'hedge school', 'impoverished', 'creepy'...
Not having a rugby team or a swimming pool doesn't equate to destitution. It's extremely common for schools to have next to no sports infrastructure.
And to be honest there's no good reason why they should.
Yes but not all schools are equal. The schools always contributed the vast amount of players to Ireland, long before the game went professional. For the most part, the schools other than Michael’s and Blackrock are no different than any GAA school in this country. The main benefit of schools rugby is access. The setups in Clongowes or Newbridge is nothing like Michael’s.
I've never been inside it but Newbridge is a private school, a mansion of a place. It may be no different to GAA behemoths like SKC but it's hardly an average secondary school! Maybe it's not equal to Michael's in terms of infrastructure but it's a lot more equal than the vast majority of schools.
My grandfather went there, AFAIK, over 100 years ago, and won a Leinster cap. The pipeline has been there a while.
Thank the gods for the private schools, so. Fair play to them. Long may they churn out talented rugby players.
You're the one playing the poverty card, so again I'm not sure how to respond.
You don't need "infrastructure" - you need a field, a ball and people with the motivation to put them together. That's where most schools fall down; they don't have the culture or the people necessary to be successful.
I'm confused... so Blackrock College to win the 22/23 URC despite some public schools having an equally good gym? 🤔🤔🤔
I work in the field of education and I don't know of a single secondary school in Ireland that has "next to no sports infrastructure". P.E., and the sports facilities that it requires, is a mandatory offering in Irish schools.
Its completely incorrect to say "It's extremely common for schools to have next to no sports infrastructure." Even just go have a look at the websites, or Google maps imagery, of any secondary school near you and you'll see they'll all have extensive facilities.
Your posts honestly read like someone who hasn't been anywhere near an Irish school in decades, if ever.
Unfortunately lads, I being impoverished went to a school without our own playing fields. We had to saunter across the bridge to Fairview Park! I've not been the same since. No cafeteria, no library. Devastating.
Apparently I have 72 unread posts in the URC 2022 thread but boards appears to be acting up because instead it showed me 72 unread posts from the schools thread...
Fekitoa signed for Treviso, didnt see that one coming!
Read elsewhere that his partner is Italian.
She is Spanish but a fluent Italian speaker.
Steve Diamond taking over reigns at Edinburgh with immediate effect. Wonder will he have a bounce effect as they've slipped badly down the table recently?
Absolutely he will. They are playing less than the sum of their parts, and he's the right guy to ship them into shape
His timing might be perfect as they have big players just coming back into the side and they were looking like a rejuvenated team the other day. Until they weren't.
RUC TV 🤣🤣
Um, what? St. Paul's, Raheny - used to have extensive playing fields and a swimming pool. (Playing fields used to be used by Clontarf under-age teams and local GAA teams)... Sold off to developers.
Chanel College, Coolock. Used to have fairly decent playing fields out the front. Sold off to developers...
That's been replicated in many, many privately owned (religious order) schools around the country. And the new secondary schools going up don't have big gyms or playing fields.
Out of interest, is this the schools selling the spaces to developers or are they government owned and sold by gov?
It's religious orders selling the grounds out from under the school with the school powerless to stop them.
Might help them pay some of the reparations they owe.
Looking at Clongowes it seems they're proper slumming it with only 9 Rugby pitches, plus an full sized Astro and a few exercise bikes in the Indoor gym.
Like most GAA clubs.
The gym in Tallaght community school.
Kilmacud Crokes is not a school, it's one of the biggest GAA clubs in Ireland.
It's like posting a picture of a gym and saying look at this gym it has a gym
At least one order has offered the government land attached to schools and the land the schools are on at a very deep discount and the government response was essentially we are confident that the order won't sell school assets contrary to the will of the school community.
The order's response has been to sell 'order land' attached to schools but not mentioned in the peppercorn leases under which the schools occupy land owned by the order.
The government should be doing a deal where they take full ownership of all schools owned by religious orders and land attached to those schools in return for taking on a portion or all of the reparations.
MOD Warning: this is the URC thread cut out the schools chat now
How many clubs can afford or are allowed squad of 50+
URC has to bring in a salary cap and have central contracts be a part of it
Otherwise nobody will watch it while 1 team have a budget 4/5 times their own
All English players back playing this week
Should it be in rand, sterling or euro, this salary cap?
Salary caps are not in any remote way workable when you have five jurisdictions and three currencies at play. On that alone, it's a non-runner.
Plus, 90% of Leinster’s squad is produced from their own academy. Two academy players started again tonight.
Ludicrous to consider penalising Leinster for the strength of their own development.
Why wouldn't the English players be back. Not like they did too much in the 6 nations.
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