Return to Rugby - South Side Clubs

[Jackass]

A lot of suggestion for small local clubs here, which is good, but this might be a bit harsh on smaller clubs, but I find if you're at a bigger club and play J4 or whatever it's a lot better organised and bigger group to get to know.

Trout for example I'd say Clontarf around the corner would be a no brainer. On southside Old Belvedere is another great club with big playing numbers at all levels.

Small local clubs are good too, Bective and Monkstown etc., but the bigger clubs would be my preference personally.

ormond lad

ColmH81 wrote: »

I thought Rock had ditched all teams expect 1sts, 2nds and u21s? Twould be good if they started their 3rds and 4ths again..

They had dropped a few teams last season anyway. would assume they'll be fielding another side below 2nds this year,
will j2/3 leagues be combined next season like they were this season or will there be separate leagues again?
would be mad to see club, old boy of biggest rugby playing school in country, only fielding 2/3 adult sides. they should be well capable of fielding 5+ sides at adult level in addition to their 2 20s/21s sides

[Jackass] wrote: »

A lot of suggestion for small local clubs here, which is good, but this might be a bit harsh on smaller clubs, but I find if you're at a bigger club and play J4 or whatever it's a lot better organised and bigger group to get to know.

Trout for example I'd say Clontarf around the corner would be a no brainer. On southside Old Belvedere is another great club with big playing numbers at all levels.

Small local clubs are good too, Bective and Monkstown etc., but the bigger clubs would be my preference personally.

Id disagree. Smaller clubs better off.
Disagree that playing j4 in clontarf, belvo is better organised. Tarf etc have 6 sides or so at adult level but that doesn't mean better. More chance of playing to higher standard in smaller club.

trouttrout

[Jackass] wrote: »

A lot of suggestion for small local clubs here, which is good, but this might be a bit harsh on smaller clubs, but I find if you're at a bigger club and play J4 or whatever it's a lot better organised and bigger group to get to know.

Trout for example I'd say Clontarf around the corner would be a no brainer. On southside Old Belvedere is another great club with big playing numbers at all levels.

Small local clubs are good too, Bective and Monkstown etc., but the bigger clubs would be my preference personally.

ormond lad wrote: »

They had dropped a few teams last season anyway. would assume they'll be fielding another side below 2nds this year,
will j2/3 leagues be combined next season like they were this season or will there be separate leagues again?
would be mad to see club, old boy of biggest rugby playing school in country, only fielding 2/3 adult sides. they should be well capable of fielding 5+ sides at adult level in addition to their 2 20s/21s sides
Id disagree. Smaller clubs better off.
Disagree that playing j4 in clontarf, belvo is better organised. Tarf etc have 6 sides or so at adult level but that doesn't mean better. More chance of playing to higher standard in smaller club.

tbh, I reckon I'd prefer a smaller club. Was hoping to play AIL this year with my home club but my work hours aren't going to allow me to commit as much with a club up here so it's more to stay playing/social side of things.

dregin

trouttrout wrote: »

tbh, I reckon I'd prefer a smaller club. Was hoping to play AIL this year with my home club but my work hours aren't going to allow me to commit as much with a club up here so it's more to stay playing/social side of things.

Unidare are up the road in Ballymun. They've a tag league on the go at the minute and pre-season starts at the end of July. Their first team played J4 last season.

http://www.unidarerfc.com

ColmH81

ormond lad wrote: »

They had dropped a few teams last season anyway. would assume they'll be fielding another side below 2nds this year,
will j2/3 leagues be combined next season like they were this season or will there be separate leagues again?
would be mad to see club, old boy of biggest rugby playing school in country, only fielding 2/3 adult sides. they should be well capable of fielding 5+ sides at adult level in addition to their 2 20s/21s sides
Id disagree. Smaller clubs better off.
Disagree that playing j4 in clontarf, belvo is better organised. Tarf etc have 6 sides or so at adult level but that doesn't mean better. More chance of playing to higher standard in smaller club.

From what I heard they were screwed for money.. Which is terrible.. They were looking at selling pitches and everything..

Eponymous

If you're on the Northside, Unidare is definitely a great club. Really good bunch of lads and they have the social aspect nailed!

trouttrout, I'm a Stillorgan member, recently retired. What club are you coming from?

As for small club V big club: I've played for a senior club in the past and left precisely because the senior club was moving players about from team to team, dropping lads down from higher teams to be sure the lower teams beat their opposition etc. Not good for the morale of lads training for that team to be dropped will sometimes no notice until you arrived at the dressing rooms. Best move I ever made was switching.

Buer

Think I'd agree, Eponymous. There's definitely a lot of that in the bigger clubs. I've played for a couple and, on any given day, you could have two or three players from a higher team lining out for a lower team to get a game whilst regulars sit on the bench. Have seen it at a good few clubs both in playing with them and seeing it on the opposition sides.

