Rugby, Do we need it?

The Premiership is basically Coronation Street for dull, vapid men, just as soap operas are aimed at banal, personalityless women.

The game itself is extremely boring, with the vast majority of matches being unexceptional.

For that reason news outlets need to write about anything else even remotely soccer related to fill up space. So there are stories about your sad player or the guy who is now more famous for kicking a cat than a ball.

Every year, at Six Nations time, there is an anti-rugby football thread started on Boards. Same goes when the RWC is about to kick off.

There is also about four anti-GAA threads started every year on this forum.

Both rugby football and GAA fans are always able to deal with the rabid criticisms of their sports from TV soccer fans in a reasoned and calm manner.

Any threads that criticise soccer are immediately shut down as the man-childs who support their TV teams go bat-$hit.

Deep down though they know that the Emperer has no clothes and can't deal with it.

I don't include LOI fans in this as they come from an actual soccer culture, whereas Irish Premiership fans are basically just watching the sporting equivalent of I'm a Celebrity, Let Me Out of Here.

Where I live it is mainly a game for Protestants. I don't get too heavily interested in any sport nowadays as i just feel bitter at the athletes knowing they were blessed genetically and have a better life than me. For example my old school won the Ulster GAA cup today and it was grim to watch them winning at life. People like that don't even know how well they have it in life. They just jump from one success story to another.

No need for that last sentence, is there?

Last night.

Biggest game in Irish domestic rugby.

Munster v Leinster.

Both teams with internationals back.

In Thomond the spiritual home of Irish rugby.

First game between the two with unrestricted attendance since late 2019.

Full house you'd expect.

Tickets would be gold dust you'd expect.

No chance, not a sell out, about 20k in a 25k stadium.

That's where rugby is at.

Even the most high profile non international game can't sell out an average sized ground.

Yeah, the Munster fans didn’t fancy seeing their boys take another beating.

But, really, you’d have imagine there was a few who would have wanted to watch the hurling league final so a pub, or home, was the better “option”. Was flicking between the 2, myself.

Some of us, here, would be weighing up the “necessity” of travelling south for the game. While restrictions are gone it’s still wise to be cautious. And that decision wouldn’t have been taken lightly, have been to Thomond, myself, a few times and it’s always a great day out.

Rugby is in rude health in this country, contrary what some malcontents, on here, would like you to think.

There were 32k at the D1 and D2 football finals in Croke Park.

Now I know there were 4 counties involved but that's still less than the 18 counties represented by Munster vs Leinster.

I always find it interesting, or contradictory rather that you always trot out the “it’s only played in like 10 countries” argument against rugby despite being an avowed hurling fan.

How many counties in hurling can stake a genuine claim to being competitive? About 10? If even? Does that make hurling pointless? Or the competition and rivalries any less fierce every year? Of course not, the same goes for rugby, just it’s on a larger scale.

Ah yeah I dunno why I bothered tbf, you’ve proven time and again you’ve no interest in having a rational discussion on this topic.

You’re just blinded by hatred. It’s a bit sad - you’ll say you don’t care but yet any time rugby is mentioned in AH/CA there you are

Anyway as I’ve said there’s no point in me wasting my time attempting to engage in discussion with you in good faith re rugby. It’s a shame really, in all other matters you’re a logical and agreeable poster

Case in point. I don’t know why you bother with this nonsense

You’re so wrong that it just comes off as either trolling or astoundingly ignorant