All Ireland League

CIARAN_BOYLE

What is with RTE and the BBC referring to the All Ireland League as the AIB league.

AIB has ended its sponsorship the league so why is it still refered to as the AIB league.

Below I've links to two recent Irish times articles mentioning that the league has no sponsorship. I also have links to BBC and RTE websites where the AIB league is mentioned referring to this year.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2010/1022/1224281721476.html
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2010/0929/1224279897079.html

http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/rugby_tables_aibleaguedivision1.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/9121542.stm

Goodluck2me

mostly down to the similarity of the names Id imagine

[Jackass]

It's part of the charity "Help De Banks - It's Not Deir Fault" outreach programme.

icdg

The real reason, of course, is likely to be that they simply haven't noticed that the league is no longer sponsored, or they haven't bothered changing it yet. It is an issue in that AIB is effectively getting free advertising. This should be even more of an issue for the BBC since they don't take advertising and there should be a question about them even using sponsor names/logos for sports (though they are in most cases contractually obliged to do so, IIRC when they had live coverage rights for the UEFA Cup-Winners Cup they were still obliged to air the stings).

ISTR that in the early 1990s, RTÉ gave the All-Ireland League a regular television slot following the classified football results on Sports Stadium. Now its lucky to get even a mention on sports bulittens.

DW74

I honestly don't think it matters to anybody even for the hard nosed die hard anorak A.I.L. club supporter what the league is called. It speaks volumes that the I.R.F.U. could not find a sponsor for the league, A.I.B. announced pulling their sponsorship over 12 months ago.
The league is as bankrupt as its former sponsor, mostly broke having paid out silly money to spoilt players and some carpet bagging coaches over the last 15 years. The press deservedly pay the league the attention it deserves. The state of clubhouses and grounds of most clubs are a visible testament of where the money was not spent during the good times. Unfortunately unlike the GAA where they mostly have great club facilities the rugby clubs (supposed to be the grass roots of the game) have poor facilities for their members in comparison, bar very few examples. For any club to be still paying out (mostly untaxed) to players to enjoy their sport is crazy, it is a truly amateur league with a continuous decline in standards and "attendances" testify to that. Hence many club alickadoos have deserted their clubs for fear of being tapped up every time they visit their club, there is nothing for their subscription and this season get blackmailed to fork out close to €1K between their subs, levy and match tickets for Landsowne Road.
Despite this madness there are junior clubs out there also spending mad money in a race to join this mickey mouse league when they should stay as amateur as possbile, enhance their facilities for their members and enjoy themselves without the hassle of looking after foreign players and the spoilt players who claim they are worth getting a cheque after a club rugby match. Dont mind the propaganda the union and their followers may state they clearly could not care less about the clubs and have not for last 20 years. With clubs running out of money and dealing with debts common sense will eventually pervail and the clubs will return to their amateur roots. Players will still be playing, enjoying themselves for free and perhaps old and new rugby club members will return.

Gracelessly Tom

DW74 wrote: »

I honestly don't think it matters to anybody even for the hard nosed die hard anorak A.I.L. club supporter what the league is called. It speaks volumes that the I.R.F.U. could not find a sponsor for the league, A.I.B. announced pulling their sponsorship over 12 months ago.
The league is as bankrupt as its former sponsor, mostly broke having paid out silly money to spoilt players and some carpet bagging coaches over the last 15 years. The press deservedly pay the league the attention it deserves. The state of clubhouses and grounds of most clubs are a visible testament of where the money was not spent during the good times. Unfortunately unlike the GAA where they mostly have great club facilities the rugby clubs (supposed to be the grass roots of the game) have poor facilities for their members in comparison, bar very few examples. For any club to be still paying out (mostly untaxed) to players to enjoy their sport is crazy, it is a truly amateur league with a continuous decline in standards and "attendances" testify to that. Hence many club alickadoos have deserted their clubs for fear of being tapped up every time they visit their club, there is nothing for their subscription and this season get blackmailed to fork out close to €1K between their subs, levy and match tickets for Landsowne Road.
Despite this madness there are junior clubs out there also spending mad money in a race to join this mickey mouse league when they should stay as amateur as possbile, enhance their facilities for their members and enjoy themselves without the hassle of looking after foreign players and the spoilt players who claim they are worth getting a cheque after a club rugby match. Dont mind the propaganda the union and their followers may state they clearly could not care less about the clubs and have not for last 20 years. With clubs running out of money and dealing with debts common sense will eventually pervail and the clubs will return to their amateur roots. Players will still be playing, enjoying themselves for free and perhaps old and new rugby club members will return.

