A great opportunity for Rugby.

patmac

Ireland’s momentous win on Saturday represents a terrific opportunity for the IRFU as it finally dawns on the average pub-going fan that watching Ronaldo et all being paid €150,000 per week to fall over, pout and moan at referees is not the most amazing sporting thing in the world as Sky would have us believe. A snap shot of some of the comments from the average soccer fan in the pubs who have been caught up in Ireland’s recent success are: ‘I’d rather watch England-Ireland in the rugby anyday over Man Utd – Liverpool’ ‘Would you said’ his mate in disbelief who then replied ‘I suppose I would too’ and then they all agreed they would. Whilst the comments of a few lads in a pub in Ballinasloe may not have much bearing on the world these were die hard Liverpool/Utd fans and many other comments I have heard tend to suggest that a great opportunity to capture the next generation of sporting talent has now arrived. Hopefully it won't impact on the GAA too much though;).

Spore

Here, here. Hopefully more people will come to the conclusion that modern football is nothing but a sham, the last financial bubble in the Western World can't wait to see the house of cards come crashing down, as soon as the grassroots supporter sees the likes of Man City as nothing more than a cyncial business and refuses to buy into it then the bubble will be burst and maybe it can start to mean something again.

Haven't watched a Premiership game in about four years and haven't missed it a bit.

escobar

Yeah Rugby is really coming on. We have The six nations trophy, The triple crown plate, The Heineken cup and the Magners league trophy all in Ireland. It's a great time for Irish rugby. It's a much better game than the overhyped barclays prima donna premiership.

Royale with Cheese

It's possible to like both sports you know. For me there's nothing worse than a rugby fan who can't tell you how much he likes rugby, without telling you why he hates football so much in the same sentence. And I know plenty of those guys.

escobar

C'mon the premiership is full of peacocks and prima donnas... falling over and harassing referees is as much of the game now as the other parts done with the football.

telemachus

Heehee, then everyone on here can slate all those damn "fairweather fans" who come out of the woodwork for internationals and aren't to be seen near a stadium bar Heineken cup semis onwards, at least the forum will be busy.

Hazys

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

It's possible to like both sports you know. For me there's nothing worse than a rugby fan who can't tell you how much he likes rugby, without telling you why he hates football so much in the same sentence. And I know plenty of those guys.

Theres nothing wrong with the actual game of soccer its a great game which is accessible to all and can be played by all ages.

But people who support the English Premiership irrate the crap out of me. Its overhyped and a marketed like crazy, i liken it to the bullsh1t celeb gosip mags that girls read. People go crazy over Man Utd and Liverpool here, spending tons of money each year supporting the English game while the Eircom League goes down the drain.

I'm certainly glad i follow a sport that is for the most part completely the opposite.

Carroller16

If the 'your only jumpin' on the bandwagon' moaners stop moaning maybe... so what if i am

escobar

Don't know where the fair weather fans comments came outa but I've supported rugby since we were fighting over who wouldn't get the wooden spoon in the five nations, maybe winning a match a year and I love all the new interest fairweather or not.

damselnat

anyone can jump on the bandwagon this weekend as far i'm concerned, whatever the weather.....the country needs a lift and if sport is it then hop right on....we're gonna need a bigger wagon...









(but yes, as long as they're not snapping up tickets that are ***** rare enough as it is!)

Sabre0001

I welcome our new fair-weather overlords I do like the new influx of interest, etc...and that people now get why I have liked and followed rugby. Except when I can't get my hands on tickets......but yet people, who years ago scoffed at watching the Celtic League and because it was only Leinster (i.e. one of the biggest games of the year in my book), can! Then I hate them

Catmologen

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

It's possible to like both sports you know. For me there's nothing worse than a rugby fan who can't tell you how much he likes rugby, without telling you why he hates football so much in the same sentence. And I know plenty of those guys.

