Why is rugby/the Irish rugby team so popular?

Blue4u

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168070#Comment_118168070

It was already mentioned on here what position rugby sits at in Ireland. You have a limited number of rugby clubs in Ireland compared to GAA and soccer clubs. You have a limited number of players as other are playing sports and a huge amount of people in Ireland give up sport very early.

You are up against countries like Wales(primary sport), NZ(religion), England(population), SA(population plus top sport), France(huge sport and probably primary) for those semi spots.

For Ireland to win 6 nations over the last few years is a huge achievement. For the Irish clubs to win in Europe against the French and English teams who have 3-4 times the budget is incredible, plus winning with 95% + home grown players.

generic_throwaway

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168038#Comment_118168038

Longer than a decade. Earls toured South Africa with the B&I Lions in 2009.

I love the logic of the haters:

"I can't support the team because they all went to private schools." They didn't.

"I can't support the team because they are all middle class." They aren't.

"I can't support the team because they aren't all Irish". Tony Cascarino.

It's fair enough to dislike something. But I don't understand the mentality of disparaging an Irish success story out of sheer begrudgery.

Pussyhands

Jeez there's some fuss being made over the win v New Zealand. You'd swear New Zealand were some unbeatable side and it's some massive achievement to beat them. 3rd time in 5 years we've beaten them, none of them resulting in any actual silverware though.

It was a test match ffs. Ultimately a meaningless result in the long term. But I suppose everyone has to play it up and pretend it matters more than it does to keep the ticket prices high! Over 100 euro for a standard ticket, pure extortion.

Stadium full of fools who don't even know the rules, cheering for knock ons when the ball clearly goes back etc. Full of lads in trench coats with their scarves and flat caps holding their plastic cups of Heino cheering on Josh and Hugo.

I'm a fan of rugby but go look at the rugby fan forum on facebook. An embarrassing reaction to winning a test match. Even saw one fella saying it was the best day of his life. tut tut

generic_throwaway

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168076#Comment_118168076

Well we avenged ourselves against MIGHTY LUXEMBOURG last night - surely that's a huge success?

Blue4u

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168123#Comment_118168123

3rd time in 116 years

What difference is it to you what someone paid to watch a rugby match?

The bitterness is dripping off that post

Pussyhands

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118162442#Comment_118162442

What needs to be pointed out is that these players are told they are to be project players and will play for the national team if they come.

Go listen to CJ Stander when he was offered a switch to Munster. He knew nothing about Ireland but his agent told him there was big money to be made and an international career ($$$). He signed then. Came, got his money, now he's fecked off. Aki seems to like Galway so he might stay, he's got a steady supply of students to keep him happy.

James Lowe, he was brought in to make the Ireland team, that's why they've persisted with him so much despite much better players being available.

Pussyhands

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168135#Comment_118168135

3rd time in 5 years.

Imagine the celebrations for winning a quarter final of a world cup.

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168076#Comment_118168076

Rugby people just never seem to get this and yet they continue to throw it out there.

So now it's my turn to spell it out.

Rugby is played at the highest level by less than 10 nations in the world.

Ireland is one of those.

Qualification for a 20 team RWC is a formality for Ireland.

Thus getting to the SF of a RWC should be something well within their grasp, yet they have failed to do so on 9 occasions.

Soccer on the other hand is played at the highest level my many multiplies of that, and the qualification process to a 32 team WC (13 out of 54 UEFA teams qualified for Russia 2108) involves multiple group games and possibly play-offs.

So getting to a soccer WC and going deep in a soccer WC is a much more difficult task than getting to RWC and getting the the QF or a RWC.

How difficult is that to understand ?

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168022#Comment_118168022

But people don't support their local teams.

If they did then there would be much more people going to low profile United Rugby Championship Games and AIL games.

But there's not, because people are not interested in the local game, they are only interested in the big games on the TV.

They even struggled to fill the stadiums last week for the game v Japan.

Pussyhands

I wouldn't let my kids play rugby either, far too dangerous.

The pro era of rugby is very short so far. Lads 6ft 5' packing 120kg is relatively new.

Look at Garry Ringrose making this tackle. These hits are all going to add up later in life.

https://twitter.com/RTErugby/status/1459544585730990090

generic_throwaway

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168152#Comment_118168152

Whereas all of our soccer players have been born and bred here, right? Just had a look at our 20 man squad for Euro 88 -

9!! of them were British-born pleyers with an Irish parent or grandparent. Or were Tony Cascarino. Paul McGrath was also born in England but I'm not counting him in that group.

Which is not to knock soccer, or that team, or that achievement - it was all done within the rules of the game. Just pointing out the hypocrisy of the asshat begrudgers here.

HerrKuehn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168172#Comment_118168172

People from Limerick will support Munster and not Leinster. What reason does someone from Dublin have to support Liverpool? In my opinion it is far better to support our own teams rather than random foreign ones.

generic_throwaway

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168164#Comment_118168164

Yes, it will be great. And you will probably bitch about that too.

generic_throwaway

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168165#Comment_118168165

It's very hard to understand how any of this amounts to an argument for not celebrating an Irish team beating the best team in the world in any sport. I'm sure that argument is coming though...

