Why is rugby/the Irish rugby team so popular?

Captain_Crash

@square ball I can’t speak for GAA at all but having played soccer along side rugby for a large portion of my adolescence (About 10 years as a defender/goalkeeper, including an appearance for a team in the Eircom league as it was known at the time) I’d absolutely say the level of skill needed to be half decent at rugby is greater!

Having said that, the competencies are vastly different and there is a lot of things footballers can do that rugby players can’t! The highest level I played at in 1xv rugby was Leinster League Div 2 but did finish up with the 3rds for an AIL team before injury ended it this past summer! So I’ve a decent level of experience at both to be able to judge accuracy I feel!

square ball

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118175369#Comment_118175369

Fair enough I'd have to disagree with you on that but you played both at a decent level so what do I know.

How many skills do you reckon you needed in each code to play at a decent level?

Captain_Crash

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118175468#Comment_118175468

Nothing wrong with disagreeing…. Opinions are like arseholes eh 😉😂

I don’t know how to answer your question! But I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I was a defender and ‘keeper in football and a full back in rugby, both have transferable skills!! Infact I’d say most half decent full backs would make a half decent keeper and vice versa!

Now could I chest a cross down and volly it into the top corner? Prob not!

Blue4u

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118175520#Comment_118175520

You are wasting your time trying to talk sense. The "my sport is better than yours" is not worth discussing

Everyone should be able to enjoy a sport they like/love without questions from randomers who have no idea

Poorside

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118173378#Comment_118173378

I do go to games have been for the last 35 years or so, and it's very rare the people around haven't a clue what's going on and that's from minis up to international.

Poorside

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118173480#Comment_118173480

Which bit of that didn't come from a pundit?

Schimdt didn't get rid of players because they played 'off the cuff', he dropped players that didn't suit the style, the same as any coach in any sport would do so they can get the right result, just like Charlton and Brady.

square ball

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118175661#Comment_118175661

He pretty much got rid of Zebo out of the set up because he didn't like him. He didn't fit his gameplan either but the gameplan was too rigid.

Captain_Crash

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118175758#Comment_118175758

Zeno was dropped because he went to France. The IRFU famously don’t play foreign based players, there are rare exceptions to the rule, but Zeebs wasn’t one of them. He was a consistent fixture in Joe’s teams until the announcement of his move!

Zaph

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118175852#Comment_118175852

That's one thing I don't understand about rugby, and I don't think Ireland are unique in doing it. Why wouldn't you pick your best players, regardless of where they play their club rugby? Seems a bit of an antiquated mentality.

yaknowski

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118170713#Comment_118170713

No that was not my intended point. Clondalkin Rugby club is in my area so that was a token example. As a Dub, I dislike Dublin and would live outside it in a heartbeat!

The substance of my point being that I'd view it more as a national sport when it's a balanced representation of the diverse makeup of the country and not majority represented by lads who went through the private school system. I would prefer a system of sport whereby athletes are given the chance to excel by their natural abilities/passion, not just as a product of parental wealth.

If I am wrong on that representational makeup, then I am happy to stand corrected.

Btw, your username is class!

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118175934#Comment_118175934

Not at all.

Its used as a carrot to keep the best players playing at home for Irish provinces.

Smart policy on my opinion

Yeah_Right

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118175147#Comment_118175147

With that post you have shown your ignorance. If the hooker kicked the ball in the scrum, the other team wins it. So why would they kick it. That would show a lack of skill.

You seem to think skill is equated with kicking. It's not. Scrums rely a lot on technique, timing and skill. More so than size and strength. Same with line outs. Also staying on your feet to steal a ball after a tackle is made is very valuable skill. Hell, tackling is a skill that has to be learnt.

As for which sport is the most skillful, that is a debate for the ages. Like which sport is the toughest. Different for every person. I just enjoy watching elite athletes compete in most sports and can appreciate it.

Captain_Crash

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118175934#Comment_118175934

You could start a whole thread on that topic alone. New Zealand and England are the strictest with such a policy, in Ireland it’s an unwritten rule and exceptions have been made (Sexton, Murphy). Australia you need to have over 50 caps and can then request to play abroad and still be considered for international selection. All in all there are more benefits than not and it’s a policy that for Ireland atleast clearly works!

Blue4u

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118175934#Comment_118175934

The Irish rugby team has camps during the year outside of the international windows. These are to help the team prepare for games. If players are outside of Ireland they would not be allowed to attend. That is one very good reason

Another is clubs in another country have no interest in Ireland rugby, they would use the players all the time, if they are playing in Ireland the IRFU can give them rest periods. This should make their career longer, e.g. Sexton. Going to an overseas team might pay more but the thinking is your career will be cut shorter due to the amount of games you would clock up in a short period

Plus keeping players at home means the provinces are more competitive. This brings in more money to the IRFU when you see Munster & Leinster winning or getting close to winning in Europe. A Qtr/semi final in aviva gives the IRFU a boost of 1m per game.

Plenty more by the way

starkid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118174683#Comment_118174683

John Hayes emerged in a period where we had few options.

You're truly ignorant so i'm not bothering. Go scrummage with a local club if you think there is no skill involved. Do you say the same about other physical sports. MOst of the backs have to kick at some stage. All of the pack have to have certain sets of skills. You do know skills aren't just passing and kicking right? what other field sports are you talking about here? Soccer and GAA is it? Lacrosse? Hockey? which is it? they call boxing the sweet science, probably the most technical and skilled sprt there is. Rugby's just a different game than football and GAA. what is so hard for you to wrap your head around there?

