Rugby now more popular than football AND GAA?!

[French Toasht]

The rugby team are ranked in the top 8 teams in the world.
They made the quarter-finals and were soundly beaten.
Yet they will be feted as 'brave', 'heroic', 'warriors' etc. when they come home.
The Irish football team don't even get that sort of treatment when they win.


Probably because the football team haven't beaten an "Australia" since September 2001.

Also they were described as "warriors", "brave" and "heroic" following their performance in Paris.

Some people just want to feel they are being unjustly excluded from the party methinks.

If we get 2 wins and a draw in our next three games, wait to see the level of excitement and hysteria, which will render the rugby attention over the last few weeks, just a mere whisper in the dark.

[Stuttgart88]

Toashty, a lot of good points there, but although I'm struggling to offer evidence (other than a 30+ years' experience of going to 5 & 6N games) I'm convinced that a large part of the crowd just isn't as fussed. I had loads of mates who just went to the rugby cos it was an excuse to go on the lash. I think there's a much better and broader understanding of rugby now, in fairness.

I think your UCD / Pats point is just wrong.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the Magners / Rabo Lge & H cups are cited as evidence that rugby is far more popular. That misses the point. Football simply can't have a product that can compete - it's the nature of the European & global professional ecosystem they operate in. If we had a Champs League standard football team in Dublin playing similar standard opponents I expect they'd get great crowds.

Rugby is able to put on more "blockbuster" shows because of the landscape. Samoa showed that a second tier rugby intl lacks the pulling power that SA or OZ would have. If there were more games required against the Samoas of the rugby world, or worse, we'd see just how faithful the rugby crowd is.

I'm not as bitter as I sound - honest! It's like having 2 kids where everyone ignores the shy geeky one while lauding the outgoing one. I'm just trying to make sure they're both appreciated and understood and not treated unfairly!

[Jinxy]

As regards the amount of people who have never watched rugby before watching Ireland these last few weeks, so what? I think its great, the country haas been buzzing the last few weeks and the team has captured the imagination of a nation. Maybe that will be the last time most of those fans show their heads for another 4 years but sure it was good to have them behind the team while it lasted.



The country hasn't been buzzing though.
Take a walk around the place.
You wouldn't know we were even in a World Cup if the media didn't remind you every 30 seconds.
The city was buzzing when Dublin won the All-Ireland.
I fail to see any evidence of a rugby buzz.

[Murfinator]

I woke up this morning at 5:00am, looked out my window and saw the light in the living room of every single house on my street was on. It was definitely something special to see everyones house lights pouring onto the dark streets so early on a sunday morning. Just a shame its finished.

A lot of clubs/bars were hosting breakfast events for all of the games as well. Turned it into quite a family event rather than an alcohol-fest associated with night time competitions which was quite nice. Would definitely say there was a lot of excitement around

[paul_oshea]

I couldn't get over all the Irish fans in the crowd cheering and waving in the last ten minutes

[Jinxy]

Simon Hick off Newstalk said he saw plenty of fans wearing green wigs and leprechaun outfits leaving well before the game was over.
It was a glorified p*ss-up for most of these backpacker types that were knocking around NZ and Oz anyway.
I'd wager most of them have never been to a rugby game in this country.

[French Toasht]

Simon Hick off Newstalk said he saw plenty of fans wearing green wigs and leprechaun outfits leaving well before the game was over.
It was a glorified p*ss-up for most of these backpacker types that were knocking around NZ and Oz anyway.
I'd wager most of them have never been to a rugby game in this country.

To be honest I don't think the majority of that crowd are back packers. Back packers seems to suggest they are coming home. Most of them are economic migrants who've fled the resesh in look for work.

And maybe a few did leave before the end, but the rest made some noise out there. They would have outnumbered every country in the tournament bar the kiwis themselves.

[bennocelt]

Simon Hick off Newstalk said he saw plenty of fans wearing green wigs and leprechaun outfits leaving well before the game was over.
It was a glorified p*ss-up for most of these backpacker types that were knocking around NZ and Oz anyway.
I'd wager most of them have never been to a rugby game in this country.

Just like a lot of Ireland away day days in the football then, at least in the past

[tetsujin1979]

One thing I did notice watching the rugby is that the fans had very few signature flags hanging around the stadium

[legendz]

if i could throw my 2 cents in. i dont see the problem. there is enough of us out there who enjoy all codes of sport. sure i played rugby, gaelic and football very badly up until i was about 17 or 18. the biggest threat to irish sport imo is not the rival sports but from kids with nothing to do, taking up smoking, hanging around shop corners, general anti social behaviour.
sports clubs around the country should be focused on that aspect, working together to solve the problem rather than thinking they are in direct competition

Agreed with this. There is enough of us who enjoy all sports. I was at a county championship game last night, I'll be at the races today. If I wasn't at a county game last night, I would've headed for Thomond Park. On another night I'd have taken in a Limerick game had one been on.
Rugby is enjoying a growth at the moment, I don't see it as a big threat to other games. AIL rugby seems like a dead duck. I can see that coming back to being an issue within rugby circles. People living in Dublin, Limerick, Galway and Belfast have ease of access to rugby games. It's a long old trek for the rest of the population. There's nothing better than being able to go to a game. GAA can offer inter county rivalry. Soccer needs to grow more in a few more regions so that is more of a rivalry between regions which games can thrive upon.

[shakermaker1982]

Irish fans in drunk shocker....

I've been at the Aviva & Croke Park and seen folk arrive 30 minutes late, play on their phones for the whole game & not know who Shane Long was when brought off the bench! Do we paint all football fans with the part time fan brush because of this?!

[BonnieShels]

What if they happen to be on their phones on Foot.ie or texting updates to friends further afield?