Spot on with this, and I really hope the success of the rugby lad's will encourage more people to get behind the Irish soccer team in the next few matches!!!

Orizio

I agree with Cheese with Royale...we can enjoy both sports, Rugby and GAA, without any hassle or trouble.

Let us not speak of that other 'sport' however.

escobar

Catmologen wrote: »

Spot on with this, and I really hope the success of the rugby lad's will encourage more people to get behind the Irish soccer team in the next few matches!!![/quote

Completley agree, I don't think anyone here hates football. But it does look like some people are a bit sick of the pomposity of the barclays primadonnaship and prefer the game of rugby. I hope that the sucess of the national team in the six nations does get people behind the soccer team.

It does seem though that the premiership is detrimental to the national soccer team. As far as I know there has only been 50,000 to some of the recent matches in Croke Park and if the thread in the soccer forum is anything to go

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055519252

Amazotheamazing

Just so people know, Athlone is the base of the Irish u-20's side. Games are played on the Friday of a six nations weekend, this year we finished second, beating both France and England in Athlone. Think we've only lost one game in Athlone in the three years it's been our base.

There is also new clubs playing in the Midland's area, at the minute they are in the Connacht league, but are switching across to the Leinster leagues next season.

http://munsterfans.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=17607&PN=1

Davei141

The problem with bandwagon's is people jump off them as quickly as they jump on. If it get's people more interested in rugby as a whole that's brilliant and you can never lose that. If it just get's people interested in when Ireland win a match and enjoy the piss up then meh.

And leave the football slagging at the door, it just shows an inferiority complex from that individual. Something which the sport of rugby should not have.

escobar

Davei141 wrote: »

The problem with bandwagon's is people jump off them as quickly as they jump on. If it get's people more interested in rugby as a whole that's brilliant and you can never lose that. If it just get's people interested in when Ireland win a match and enjoy the piss up then meh.

And leave the football slagging at the door, it just shows an inferiority complex from that individual. Something which the sport of rugby should not have.

Hardly inferiority. No one slagged off football just the barclays primadonnaship. You must be able to see why people would like rugby compared to the on field acting harassing of referees and over hyped premiership. Wags and all.

You don't need to look any further than the match attendances of the provinces, which are some of the best in europe, to see the interest in rugby is on the rise. I would say the viewer numbers for leinster v ulster and especially Leinster v Munster will be through the roof . Really looking forward to the latter.

gcgirl

Its great to see kids pick up a rugby ball, I am a fan of the 3 sports mention and it is harder trying to get kids to take up rugby but with the resurgense of rugby you have kids wearing Leinster/Munster/Ulster & Connauch jerseys and the more kids playing rugby the better chance we have in the future and that includes the girls as well as the boys!!

Trojan

An "alternative" perspective from rugby's perennial nay-sayer, Tom Humphries:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby_union/article5946900.ece

ibuprofen

Spore wrote: »

Here, here. Hopefully more people will come to the conclusion that modern football is nothing but a sham, the last financial bubble in the Western World can't wait to see the house of cards come crashing down, as soon as the grassroots supporter sees the likes of Man City as nothing more than a cyncial business and refuses to buy into it then the bubble will be burst and maybe it can start to mean something again.

Haven't watched a Premiership game in about four years and haven't missed it a bit.

Can definitley see the premiership bubble bursting. It's moved away from football and into hype and glossy magazines. Doesn't mean as much as it used to.

Chucky the tree

escobar wrote: »

Hardly inferiority. No one slagged off football just the barclays primadonnaship. You must be able to see why people would like rugby compared to the on field acting harassing of referees and over hyped premiership. Wags and all.

You don't need to look any further than the match attendances of the provinces, which are some of the best in europe, to see the interest in rugby is on the rise. I would say the viewer numbers for leinster v ulster and especially Leinster v Munster will be through the roof . Really looking forward to the latter.