DarkJager21

Ireland rugby winning a WC is a very realistic prospect, football fans on the other hand will still be reminiscing about Italia 90 by the time 2100 rolls around.

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168204#Comment_118168204

Haaa, funny

Back in the day when Munster were a force people from Connaught and parts of Leinster (Offaly, Longford etc) supported them.

It's all about success and marketing.

Skyrimaddict

Rugby is popular because we seem to be good at it at international level.

Yes, I play rugby and I can tell you the skill needed to get out of even local level teams is immense.

If you look at the top 20 teams in the world, many have a much larger pool of players to pick from, NZ being an exception, and we still continually prove to be a top level team.

In terms of " fee paying schools" many lads who now play at national level are from club levels, yes there will always be a fee paying element to it, but the nature of those schools is such. Its the same at equestrian, golf, hockey etc.

Its a good game to watch, and at this stage seems to have made more strides, but overall ANY sport in which we do well in attracts people, I came from Limerick and only started to really notice the GAA teams there when the all Ireland's started to come in..

generic_throwaway

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168232#Comment_118168232

If Connacht are playing, I will support them. I will support Ulster, Leinster and Munster. The Irish teams. There's nothing too mysterious there for you, is there? If Shamrock Rovers were playing in the Champions League final (or whatever the current branding is for that competition) I would support them. Presumably a lot of other Irish people would support 'their' team against them, Man U or Liverpool or whatever.

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168199#Comment_118168199

There is a big different between the granny rule soccer players and the current rugby economic migrants.

The granny rule Irish players for the most part (including Cascarino) had Irish backgrounds, grew up in Irish households, learned Irish culture, went on holidays to Ireland to visit family etc .

So it's very different from the rugby economic migrants.

And fair enough those are the rules from world rugby so why not use them.

But there must be a real oversupply of good players in the SH if they are allowed to import so many to the NH.

Weepsie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168152#Comment_118168152

James Lowe has been one of the most consistent players in that position though. There are not "much better" players.

We've had potential superstars that failed to perform at the international level.

Standers didn't feck off. He retired.

This is nothing unique to rugby either which at least seems to offer clearer guidelines.

Italy, Portugal, Spain, Qatar and Poland all have or have had Brazilians and Argentinians playing for them in the last decade, with no fo family connection in cases.

Athletics has it all the time. Cycling has it. Hell even he GAA has people trying to switch county sometimes

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118162187#Comment_118162187

I remember a giant billboard ad saying that. It was next to a block of flats near St. James's hospital. Always had a little chuckle to myself when I saw that. As if Anto and the lads were into the rugger.

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168234#Comment_118168234

In terms of " fee paying schools" many lads who now play at national level are from club levels

Name them.

I think I represent both sides of this thread. I love when Ireland win, and I love to dump on them when they lose.

It is nice to the green jersey doing well and representing us. But rugby still retains a lot of the trappings of elitism in Ireland, it feels like punching upwards when slagging them off when they lose.

I say this as someone who comes from a rural background but grew up playing GAA (and rugby) in South Dublin. So a bit of a foot in both camps.

generic_throwaway

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168264#Comment_118168264

I think you are exposing your in-depth knowledge here. Whatever about the 'Irish households' most of these players with one Irish grandparent grew up in, Cascarino had no Irish connection at all.

Carfacemandog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058217794/why-is-rugby-the-irish-rugby-team-so-popular

Ali and Sander were playing for connacht and Munster for about 3.5 years each before playing for Ireland, so that should at least put that concern to bed for you. James Lowe was about the same, and Jamison Gibson park was playing for leinster for over 4 years before debuting.

Someone may correct me here, but the reason Aki in particular was playing for connacht initially is because to the best of my onwowldgw he wasn't particularly highly rated when coming to Ireland.

Blue4u

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168232#Comment_118168232

Can you explain why people in Dublin are flying Liverpool flags?

Fights actually happening around Ireland between Liverpool and other club supporters. Yet soccer clubs down the road and not one of those plebs would step inside the stadium.

I would have good money the people complaining here about the rugby team and the Irish provinces all go running around after some English club as if they live in the area.

generic_throwaway

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168279#Comment_118168279

Is inner city Dublin's support of Glasgow Celtic somehow more authentically Irish than the support for the Irish rugby team though?

I'm guessing more than 'Anto' saw the billboard anyway.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168070#Comment_118168070

It is embarassing to be fair. Our record in World Cups is far worse than Wales, Scotland or even Argentina. These are the teams we consider to be our peers.

thefallingman

Irish Rugby has lost it's appeal to me, sure the team isn't even Irish, and we can't even sing our national anthem.

Blue4u

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168197#Comment_118168197

Yes because kids out playing rugby is the same as a professional sport 😂 with professional athletes

A kid got killed last week playing another sport, you going to stop your kids playing that sport as well? might as well just leave them at home in front of playstation if you are so afraid of injuries