Some of your points have a small bit of merit but they seem to be hidden under all the bitterness! That's some tirade against club rugby!!

Do you have any affliation to a club or are you just a club rugby hater??

bamboozle

Gracelessly Tom wrote: »

Some of your points have a small bit of merit but they seem to be hidden under all the bitterness! That's some tirade against club rugby!!

Do you have any affliation to a club or are you just a club rugby hater??

my thoughts exactly, thou the pro game has seen the rise and quick demise of clubs such as Carlow, Portadown and Belfast Harlequins there are still lots of clubs run on a sensible basis.
even in the last 2 seasons i've seen a far better relationship develop between provinces and clubs with regards allowing contracted players get game time in the AIL. Academy players are getting decent game time in the AIL also. You only have to look at Connacht this season to see the likes of Darragh Fanning & Rob Sweeney getting contracts based on their AIL form with Mary's last season and also Simon Shawe with Leinster.
Young Munster entertained Garryowen in front of 3500 fans a few weeks back, i was at Clontarf v Bucanneers last weekend and there was a good crowd and a great game in which the standard was very high.

my only issue with the AIL is that there are lots of fair weather provincial fans out there who've never played club rugby or set foot at an AIL match.

Gracelessly Tom

The AIL is due to change next season. It will be purely for the development of young Irish talent. Max of two fully contracted players per team each matchday (only 1 of these can be a forward) and no foreign contracted players.

This will help the academy guys get game time against a decent standard opposition and not just guys the same age as them. It will also uncover a few players who may have slipped through the cracks at provincial/ schools level.

Gracelessly Tom

DW74 wrote: »

.

To say the AIL is useless and pointless and only serves to drain clubs of money is the statement of someone who doesn't attend matches too often!

Try telling Marys, Cork Con, Shannon, Belvo, or any of the AIL clubs and 1st team players that the league is "Mickey Mouse"!!

If this is what you think about rugby clubs than you should try watching a lower level football match where guys get changed at the side of a road and have no showers, no dressing rooms, no facilities whatsoever yet are asked to fork over more money than rugby clubs in membership subs.

Maybe they should stop all sub-professional levels of sport full stop? Then we can all sit back, get fat and unfit and watch the pro's so us how. :rolleyes:

thomond2006

DW74 wrote: »

I honestly don't think it matters to anybody even for the hard nosed die hard anorak A.I.L. club supporter what the league is called. It speaks volumes that the I.R.F.U. could not find a sponsor for the league, A.I.B. announced pulling their sponsorship over 12 months ago.
The league is as bankrupt as its former sponsor, mostly broke having paid out silly money to spoilt players and some carpet bagging coaches over the last 15 years. The press deservedly pay the league the attention it deserves. The state of clubhouses and grounds of most clubs are a visible testament of where the money was not spent during the good times. Unfortunately unlike the GAA where they mostly have great club facilities the rugby clubs (supposed to be the grass roots of the game) have poor facilities for their members in comparison, bar very few examples. For any club to be still paying out (mostly untaxed) to players to enjoy their sport is crazy, it is a truly amateur league with a continuous decline in standards and "attendances" testify to that. Hence many club alickadoos have deserted their clubs for fear of being tapped up every time they visit their club, there is nothing for their subscription and this season get blackmailed to fork out close to €1K between their subs, levy and match tickets for Landsowne Road.
Despite this madness there are junior clubs out there also spending mad money in a race to join this mickey mouse league when they should stay as amateur as possbile, enhance their facilities for their members and enjoy themselves without the hassle of looking after foreign players and the spoilt players who claim they are worth getting a cheque after a club rugby match. Dont mind the propaganda the union and their followers may state they clearly could not care less about the clubs and have not for last 20 years. With clubs running out of money and dealing with debts common sense will eventually pervail and the clubs will return to their amateur roots. Players will still be playing, enjoying themselves for free and perhaps old and new rugby club members will return.

