I've come to ask the Irish...

brandon707

Is it ok if an American loves Irelands rugby team?

I love rugby... they don't even show it on tv in the states... not USA rugby or any other countries or clubs team.

I can't even watch it on BBC... stupid IP address...

USA's team is horrid anyway and I don't even think they're shown on TV anywhere and the nearest place they play games to me is on the other side of the states.

caseyann

OFC it is ok

Get satellite or subscribe for the stations its on?

I am sure some of the guys would have good links for you

and welcome to boards

[Jackass]

Welcome to boards, and of course ALL rugby fans are delighted to see people taking an interest in the game, but especially when someone takes an interest in their national team, so feel free to adopt Ireland as your team of choice. We have some close ties, Irish and USA rugby.

Irish man Eddie O'Sullivan coaches USA, USA are in our group for the world cup in 2011, and of course, Irish legend Ronan O'Gara is USA by birth, Munster by the grace of immigration. (joke people, calm down )

Not only is the Irish team a great team to support, but the Irish domestic teams are quite good too, especially Leinster and Munster, both recently European Champions, and our northern brethren, Ulster, former European Champions back at the turn of the millenium. Connacht are our development team, and are everybodies second favourite team in Ireland! (unless you're from Connacht of course!! ). They're given real underdog status and aren't treated all that well by the IRFU, particularly the fans who had to fight to keep the province in existance not so long ago. You should watch some Magners League and Heineken Cup rugby if you get a chance.

You can usually catch live online streams which can be found by visiting tlive streaming sites like www.myp2p.eu, which shows lots of live sport, and the generous folks of boards.ie often post links to games that are being shown live on the web, as they happen, in the Streams sticky at the top of the forum.

Rugby is a great sport, different to any other sort as no matter how bitter a rivalry, no matter how fierce a contest, there is always mutual respect between players and fans and the game is famed for it's social aspects and how the sport dicates and demands respect in order to be part of it. You wont find (or at least compared to most other highly physical contact sports) much trouble in any aspects of rugby.

One of my favourite things about rugby is the respect afforded to he ref....when compared to a sport such as soccer for example...

Anyway, enjoy, don't be afraid to contribute here, everyone is just shooting the breeze, and everyone always has time to explain things and discuss things with newcomers should they wish.

wonton

kind of ironic that you came on today, irelands first match in the world cup next year is against usa on this date................yes .....9/11


usa isnt that terrible, its just the teams above are that much better.
the differences between the best few teams and the next few is very big in rugby.

one of the american wingers ngwenya plays for the french club Biarritz who got to the final of the heineken cup(best of europe)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nszbXZtiqxE

usa also got try of the 2007 world cup with this beauty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWtBTvCDjX4

usa play in the churcill cup most years, heres them playing russia this year. russia are also in usa's group in the world cup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpVrw3ZDppg

have you heard of http://www.rugbydump.blogspot.com/?

its a site that puts up highlights of alot of rugby games.


also if you check the dates and times for rugby matchs you can usually find streams on http://www.iraqgoals.net/

especially internationals, the french "top 14" and the english "aviva premiership", they would probaby be on fridays and saturdays in the evening so around midday to late after noon for you.

durkadurka

Jaysus you guys are too nice! Took me years to get all of this intel.

You'll be explaining ruck laws coherently next...

Kiwi_knock

The USA are a good team, not up to the standards of the Tri Nations or 6 nations but certainly are heading in the right direction. I think you along with Russia could provide a few shocks next year at the WC. Ireland should not be taking you lightly, I think it is highly possible that US or Russia could get a win against Italy. Both teams looked very good in the Churchill Cup and I fully expect their match at the WC next year to be a entertaining one with both Ngwenya and Artemiev playing.

brandon707

Thanks for all the responses everyone!

I fell in love with rugby when I played on the practice squad for a local adult semi-pro team when I was 16. I joined my high school team last year and I've loved every second of it.