Pass a ball five feet.....lol...**** me boards is thick sometimes.

the only person that doesn't have a clue is you. you're an idiot. Passing a ball left to right at full speed being hunted by the opposition with 50k people looking at you is not an easy skill. And thats only 1 facet. Its a completely different sport to football or GAA which are multi directional and basically non contact. its like comparing the NFL and rugby it means absolutely nothing. its only sad people like yourself that compare sports and slag one off at the expense of another.

Like i said go rock up to any number of the clubs in the region and ask for a game. I'd pay to see you minced and drop every ball that was passed to you, probably crying for your mother.

But no you don't have the balls, and would prefer to sit in your boxers, drooling over a keyboard like the best of the internet warriors. Put your money where your mouth is or stfu.

melekalikimaka

are the tasty tax rebates still a thing

Poorside

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118175758#Comment_118175758

Wrong, and saying forwards are unskilled is laughable, do you think they are all interchangeable? Sounds like your trips to Thomond were pure bandwagon jollies.

Blue4u

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118176127#Comment_118176127

That is not just a rugby thing. It is for all sports people.

https://www.revenue.ie/en/personal-tax-credits-reliefs-and-exemptions/income-and-employment/sports-person-relief/index.aspx

You may qualify for this relief if you are a retired:

• athlete
• badminton player
• boxer
• cricketer
• cyclist
• footballer
• golfer
• jockey
• motor racing driver
• rugby player
• squash player
• swimmer
• tennis player.

melekalikimaka

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118176243#Comment_118176243

did not know it was for other sports folk

Blue4u

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118175758#Comment_118175758

Zebo father and mother met in Paris, Zebo father is from a caribbean island which is part of France or owned by France. Even at a young age Zebo said he wanted to move to France. He is now 31 so when he moved it was the prime time for him to earn the most money. If he signed another IRFU contract he would have been older and could demand less.

So he moved and made the most money possible. Good on him. He was also aware of the IRFU policy that they didn't pick over seas players. That is why he was dropped as other have pointed out. Again you prove you don't know anything about rugby.

Before he moved Zebo was part of the Irish team in Chicago which had beaten NZ for the first time ever

Blue4u

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118176286#Comment_118176286

Most people don't, RTE and other media made out it was only created for rugby players, a clear agenda to get the public against the players. They never mention the tax rebate in any other sport, even today if you see anything in RTE it is reported as if only available to rugby players.

Funny RTE go after this tax break when they are one of the biggest black hole for government money

square ball

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118175993#Comment_118175993

I'm afraid you have shown your ignorance, why is the Number 2 called a hooker? I would say that is kicking the ball.

I have never seen a defender in soccer/GAA being called skilful because he is good at tackling or shepherding players away from goal. Skill is displayed when in possession of the ball, a sidestep, a feint, a chip or a kick etc. mastery of touch handling etc. We don't see much of it in rugby, the game can still be entertaining without it.

Rugby is probably the toughest, the modern game anyway but again not the most skilful.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118176122#Comment_118176122

Could you see a lad playing soccer at 18 for the first time and becoming an international player? No you cannot because the skill level is too high to master over a few years.

Tell me how often a forward has to pass the ball more than 5 feet left or right during the course of a game?

My point is it is relatively low skilled to other field sports and even rugby people will admit that. The physicality makes up for the lack of skills and it's still a fascinating sport to watch.

PeaSea

To be fair it can be very hard to spot a rugby penalty on the first look, either from the sidelines or on TV, you really need to be in the middle of it. Heck sometimes I've watched it 3 or 4 times on the TV and still can't see what its given for.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118162789#Comment_118162789

The ultimate sport for casuals is definitely soccer, since the overwhelming majority of soccer fans in Ireland think soccer is something you watch on Sky Sports. Maybe a jolly over on the boat to watch their favourite English or Scottish team once or twice a season if they're super committed. The majority of soccer fans here would not be seen dead watching Irish soccer.

The only major sport here that can claim to be ubiquitous is GAA. Rugby has a problem with reach, partly down to the nature of the sport, and Irish soccer is just awfully supported, partly down to years of mismanagement.

Yeah_Right

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118176385#Comment_118176385

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Your definition of skill is moronic. Your knowledge of scrums is non existent. Actually your knowledge of rugby is non existent. Based on your comments here, I don't believe you have ever participated in organised sport.

Poorside

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118176385#Comment_118176385

You've never heard a defender being lauded for a good tackle? Do you watch everything on mute?

square ball

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118176737#Comment_118176737

Go way out of that, I've forgotten more about organised sport than you'll ever know. Just admit it rugby is not a skilful sport. Tactical, technical and physical but not skilful.

square ball

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118176778#Comment_118176778

Lauded for it yes but not considered a skilful player for winning it back. Tomas & Marc O'Se were known as skilful players because they could beat players when in possession of the ball but Francie Bellew for example even though he was probably a better defender because he wasn't able to do much with it when he won it back.

Rosahane

The important thing to recognise is that the majority of Irish people are natural Rugby or GAA players, the remainder are wimps who play soccer or video games - same thing really!

Eventually, we we get a decent benevolent dictatorship our beloved leader will ban GAA football (leaving hurling for the psychotic people who enjoy beating each other with sticks) at which stage the former and future GAA football players will all play rugby and any of our decent parish teams should be capable of taking on the All Blacks 😁

Poorside

Oh right, skills are only when you have the ball, so jumping for a ball isn't a skill? Timing a perfect tackle isn't a skill? Hooking a hurley isn't a skill? Saving a shot isn't a skill?

Looks like you've forgotten loads about sport alright...