Woah. Steady on son!

Digifriendly

bamboozle wrote: »

my thoughts exactly, thou the pro game has seen the rise and quick demise of clubs such as Carlow, Portadown and Belfast Harlequins there are still lots of clubs run on a sensible basis.
even in the last 2 seasons i've seen a far better relationship develop between provinces and clubs with regards allowing contracted players get game time in the AIL. Academy players are getting decent game time in the AIL also. You only have to look at Connacht this season to see the likes of Darragh Fanning & Rob Sweeney getting contracts based on their AIL form with Mary's last season and also Simon Shawe with Leinster.
Young Munster entertained Garryowen in front of 3500 fans a few weeks back, i was at Clontarf v Bucanneers last weekend and there was a good crowd and a great game in which the standard was very high.

my only issue with the AIL is that there are lots of fair weather provincial fans out there who've never played club rugby or set foot at an AIL match.

I watch Dungannon in AIL 1B and if there's 200 - 250 people at an AIL game that's about the height of it. It's very sad to see the attendances decline. The year Dungannon won the AIL (2001) there were c3000 for a league game against Ballymena. I can also remember Shannon bringing literally hordes of supporters to Stevenson Park for an AIL game some 8-9 years ago and the same with Galwegians the year Dungannon won promotion via the provincial play offs into the AIL for the first time c1991.
The club game in Ulster is really struggling at the moment and when you think of the decline of once great clubs like Ards (remember Phil Matthews/Nigel Carr), Bangor (remember Jimmy McCoy/Billy McComb), CIYMS (yes they were once one of the top clubs in Ireland - remember Eddie Grant/Frank Wilson) it is indeed depressing. I don't know how this decline is going to be stopped but surely the clubs are the grassroots of the game and more should be done to improve their fortunes.

Khan77

I think the All ireland league stucture is unsustainable in its present form and becoming increasingly so next year when expanded to 52 clubs. 18 years ago when it was first instigated the clubs were effectively the shop window for the domestic game, save 3-4 interpros per year per province. Now the provinces are the step below internationals and with that the top players are only there for the H cup games and half the Magners. Below that is the extended squad who tend to play during periods where internationals are restricted. Then the British-Irish Cup, A-games and U-20 games all kick in before the club game. I think the AIL should be downsized maybe to a 8 team premier league playing home and away, an 8 team 1st division and then an 8 team north and a 8 team south with promotion from the qualifying leagues into this. I play with guys who used to play AIL and the travel is the killer on top of two-three club sessions a week plus personal training. Girlfriends, kids, career mean they just stop playing. And the state of the finances of some club also is shocking. I know of two clubs who have both applied to have their OD facility extended and have been knocked back. Both figures have been in the region of €300K. Madness.

Gracelessly Tom

Khan77 wrote: »

Below that is the extended squad who tend to play during periods where internationals are restricted. Then the British-Irish Cup, A-games and U-20 games all kick in before the club game.

No A games or B&I cup games can be scheduled for AIL weekends, agreement in place with the IRFU, hence the reason the club game is moving toward being the regular shop window for the extended squad.

Goodluck2me

icdg wrote: »

The real reason, of course, is likely to be that they simply haven't noticed that the league is no longer sponsored, or they haven't bothered changing it yet. It is an issue in that AIB is effectively getting free advertising. This should be even more of an issue for the BBC since they don't take advertising and there should be a question about them even using sponsor names/logos for sports (though they are in most cases contractually obliged to do so, IIRC when they had live coverage rights for the UEFA Cup-Winners Cup they were still obliged to air the stings).
.

What does this mean, is it a type of Ad?

Gracelessly Tom wrote: »

No A games or B&I cup games can be scheduled for AIL weekends, agreement in place with the IRFU, hence the reason the club game is moving toward being the regular shop window for the extended squad.

Yes, I agree with you and play AIL myself, but how much longer can we expect that agreement to withstand?
I think that within 3 years, the AIL will be a very apparent 5th tier of Irish rugby

International Team, Senior Provinces, Int'l u20, Academy then AIL.

The league needs a sponsor and is without doubt integral to the promotion of players into the provincial set-ups especially where there is a paucity of rugby playing schools.

JustinDee

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

What is with RTE and the BBC referring to the All Ireland League as the AIB league.