TT, if you're good enough to be considering playing AIL level, J4 will be beneath you, to be honest. You'd be bored out of your tree playing lads in their thirties and novices running around trying to make it to their half time smoke! Ideally, a club with a J1 or J2 side should cover you for your rugby and social aspect.

ColmH81

Eponymous wrote: »

If you're on the Northside, Unidare is definitely a great club. Really good bunch of lads and they have the social aspect nailed!

trouttrout, I'm a Stillorgan member, recently retired. What club are you coming from?

As for small club V big club: I've played for a senior club in the past and left precisely because the senior club was moving players about from team to team, dropping lads down from higher teams to be sure the lower teams beat their opposition etc. Not good for the morale of lads training for that team to be dropped will sometimes no notice until you arrived at the dressing rooms. Best move I ever made was switching.

Nothing more f*cking annoying than clubs doing that.. I was lucky during my time in Seapoint, we never had players forced on us on the 3rds.. In fact we were the opposite, coaches kept trying to take our players.. Haha.. But, as everyone on the team wanted to be there, it made it quite a special team..

trouttrout

Eponymous wrote: »

If you're on the Northside, Unidare is definitely a great club. Really good bunch of lads and they have the social aspect nailed!

trouttrout, I'm a Stillorgan member, recently retired. What club are you coming from?

As for small club V big club: I've played for a senior club in the past and left precisely because the senior club was moving players about from team to team, dropping lads down from higher teams to be sure the lower teams beat their opposition etc. Not good for the morale of lads training for that team to be dropped will sometimes no notice until you arrived at the dressing rooms. Best move I ever made was switching.

Buer wrote: »

Think I'd agree, Eponymous. There's definitely a lot of that in the bigger clubs. I've played for a couple and, on any given day, you could have two or three players from a higher team lining out for a lower team to get a game whilst regulars sit on the bench. Have seen it at a good few clubs both in playing with them and seeing it on the opposition sides.

TT, if you're good enough to be considering playing AIL level, J4 will be beneath you, to be honest. You'd be bored out of your tree playing lads in their thirties and novices running around trying to make it to their half time smoke! Ideally, a club with a J1 or J2 side should cover you for your rugby and social aspect.

Cheers lads. What level are Unidare?

dregin

We were J4 D last season.

Unidare has a mix of old schoolers and new comers with top quality coaching from the Leinster CRO to the area.

I'm sure he'll happily take a call if you're interested.

PM me for details.

Losty Dublin

ColmH81 wrote: »

From what I heard they were screwed for money.. Which is terrible.. They were looking at selling pitches and everything..

Selling pitches? :eek: They have just three in Stradbrook; surely losing the bottom pitches means losing their junior teams unless they relocate them.

ColmH81

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Selling pitches? :eek: They have just three in Stradbrook; surely losing the bottom pitches means losing their junior teams unless they relocate them.

Could well have just been the usual rugby ground rumours..

Hagz

I've heard that rumour too. Club is really struggling financially.

Bridge93

The Rock 21s have been playing a few games in the school from what I've heard.

Heroditas

ormond lad wrote: »

They had dropped a few teams last season anyway. would assume they'll be fielding another side below 2nds this year,
will j2/3 leagues be combined next season like they were this season or will there be separate leagues again?

Of course thy'll be fielding additional teams next year. Otherwise their 6N ticket allocation will be cut.

Also, the Metro J leagues are being reorganised next year. Instead of loads of mini leagues in J3, J4 etc, the J leagues will stretch down as far as J10 or J11.

Losty Dublin

Bridge93 wrote: »

The Rock 21s have been playing a few games in the school from what I've heard.

They have done that for some years now, if my memory is working well. Some of the school games are also played in Stradbrook from time to time.

cartoonninja

Sorry to hijack, a group of us will be looking for a club during college we'll be based in drumcondra hopefully! Any suggestions? A few are completed
Novices so a low level would suit

Tim Robbins

karlitob wrote: »

I'm near Stillorgan/Blackrock but work in city so happy to travel anywhere from Bird Ave (Stillorgan RFC, I think) to RDS area to Greystones to Seapoint.

Sorry late to thread. Would recommend Stillorgan, Bective and basically any club which would happy to have you. Reason, some of the other clubs get a load of lads from the school (e.g. Terenure, Mary's, Belvo) they still be 100% glad to have you and will have plenty not from the school there but personally I'd prefer to go for a club that had no links with the school tie. That's just me.

Stillorgan had a decent J2 team and Bective go up higher. So depending on what level you want to play - most people J2 is an achievement should also help you in your decision.

ColmH81

Heroditas wrote: »

Of course thy'll be fielding additional teams next year. Otherwise their 6N ticket allocation will be cut.

Also, the Metro J leagues are being reorganised next year. Instead of loads of mini leagues in J3, J4 etc, the J leagues will stretch down as far as J10 or J11.

J10 or 11?? Where'd you hear that? Also, is that just metro?

salmocab

its just metro its division 1 to 11 replacing j1 to j5. 11 divisions of 8 is roughly the breakdown. Good move by the branch I think.

salmocab

Everyone will tell you their club is the best, so best bet is just to join De La Salle Palmerston near Stepaside its a great club with free soup after training just the thing for lads up from the country away from mammy.

