterday by highfield..their is no league for u19 in west munster so they should be allowed into the south development league..castleisland conceded their game to waterpark..
i think they lose more players in kerryto GAA than to limerick clubs,you need a good u19/20/21 setup for a decent senior side

Tralee are usually competive in the J1 league and played in the All Ireland Cup. Sure they lost 6 in a row which stunted their season but have won their last 3 on the trot. The scattered GAA season doesn't help with some retention but with a pathway to a professional contract there is incentive to stick with Rugby. A Munster pro contract is valuable in these economic times which the GAA doesn't offer. Even making it in to the Munster Junior team offers touring opportunities. Emigration is killing (not literally) a lot of GAA clubs even in Kerry I don't think it is as evident with Tralee Rugby. Junior numbers are very healthy with at least 25 kids per lower under age teams (u8s to u11s). That's the benefit of pooling all your resources in to one club which soccer and GAA don't have (there are at least 5 GAA clubs in the Tralee area). The Rugby club has a connection with the community (the GAA is obviously more tangible) you wouldn't hear much about the soccer clubs.

Rugby is developing in the Gaeltacht areas (Iveragh and Dingle) and that's great for the future for Rugby in Munster.

ormond lad

FalconXV wrote: »

Tralee are usually competive in the J1 league and played in the All Ireland Cup. Sure they lost 6 in a row which stunted their season but have won their last 3 on the trot. The scattered GAA season doesn't help with some retention but with a pathway to a professional contract there is incentive to stick with Rugby. A Munster pro contract is valuable in these economic times which the GAA doesn't offer. Even making it in to the Munster Junior team offers touring opportunities. Emigration is killing (not literally) a lot of GAA clubs even in Kerry I don't think it is as evident with Tralee Rugby. Junior numbers are very healthy with at least 25 kids per lower under age teams (u8s to u11s). That's the benefit of pooling all your resources in to one club which soccer and GAA don't have (there are at least 5 GAA clubs in the Tralee area). The Rugby club has a connection with the community (the GAA is obviously more tangible) you wouldn't hear much about the soccer clubs.

Rugby is developing in the Gaeltacht areas (Iveragh and Dingle) and that's great for the future for Rugby in Munster.

Is emigration not hitting them that bad, they're very lucky if thats the case as mant other clubs have been hit very hard. We've lost a lot of our regular 22 from last season for various reasons with emigration being a major contributor
The development officers are doing good work down there, now the clubs have to keep fielding teams. Pity 'island conceded their game to waterpark in the 19s today.
The west has been improving at the regional u17 level and there has been more and more west players on interpro u18 & 19 sides. If club sides field more often at the older age groups there will be more.

FalconXV

The u19s is a tough comp for numbers obviously. The more focus on keeping the numbers healthy in the under age groups is vital, hopefully the recession will be over by the time these kids turn 18! There is a focus from the Munster Branch in making sure all coaches are qualified which I don't think has been the case in the past. When I did the course a lot of coaches there haven't played the game. Obvious reflection on the later development of Rugby in terms of popularity in Ireland and especially in counties like Kerry. Backline play development is vital. There was a lot of focus in the course on planning sessions and drills. When I did my first session. The kids were very good at forward play. A few of them got perfect turnovers (which you don't see that often with the Munster pro team) and were rucking properly. Didn't have a clue at getting the ball past the scrum half. Fortunately the other coaches taught them the real basics which can take months with kids. I am not good at setting up drills and don't really plan the training sessions. We have over 20 kids at each session so drills can be a hassle. I pick up certain things that they need to work on and use basic skills training. Kids these days know more than you think and are quick at picking up what you are teaching them. Some of them can already side step and offload without my help. They have an enquiring mind about the game which I didn't have when I was growing up. The game wasn't on tv that often compared to now and you couldn't pick up ideas from the net.

ormond lad

FalconXV wrote: »

The u19s is a tough comp for numbers obviously. The more focus on keeping the numbers healthy in the under age groups is vital, hopefully the recession will be over by the time these kids turn 18! There is a focus from the Munster Branch in making sure all coaches are qualified which I don't think has been the case in the past. When I did the course a lot of coaches there haven't played the game. Obvious reflection on the later development of Rugby in terms of popularity in Ireland and especially in counties like Kerry. Backline play development is vital. There was a lot of focus in the course on planning sessions and drills. When I did my first session. The kids were very good at forward play. A few of them got perfect turnovers (which you don't see that often with the Munster pro team) and were rucking properly. Didn't have a clue at getting the ball past the scrum half. Fortunately the other coaches taught them the real basics which can take months with kids. I am not good at setting up drills and don't really plan the training sessions. We have over 20 kids at each session so drills can be a hassle. I pick up certain things that they need to work on and use basic skills training. Kids these days know more than you think and have quick at picking up what you are teaching them. Some of them can already side step and offload without my help.