AIB has ended its sponsorship the league so why is it still refered to as the AIB league.

Below I've links to two recent Irish times articles mentioning that the league has no sponsorship. I also have links to BBC and RTE websites where the AIB league is mentioned referring to this year.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2010/1022/1224281721476.html
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2010/0929/1224279897079.html

http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/rugby_tables_aibleaguedivision1.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/9121542.stm

Thanks for the links.
I'll pass on to IRFU marketing dept.

Gracelessly Tom

Goodluck2me wrote: »

Yes, I agree with you and play AIL myself, but how much longer can we expect that agreement to withstand?
I think that within 3 years, the AIL will be a very apparent 5th tier of Irish rugby

International Team, Senior Provinces, Int'l u20, Academy then AIL.

The league needs a sponsor and is without doubt integral to the promotion of players into the provincial set-ups especially where there is a paucity of rugby playing schools.

Hopefully for years to come!:) But I understand your scepticism. Without a sponsor it could be hard for the IRFU to continue funding it. Can't see any company wanting to fork out the sort of cash needed to sponsor the league at the moment.

CIARAN_BOYLE

Gracelessly Tom wrote: »

Hopefully for years to come!:) But I understand your scepticism. Without a sponsor it could be hard for the IRFU to continue funding it. Can't see any company wanting to fork out the sort of cash needed to sponsor the league at the moment.

I know what you mean, hopefully they can find a partial sponsor and maybe the IRFU can go halfs on paying the funding for a while maybe.

bamboozle

Digifriendly wrote: »

I watch Dungannon in AIL 1B and if there's 200 - 250 people at an AIL game that's about the height of it. It's very sad to see the attendances decline. The year Dungannon won the AIL (2001) there were c3000 for a league game against Ballymena. I can also remember Shannon bringing literally hordes of supporters to Stevenson Park for an AIL game some 8-9 years ago and the same with Galwegians the year Dungannon won promotion via the provincial play offs into the AIL for the first time c1991.
The club game in Ulster is really struggling at the moment and when you think of the decline of once great clubs like Ards (remember Phil Matthews/Nigel Carr), Bangor (remember Jimmy McCoy/Billy McComb), CIYMS (yes they were once one of the top clubs in Ireland - remember Eddie Grant/Frank Wilson) it is indeed depressing. I don't know how this decline is going to be stopped but surely the clubs are the grassroots of the game and more should be done to improve their fortunes.

well we should be bringing at least 50 fans up to stevenson park this weekend...hope we bring back 4 points!
Dungannon dont seem to have many ulster players involved or is it just me?

Goodluck2me

Gracelessly Tom wrote: »

Hopefully for years to come!:) But I understand your scepticism. Without a sponsor it could be hard for the IRFU to continue funding it. Can't see any company wanting to fork out the sort of cash needed to sponsor the league at the moment.

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

I know what you mean, hopefully they can find a partial sponsor and maybe the IRFU can go halfs on paying the funding for a while maybe.

I know the IRFU can't be all things to all people, but they should be looking at the Connaght Situaiton and AIL before it is too late, they need lateral growth across the country or they risk the places outside South Dublin/Limerick being marginalised. You need a local successful club imo to harbour any sort or realistic ambition of playing for your country, and lots of areas lack this - such as the north west and south east.

CIARAN_BOYLE

Goodluck2me wrote: »

I know the IRFU can't be all things to all people, but they should be looking at the Connaght Situaiton and AIL before it is too late, they need lateral growth across the country or they risk the places outside South Dublin/Limerick being marginalised. You need a local successful club imo to harbour any sort or realistic ambition of playing for your country, and lots of areas lack this - such as the north west and south east.

I agree with you about the club situation in connacht being a problem. There are iirc a few cubs in connacht without any sponsor for the club

Goodluck2me

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

I agree with you about the club situation in connacht being a problem. There are iirc a few cubs in connacht without any sponsor for the club

I think the level of success you would get from a fully funded and successful Connacht side would reap much more reward than Munster/Leinster going from Semi-finalists to winners.

I make the comparison as the cost of funding an Ollie la Roux and a Rocky Elsom IMO would gain a better return In Connacht, IF, a big if mind, it was managed correctly.