Bridge93

Losty Dublin wrote: »

They have done that for some years now, if my memory is working well. Some of the school games are also played in Stradbrook from time to time.

Yeah some of the teams further down the pecking order play in stradbrook when there are no free pitches in the school.

dregin

cartoonninja wrote: »

Sorry to hijack, a group of us will be looking for a club during college we'll be based in drumcondra hopefully! Any suggestions? A few are completed
Novices so a low level would suit

Again, Unidare are just up the road.

http://www.unidarerfc.com

If you're interested, let me know and I'll put you in touch with the head coach.

chapster

For those asking about the new Metro Leagues this article is quite a good explainer - http://www.knockon.ie/2013/06/21/new-metro-divisional-structures/

As a J4 coach who has seen all manner of bangers turn out against his team in the last three years it's a move I certainly welcome. It'll probably take 1-2 seasons for teams to even out and find their level but that's the nature of these things.

For people looking for a club, I'm going to pitch my own club - Wanderers FC in Ballsbridge.

You'll hear a lot of people say we have a terrible reputation or whatever but that couldn't be further from the troop. We've a great mix of people in the club from all over Ireland and the world. We've no ties to any particular school so you don't need to worry about cliques along those lines.

Our 1st XV play Leinster League 1A and have ambitions of promotion this year. Our 2nd XV won their league last year, our 3rd XV (J3) reached their cup semi-final and our 4th XV (J4) finally won their cup at the fourth time of asking.

We're very handily located on the Merrion Road, with frequent buses running from the city centre, and ten minutes walk from the DART.

If anyone wants any further information feel free to PM me.

Cheers

LightningBolt

trouttrout wrote: »

tbh, I reckon I'd prefer a smaller club. Was hoping to play AIL this year with my home club but my work hours aren't going to allow me to commit as much with a club up here so it's more to stay playing/social side of things.

To be honest if you're at the level where you're starting AIL you should be looking at playing Clontarf J2s given how close the are to you. Good standard but not as full on as seniors. Any of the following senior club J2s will be a good standard (Marys/Lansdowne/Belvo). Stillorgan compete well at the end of J2 also. No point in playing rugby at too low a level.

I've no affiliation with any of those clubs either in case people think I'm being biased.

I'd favour Clontarf as it's easiest to get to, if you're not looking to commit last thing you want to be doing is travelling across the city.

chunkylover4

Do you know what days Unidare train during the year generally?

dregin

chunkylover4 wrote: »

Do you know what days Unidare train during the year generally?

Tuesday and Thursday nights. Usually 7:30 - 9:00.

karlitob

Tim Robbins wrote: »

Sorry late to thread. Would recommend Stillorgan, Bective and basically any club which would happy to have you. Reason, some of the other clubs get a load of lads from the school (e.g. Terenure, Mary's, Belvo) they still be 100% glad to have you and will have plenty not from the school there but personally I'd prefer to go for a club that had no links with the school tie. That's just me.

Stillorgan had a decent J2 team and Bective go up higher. So depending on what level you want to play - most people J2 is an achievement should also help you in your decision.

Good advice on that. Didn't know what level to be aiming at as I've never played anything but age-grade rugby. I was thinking J3 as I think I would prefer the competitiveness of the rugby to the drinking (is that a fair assumption?)

salmocab

karlitob wrote: »

Good advice on that. Didn't know what level to be aiming at as I've never played anything but age-grade rugby. I was thinking J3 as I think I would prefer the competitiveness of the rugby to the drinking (is that a fair assumption?)

yeah J3 is a pretty decent level and has the added attractiveness of being a friday night league by and large.

chippers

chapster wrote: »

For those asking about the new Metro Leagues this article is quite a good explainer - http://www.knockon.ie/2013/06/21/new-metro-divisional-structures/

As a J4 coach who has seen all manner of bangers turn out against his team in the last three years it's a move I certainly welcome. It'll probably take 1-2 seasons for teams to even out and find their level but that's the nature of these things.

For people looking for a club, I'm going to pitch my own club - Wanderers FC in Ballsbridge.

You'll hear a lot of people say we have a terrible reputation or whatever but that couldn't be further from the troop. We've a great mix of people in the club from all over Ireland and the world. We've no ties to any particular school so you don't need to worry about cliques along those lines.

Our 1st XV play Leinster League 1A and have ambitions of promotion this year. Our 2nd XV won their league last year, our 3rd XV (J3) reached their cup semi-final and our 4th XV (J4) finally won their cup at the fourth time of asking.

We're very handily located on the Merrion Road, with frequent buses running from the city centre, and ten minutes walk from the DART.

If anyone wants any further information feel free to PM me.

Cheers

Great bunch of lads down the Wand! Great quality rugby on the field and great craic off the field. I couldn't recommend them any higher.