The coaching courses could be changed to help this as ive done the minis course and will be doing the foundation soon enough and from the minis course and from what i know of some of the other courses they are very basic and focus too much on some issues like going into a lot of technical detail on making a pass that isnt really beneficial to minis coaches
Any chance you could comment more in the youths thread on west games esp at 17s and 19s and the pan munster. Would be handy enough to hear who look like the better teams, players etc from the west and who to look out for in the interpros

muscleshirt

in the present format the chances of putting out teams at u19 level in west munster are very slim,unless they combine their resourses which they have'nt been able to do so far
west munster i think as a region needs to be revised,it's really the kerry region with the inclusion of abbeyfeale,it tends to be dominated by these two clubs at under age, north cork and more of west limerick needs to be included to improve the standards in the region and make it more competitive,but sports politics takes precedence

ormond lad

muscleshirt wrote: »

in the present format the chances of putting out teams at u19 level in west munster are very slim,unless they combine their resourses which they have'nt been able to do so far
west munster i think as a region needs to be revised,it's really the kerry region with the inclusion of abbeyfeale,it tends to be dominated by these two clubs at under age, north cork and more of west limerick needs to be included to improve the standards in the region and make it more competitive,but sports politics takes precedence

I agree More clubs should be moved to the west but at 19s and maybe at 17s the west clubs should be playing in the south or north to give clubs from kery more games at a higher level.
Clubs should look to how much you can improve by combining by looking at the shannon-marys combo.

FalconXV

muscleshirt wrote: »

in the present format the chances of putting out teams at u19 level in west munster are very slim,unless they combine their resourses which they have'nt been able to do so far
west munster i think as a region needs to be revised,it's really the kerry region with the inclusion of abbeyfeale,it tends to be dominated by these two clubs at under age, north cork and more of west limerick needs to be included to improve the standards in the region and make it more competitive,but sports politics takes precedence

The under age teams that Tralee participate against come from Cork and Kerry mainly. That includes the big clubs like Cork Con and Dolphin. You would get the odd game between Abbeyfeale and Newcastle West. Tralee would be more likely to combine with Listowel than Castleisland. There is a rivalry between Tralee and Castleisland. The J1s get to play teams from Tipp and Limerick. Waterford hasn't entered the equation don't know who their junior teams play against. It seems like that county is an afterthought when it comes to Munster Rugby.

FalconXV

ormond lad wrote: »

The coaching courses could be changed to help this as ive done the minis course and will be doing the foundation soon enough and from the minis course and from what i know of some of the other courses they are very basic and focus too much on some issues like going into a lot of technical detail on making a pass that isnt really beneficial to minis coaches
Any chance you could comment more in the youths thread on west games esp at 17s and 19s and the pan munster. Would be handy enough to hear who look like the better teams, players etc from the west and who to look out for in the interpros

Haven't come across that thread.

Ultan Dillane from Tralee is in the Ireland under 19s squad. There are only 3 players from Munster in it. The rest are likely schools players from Ulster and Leinster as their schools systems are strong.

Hanrahan is still starting for Munster A I don't know how far off he is from making a Rabo matchday squad.


The coaching course was still good though. They ran through the drills that the kids would do, hands on with the course participants. For the majority of them it was their first go at contact rugby. I am not sure how often the foundation course is run. I get the players to use soft handling, passing from both sides and 4 on 3s. After I did that with them they become very good at counter attacking and scoring from turnover overlaps. Getting them to communicate and to trust each other rather than coming off their channel is not easy

ormond lad

FalconXV wrote: »

Haven't come across that thread.

Ultan Dillane from Tralee is in the Ireland under 19s squad. There are only 3 players from Munster in it. The rest are likely schools players from Ulster and Leinster as their schools systems are strong.

Hanrahan is still starting for Munster A I don't know how far off he is from making a Rabo matchday squad.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056217178&page=12

Munster have such a low representation because our player development system and talent identification system was not good enough but things are changing i believe.

JJ will be very close to pro 12 gametime by the end of the season, He's been in the academy for 2 seasons now and is nearly 20,he should be ready at this stage

FalconXV

ormond lad wrote: »

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056217178&page=12

Munster have such a low representation because our player development system and talent identification system was not good enough but things are changing i believe.