Although I despise playing 2nd row, I LOVE 8 man it's the most fun I've ever had in a sport.

(Also on a side note, rugby is slowly growing in the US. I expect within the next 50 years, we will be in the top tier of competition and mentioned next to New Zealand, England, Ireland and the like.

We have a huge pool of players to choose from due to size and we pour money into sports too. :P)

Ireland is my favorite international team and I'll cheer for them in every match up but USA v Ireland.

Kiwi_knock

The US have a massive pool of potential players to choose from. You only have to look at those players who get rejected for American Football. Your looking at big physical guys but also some speedsters that could fit into the style of play of Rugby. I think you are right in saying that in 50 years America could be a major force in world rugby. I think America only has to realise the potential they have to be a major player though, there certainly is a market for it in America. The problem will be exposure and that is where America will struggle to promote Rugby as an interesting alternative to the other American household sports.

mink_man

Kiwi_knock wrote: »

The US have a massive pool of potential players to choose from. You only have to look at those players who get rejected for American Football. Your looking at big physical guys but also some speedsters that could fit into the style of play of Rugby. I think you are right in saying that in 50 years America could be a major force in world rugby. I think America only has to realise the potential they have to be a major player though, there certainly is a market for it in America. The problem will be exposure and that is where America will struggle to promote Rugby as an interesting alternative to the other American household sports.

not so sure...the population of america is huge...there is competition from GAA, soccer and hurling in ireland and still the Ireland rugby team is a top top team.

wonton

canada are also getting good, they beat a very strong france "a" side this year.

I read somewhere that rugby is americas fastest growing highschoolsport.


also with the inclusion of rugby sevens in the 2016 olympics, i could see it alot sooner.

rugby is growing alot internationally and that will help too, like for expample the 2019 world cup is in japan, the first time it was ever in a none tradtional rugby playing country(they play some weird game there called basball )

Kiwi_knock

In Ireland we benefit from schools that directly promote rugby as their main sport and practically sideline all the other sports. I think and correct me if I am wrong that American schools try and give equal footing to all their sports but of course most of the numbers are spread out between American Football, Baseball, Basketball and Soccer. A school rugby team will be made up of the castoffs of the bigger sports, and that is what it will be seen by American people. A sport of rejects and nobodies.

brandon707

I will tell you what the current American high school rugby scene is like.

First of all the main sport is American Football hands down no competition it is a HUGE deal we even have 2 hours off friday for pep rallys where the entire school packs into the gym and basically hypes up the football team a few hours before the game.

The football team even practices from 6am-9am ( getting to skip their first academic class of the day for practice) and then after school from 3pm-7pm 5 days a week during the season. Sometimes even 6 days.

All the sports have access to weight rooms except rugby. (at least at public schools)

We also do the same for basketball but it's not as big a deal.

Anyway back to rugby,

Rugby is currently a "club" at public schools. Because of insurance reasons schools can't officially consider it a sport. Basically all it means is schools don't fund us even though there are school teams. We play on reject fields.( not perfectly cut and level ones)

A lot of football players play rugby in the off season as it is a late winter/spring sport here.

MANY of the nonathletic play since it is a walk on team, they get put on B,C, and D sides.

However our A sides are made up of some football players on offseason along with the very athletically talented who are lazy or busy. ( the reason for this is most teams only practice 2 days a week.)

All of our coaches volunteer from a local college to work with us.

Another reason, right now our most athletic ONLY play rugby in college out of love. EVERY university drafts kids for football, baseball, basketball, etc. and pays their tuition, however only maybe 20 universities( out of thousands) across the nation would do the same for rugby. Our college rugby teams at most schools are also considered clubs.

Sorry for the long post.

P.S. every time I said football in this post I was referring to American Football.

Kiwi_knock

Would have the players have any interest in Rugby as a sport or is it just seen as a way of keeping fit and ready for Football season?

brandon707

Kiwi_knock wrote: »

Would have the players have any interest in Rugby as a sport or is it just seen as a way of keeping fit and ready for Football season?