Connaught has one best attedndaces in europe? Wouldnt of guessed that. The large majority of the population wont turn from soccer to rugby, it's still seen by alot of people as an elitist sport.

thomond2006

patmac wrote: »

Ireland’s momentous win on Saturday represents a terrific opportunity for the IRFU as it finally dawns on the average pub-going fan that watching Ronaldo et all being paid €150,000 per week to fall over, pout and moan at referees is not the most amazing sporting thing in the world as Sky would have us believe. A snap shot of some of the comments from the average soccer fan in the pubs who have been caught up in Ireland’s recent success are: ‘I’d rather watch England-Ireland in the rugby anyday over Man Utd – Liverpool’ ‘Would you said’ his mate in disbelief who then replied ‘I suppose I would too’ and then they all agreed they would. Whilst the comments of a few lads in a pub in Ballinasloe may not have much bearing on the world these were die hard Liverpool/Utd fans and many other comments I have heard tend to suggest that a great opportunity to capture the next generation of sporting talent has now arrived. Hopefully it won't impact on the GAA too much though;).

There's somebody on the ball. :cool::cool:

Ginja Ninja

Davei141 wrote: »

it just shows an inferiority complex from that individual. Something which the sport of rugby should not have.

yuh,! and loik it's soooo loik uncool,(sorry, had to)
But,I agree we're making us all sound like whiny B****es unfortunately I'll put my hand up as a fair weather fan I follow Munster and I'm from connacht but I can't watch any of the matches,okay*sniffle*But I did buy the jersey:D.

To be fair thought It's nice(for me anyway )to actually have something to talk about with the lads (that I know more about ) then the whole soccer thing.I love GAA and I love rugby ,But soccer I mean half of them aren't even english on the english teams,at least the vast majority of our provincial players are irish.
Also,I find anyway the "quality" of people who play rugby to be a lot higher than soccer(your all so awesome guys) take for example the conversions you can always hear a pin drop but, for a soccer penalty he'll get booed 'till he misses.And for the referee's too I've never seen any dissent to a ref in rugby(well,almost none) in soccer you'll see players clapping at him,spitting at him insulting him and even threatening him (which,in rugby would be much more serious considering John Hayes etc.)

Davei141

escobar wrote: »

Hardly inferiority. No one slagged off football just the barclays primadonnaship. You must be able to see why people would like rugby compared to the on field acting harassing of referees and over hyped premiership. Wags and all.

We both know the pop at the premiership is just a convenient way to slag off football. How many times have i heard "wendyball" or some other such nonsense. Rugby and football completely different sports so why would somebody start a thread slagging football off unless it was inferiority? It's cringeworthy all the sly digs. If football wasn't so popular they wouldn't be made. And as a huge fan of both, i would rather not have to listen to countless people deciding to slag off football because Ireland won the grandslam.

escobar

Davei141 wrote: »

We both know the pop at the premiership is just a convenient way to slag off football. How many times have i heard "wendyball" or some other such nonsense. Rugby and football completely different sports so why would somebody start a thread slagging football off unless it was inferiority? It's cringeworthy all the sly digs. If football wasn't so popular they wouldn't be made. And as a huge fan of both, i would rather not have to listen to countless people deciding to slag off football because Ireland won the grandslam.

I remember years ago the spanish dived all the time and got a severe slagging, especially from the english ,now the premiership is probably worse.
They definitley should give out more cards for diving etc in football and the way the players treat the ref is deplorable.....you definitley wouldn't see that in a rugby match.
I don't think the grand slam has much to do with the slagging, and it's not football being slagged but the way it's being played and all the plastic fantastic hype.