JJ will be very close to pro 12 gametime by the end of the season, He's been in the academy for 2 seasons now and is nearly 20,he should be ready at this stage

The Leinster Schools Cup is a key development focus. Munster is more difficult because of the geography and a lot of development seems to focus more on the clubs. I don't know what or if any schools play Rugby in Kerry. Ulster has a lot of clubs and rugby schools in Belfast which is close for travel

Hanrahan's development will depend on whether retain Mafi next season. Mafi obviously is key in matches that are played during international windows but he is getting on now.

ormond lad

FalconXV wrote: »

The Leinster Schools Cup is a key development focus. Munster is more difficult because of the geography and a lot of development seems to focus more on the clubs. I don't know what or if any schools play Rugby in Kerry. Ulster has a lot of clubs and rugby schools in Belfast which is close for travel

Scoil Mhuire agus Ide Newcastle West, CBS Tralee. Theres a few others
There is West Munster Senior and Junior Schools Cups.
Ita's Abbeyfeale won the west senior cup last year,
Mhuire agus Ide won the west junior cup and mount mercy hawk tralee won the junior plate
Munster has more focus on youths as theres less schools but leinster still hs more youths players registered than us by a good margin

FalconXV

ormond lad wrote: »

Scoil Mhuire agus Ide Newcastle West, CBS Tralee. Theres a few others
There is West Munster Senior and Junior Schools Cups.
Ita's Abbeyfeale won the west senior cup last year,
Mhuire agus Ide won the west junior cup and mount mercy hawk tralee won the junior plate
Munster has more focus on youths as theres less schools but leinster still hs more youths players registered than us by a good margin

Thanks. Just curious to see how many actually play just for their local club rather than their school as you rarely hear about schools rugby in Kerry. The population is much more spread in Munster. Wouldn't know about how Rugby is going in Clare and Waterford. Leinster have the advantage of the Dublin metropolitan area and prestiguous Rugby schools. Schools in Kildare, Wicklow and Louth have an advantage of being close to Dublin and the kids who end up going to college there have access to the big rugby clubs.

ormond lad

FalconXV wrote: »

Thanks. Just curious to see how many actually play just for their local club rather than their school as you rarely hear about schools rugby in Kerry. The population is much more spread in Munster. Wouldn't know about how Rugby is going in Clare and Waterford. Leinster have the advantage of the Dublin metropolitan area and prestiguous Rugby schools. Schools in Kildare, Wicklow and Louth have an advantage of being close to Dublin and the kids who end up going to college there have access to the big rugby clubs.

Rugby is going very well in waterford, Waterpark are munster champs at 17s and 19s for the past 2 seasons and won another double at 16s/18s 5 years ago. They have huge numbers at all ages and have big numbers at interpro and regional level every season
There is a couple of teams from clare in the pan munster at 17s and 19s, from what ive seen in terms of results they are doing ok.

muscleshirt

st,Ita's abbeyfeale is no more,the three schools in the town combined this year to form Abbeyfeale C.C and is has proved very successful from a sports point of view,they got to the o brien cup semi-final at senior and won the junior version, in years to come they could do very well ,abbeyfeale rfc gives them a lot of assistance ,the schools rugby standard in kerry is very low,the west munster cup is not even c standard

FalconXV

Good to see Rugby doing well in Waterford. Hopefully they will get a few in the Munster squads soon

muscleshirt wrote: »

st,Ita's abbeyfeale is no more,the three schools in the town combined this year to form Abbeyfeale C.C and is has proved very successful from a sports point of view,they got to the o brien cup semi-final at senior and won the junior version, in years to come they could do very well ,abbeyfeale rfc gives them a lot of assistance ,the schools rugby standard in kerry is very low,the west munster cup is not even c standard

Doesn't help that the best players and coaches are tied to clubs. Tralee from under 12s up I think play in leagues.

The lower underage groups play blitzs and train. These can be difficult to organise and there are a lot of postponements. Teamer is very handy

FalconXV

Big problems with Iveragh. The pitch hasn't been right for weeks and they are talking about bringing in synthetic surfaces. They don't have a club house either

harrismargaret

I hope they figure out some sport surfaces that will work soon!

FalconXV

They have to figure something out and Munster branch needs to pull finger. Iveragh is a key future development area for the game and new clubs need assistance. Killorglin can't be a fall back option as they don't have a great pitch either considering their numbers.