No they have total interest and I have asked them and the majority say they prefer to play rugby over football.

But they don't take it as seriously as football do to the amount we practice and the whole social situation of athletics in the states at the moment.

You know what I mean? You're the best running back (guy who runs with the ball a lot) on the football team. BIG DEAL.

You're the fastest most agile guy on the rugby team and you score over half our trys. No one cares except the team.

Our football team goes 14-3 in a season but looses in the first round of playoffs. BIG DEAL.

Our rugby team goes to state( the top two teams in the state playing for the championship), we get casually mentioned.

They even make individual t-shirts for EACH football game during the season for fans to wear.

wonton

haha the word football is one of the most confusing in the world.


like we have gaelic "football" here and soccer and rugby, i have heard the word football can sometimes be used for either.

although in fairness soccer is was just an abriveiation of "association football".



one thing i would like to know, is there a much difference in the popularity of sport by different areas? like in ireland there is places where it is nealry only the one sport like kilkenny for hulring.


for some reason i think of texas, the midwest, and new england as the powerhouses of american football.base ball i think north east. ice hockey midwest comes to mind. north eastcomes to mind when i think of basketball too.........i duno though,maybe just from sitcoms and movies based in them places

brandon707

wonton wrote: »

haha the word football is one of the most confusing in the world.


like we have gaelic "football" here and soccer and rugby, i have heard the word football can sometimes be used for either.

although in fairness soccer is was just an abriveiation of "association football".



one thing i would like to know, is there a much difference in the popularity of sport by different areas? like in ireland there is places where it is nealry only the one sport like kilkenny for hulring.


for some reason i think of texas, the midwest, and new england as the powerhouses of american football.base ball i think north east. ice hockey midwest comes to mind. north eastcomes to mind when i think of basketball too.........i duno though,maybe just from sitcoms and movies based in them places

When it comes to college every big American sport is big everywhere, however in high school it's,

Football: Everywhere but New England, with the south-east and midwest OBSESSING over it.( i live in Tennessee, South-East) ( texas is south- east, fyi.)

Baseball: Midwest

Basketball: North & New England

Hockey: Every state bordering Canada.

Oh and the midwest is big on wrestling. particularly Iowa. They LOVE wrestling. Lol.

CIARAN_BOYLE

brandon707 wrote: »

No they have total interest and I have asked them and the majority say they prefer to play rugby over football.

But they don't take it as seriously as football do to the amount we practice and the whole social situation of athletics in the states at the moment.

I so get that, in my high school 99% of all sport teams for one age group was filled by the same 20 guys.

They had their favorite sports (soccer and rugby usually) and the sports that the school took seriously and offered time off clas for training (gaelic and hurling). Also add in the sports that were there and the fit people were expected (bullied by teachers) to take part in (athletics, tennis, basketball and field hockey).

colman1212

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

I so get that, in my high school 99% of all sport teams for one age group was filled by the same 20 guys.

They had their favorite sports (soccer and rugby usually) and the sports that the school took seriously and offered time off clas for training (gaelic and hurling). Also add in the sports that were there and the fit people were expected (bullied by teachers) to take part in (athletics, tennis, basketball and field hockey).

You the same lad thats going playing with landsdowne this season?

Exiled2NY

brandon707 wrote: »

Is it ok if an American loves Irelands rugby team?

I love rugby... they don't even show it on tv in the states... not USA rugby or any other countries or clubs team.

I can't even watch it on BBC... stupid IP address...

USA's team is horrid anyway and I don't even think they're shown on TV anywhere and the nearest place they play games to me is on the other side of the states.

Subscribe to Fox Soccer Plus. They show Super 14, Tri-nations, ITM Cuo, Currie Cup, Aviva Premiership and Magners League. Its quality

Not sure about the Hieneken Cup though....have to wait and see!!!