Ginja Ninja

Well, for me any way it's one of the main reasons I admire some of our professionals so much in there discipline and how they give every inch,take for example when England singled out BOD the team pulled together and wouldn't stop until they got a try.That strength of character is never seen in soccer we always see players trying to get "freebies" and easy decisions from the ref (take the stereotype of the guy on the ground grabbing his face)Yet when Gordan D'arcy broke his arm he still went on to get the score[can't see ronaldo playing on if he dirtyed his socks]

eroo

The reason rugby has been hit in the past is for the attitude of a lot of those who play it. If you think rugby is the be all and end all you need to open your mind. Just because you may not like a sport, doesn't mean it's a 'prima donna premiership':rolleyes:

My favourite sport is Rugby, followed very closely by Hurling just so you don't think Im bashing Rugby..

damselnat

Trojan wrote: »

An "alternative" perspective from rugby's perennial nay-sayer, Tom Humphries:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby_union/article5946900.ece

Jaysus, if there's anyone who managed to "ignore" the rugby this weekend I take my hat off to them.....that's some feat whether you like the sport or not!

As for the will rugby replace other sports theories, I doubt it. It's a hard, complicated game to play. And if people prefer other sports, well, that's their prerogative. I have no interest or like for the game of soccer, and while I can happily watch GAA I don't follow it. If others want to, let them. Variety is the spice of life as they say

anonymous_joe

patmac wrote: »

Ireland’s momentous win on Saturday represents a terrific opportunity for the IRFU as it finally dawns on the average pub-going fan that watching Ronaldo et all being paid €150,000 per week to fall over, pout and moan at referees is not the most amazing sporting thing in the world as Sky would have us believe. A snap shot of some of the comments from the average soccer fan in the pubs who have been caught up in Ireland’s recent success are: ‘I’d rather watch England-Ireland in the rugby anyday over Man Utd – Liverpool’ ‘Would you said’ his mate in disbelief who then replied ‘I suppose I would too’ and then they all agreed they would. Whilst the comments of a few lads in a pub in Ballinasloe may not have much bearing on the world these were die hard Liverpool/Utd fans and many other comments I have heard tend to suggest that a great opportunity to capture the next generation of sporting talent has now arrived. Hopefully it won't impact on the GAA too much though;).

*yawns*

Oh my God Ireland won something, let's all follow it!

A vast majority of people I know who aren't from a rugby following background think it's shíte. They view it as barbaric and unskilled. In fact, when I went out with a relatively football-mad Dutch girl she thought it was genuinely awful compared to football. Mindless fighting basically. That's how it looks to those who don't understand it often enough. :pac:

Most Irish football fans are fairweather fans by definition (and as a United fan I'm guilty of that too) by their very existence because they support English teams.

Rugby is not 'better' than football or GAA or anything. It's a support, it has it's own place in the world. Why does it have to suddenly be better than football?

escobar wrote: »

C'mon the premiership is full of peacocks and prima donnas... falling over and harassing referees is as much of the game now as the other parts done with the football.

Premiership players are incredible athletes whose skills are blatanly obvious. They do whatever they can to win. Ronaldo diving is no different to Richie McCaw sneakily winning the ball in a ruck on the edges of legality.

ibuprofen wrote: »

Can definitley see the premiership bubble bursting. It's moved away from football and into hype and glossy magazines. Doesn't mean as much as it used to.

Bet you wouldn't say that if you came from Salford, or Wirral (is that the part of Liverpool I'm thinking of?) or North London, or the mad combination of poshest Chelsea and Kensington and some fairly dodgy Saf Landon areas that make up Chelsea's support.

Both sports are great, why rag on one?

Serenity Now!

anonymous_joe wrote: »

Both sports are great, why rag on one?

All down to taste, thats all. You're perfectly right.

Rugby union in Ireland didn't get where it was by constantly looking over its shoulder at the other big team sports here. A great pity that some supporters/players/whatever don't think like that.

anonymous_joe

Serenity Now! wrote: »

All down to taste, thats all. You're perfectly right.

Rugby union in Ireland didn't get where it was by constantly looking over its shoulder at the other big team sports here. A great pity that some supporters/players/whatever don't think like that.

Well tragically we had two sporting cultures that did end up clashing in the GAA and football, which seems to me a real pity.

I think rugby's a great sport, but it demands a lot of people to play it, for one thing, quality refs, etc, which do make it that bit harder to play.

Jackeenboy

Well Done Ireland on winning the six nations...Although it will probably be another 61 years before you win another one !

Podge_irl

Jackeenboy wrote: »

Well Done Ireland on winning the six nations...Although it will probably be another 61 years before you win another one !

Twas only 23 years since Ireland last won it, grand slam and 6N title ain't the same thing!

Macsimus

Back on topic, surely the IRFU need to get more schools playing rugby - Does anybody know anything about this? i.e. have many public schools started teams in the last decade?

If rugby is to continue to prosper here we need to bury the 'Rugby is Posh' stigma once and for all.. as far as im concerned theres nowt posh goes on out on the field, but the only way to bury the stigma is to get schools with kids from all walks of life playing

Podge_irl

I don't know about schools, but there are certainly a lot of clubs and youth teams springing up. Its possibly a better way to go about it given the "stigma" of the schools system (and the school system is of questionable benefit to the less successful schools anyway).

Macsimus

Podge_irl wrote: »

I don't know about schools, but there are certainly a lot of clubs and youth teams springing up. Its possibly a better way to go about it given the "stigma" of the schools system (and the school system is of questionable benefit to the less successful schools anyway).

Cheers for that Podge, I hope that the new youth teams are getting plenty of support from the powers that be.

As someone who went to one of the few non fee based Rugby schools Ive always had an interest in this - If anyone knows of a non fee school that has started a team in the last decade, please let me know...

spoon

Macsimus wrote: »

Cheers for that Podge, I hope that the new youth teams are getting plenty of support from the powers that be.

As someone who went to one of the few non fee based Rugby schools Ive always had an interest in this - If anyone knows of a non fee school that has started a team in the last decade, please let me know...

Castletroy College in Limerick... im pretty sure that's a public school, and their team have been doing really well for themselves. The school itself is less than 10 years old i think.

Macsimus

spoon wrote: »

Castletroy College in Limerick... im pretty sure that's a public school, and their team have been doing really well for themselves. The school itself is less than 10 years old i think.

Excellent :rolleyes:, nice one spoon - keep em coming lads and lassies

Serenity Now!

spoon wrote: »

Castletroy College in Limerick... im pretty sure that's a public school, and their team have been doing really well for themselves. The school itself is less than 10 years old i think.

They won the Munster schools cup in their sixth year of existence.

patmac

A lot of hostility to the opening post. I am a soccer fan a Man Utd one at that, with a passion for the GAA, I was just surprised at quotes from the average pub fan/bandwagonner if you like and wondered if any had heard likewise. I will be cheering on the 'boys in green' on Saturday, but remember Paul McShane earns more than Brian O'Driscoll and I am getting more and more disillusioned with the Premiership every year maybe it's old age but the rugby boys earn every cent they get. I didn't pay much heed to the Utd result last Saturday because the rugby imo was way more important, and anyway Ireland is in well Ireland!

anonymous_joe

patmac wrote: »

A lot of hostility to the opening post. I am a soccer fan a Man Utd one at that, with a passion for the GAA, I was just surprised at quotes from the average pub fan/bandwagonner if you like and wondered if any had heard likewise. I will be cheering on the 'boys in green' on Saturday, but remember Paul McShane earns more than Brian O'Driscoll and I am getting more and more disillusioned with the Premiership every year maybe it's old age but the rugby boys earn every cent they get. I didn't pay much heed to the Utd result last Saturday because the rugby imo was way more important, and anyway Ireland is in well Ireland!

Supply versus demand.

Far more people care about what Paul McShane than Brian O'Driscoll.

At the end of the day, footballers bring millions into their industry every year. Given that football's a non-profit-making industry, most of that money ends up in their pockets, which is only fair. If rugby was as popular, the players would get more money. Simple as.