[shakermaker1982]

It was cut the rope on his iPhone! He was 2 seats away from me!

[Charlie Darwin]

I woke up this morning at 5:00am, looked out my window and saw the light in the living room of every single house on my street was on. It was definitely something special to see everyones house lights pouring onto the dark streets so early on a sunday morning. Just a shame its finished.
Do you work for the ESB, Murf?

[Stuttgart88]

Good article here (http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2011/1010/1224305517393.html) on our political class's attitude towards sport

[Maroon 7]

The country hasn't been buzzing though.
Take a walk around the place.
You wouldn't know we were even in a World Cup if the media didn't remind you every 30 seconds.
The city was buzzing when Dublin won the All-Ireland.
I fail to see any evidence of a rugby buzz.

Games being on at 6 and 7 in the morning isn't really conducive to the pubs being rammed full of people on the lash watching the games though in fairness.

[TiocfaidhArmani]

In fairness, the last time the Irish football team got to the quarter-finals of a World Cup they got a homecoming that the ruggers could only dream about.

Of course the coverage is biased towards rugby somewhat due to the prevalence of D4 types in the meeja, but we all know that the man in the street isn't really in to rugger.

See that doesn't add up with crowds. The Rugby team can sell out the Aviva no bother. When has the Irish soccer team done it? Never. Close once against Russia, but attendances for Rugby have always been much higher. Surely people do care to some degree.

[Comic Book Guy]

There a number of different factors for this.
1. The ridiculous cost of tickets for the football, if you consider that the vast majority of those who go to internationals are those that have been hit hardest by the recession.
2. Rugby is the darling of the media and gets an easy ride.
3. Most internationals are played midweek, rugby at weekends. A lot harder to get time off midweek to go to games.
4. The football we play under trap is dour.
I'm sure there are more but enough for now.

[IsMiseSean]

Good article here
Fans revel in their double standards (http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/league-of-ireland/fans-revel-in-their-double-standards-2900822.html)

[Jinxy]

Games being on at 6 and 7 in the morning isn't really conducive to the pubs being rammed full of people on the lash watching the games though in fairness.

I wasn't the one who said there was a buzz around the country.

[OwlsFan]

Hopefully An Ceannaire will post the www.rte.ie website front page on Tuesday.

Soccer is on the front page ok but with the headling "Dunphy slams Ireland selection". I give up. Most Irish supporters would prefer Long to Cox but because Dunphy says it, it's front page news. Je d'espair.

[pineapple stu]

See that doesn't add up with crowds. The Rugby team can sell out the Aviva no bother.
Yep, rugby can sell out Lansdowne no bother...

http://www.sportsfile.com/winshare/watermarked-b/Library/SF650/470473.jpg

...and would never have to resort to slashing ticket prices to sell out (http://www.limerickpost.ie/index.php/navigation-mainmenu-30/dropline-menu-mainmenu-34/2537-irfu-cut-ticket-prices-for-6-nations.html).

[Jinxy]

Chris Lowry: No wonder fans are abandoning soccer for honest rugby

SIMON Cox, the handball hero whose efforts propelled us to victory over Armenia, has helped clear up a mystery that has puzzled me for weeks.

The mystery is as follows: how can the Irish rugby team sell out the O2 Arena for a game that starts early on a Saturday morning? Who in their right mind gets up on weekend mornings for any reason, let alone to go to a screening of a match that’s already being shown for free on terrestrial TV?

Fanatics, that’s who, and what Cox has done is demonstrate why those fanatics now flock to rugby rather than football.

Cox, of course, is a footballer, not a rugby player, though his handling skills suggest he’d be at least as good at the oval ball game. His contribution to the shift in the balance of power between the two sports has been to typify what’s gone wrong with one of them, and in doing so highlight what’s (at least relatively) worthwhile about the other.

Just to be clear, I’m not complaining about the fact that Cox used his arm to control the ball in what turned out to be the pivotal moment of the Armenia game. The referee should have spotted it, he didn’t, life goes on.

Nor am I complaining about the fact that Cox knew - as he admitted in his post-match interview afterwards - that not only had he handled it but also that the goalkeeper hadn’t. It would be nice to think he might have brought these matters to the referee’s attention - after all the keeper was sent off and the game as a contest was ruined - but, sadly, that sort of spontaneous honesty hasn’t been part of professional sport for decades. If ever.

No, what’s disturbing about Cox’s actions is that, despite what he knew, he appealed to the referee to give a foul against Armenia. Let’s not be under any illusions about this. Cox knows the rules of the game, he knows that if the goalkeeper is adjudged to have handled the ball outside the area (and denied a clear goalscoring chance) he will be given a red card. So Cox was trying - successfully as it happens - to get a fellow pro sent off.

Even if Cox thought the goalkeeper was guilty his actions would be dubious: it’s not his job to decide who stays on the pitch. But given that he knew the keeper was innocent (and that he himself was guilty) his actions weren’t merely dubious, they were loathsome.

Think about it for a moment. Much has been made of the contrast between our hysterical reaction to Thierry Henry’s handball and the Armenians’ rather more stoical response to a similar injustice. But if you reflect for even a few seconds it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that what Cox did was actually worse than the Hand of Frog incident.

Henry handled the ball, just as Cox did. But the Frenchman didn’t then fling his arms up in protest to the referee, trying to shift his own guilt onto someone else. If he had then we wouldn’t merely have been vandalising his Wikipedia profile and painting over the names of vacuum cleaners called "Henry", we would have … well, I dread to think what might have been the result of our atavistic rage.

On this occasion, there was no rage - only shameless hypocrisy. When Darragh Maloney asked his co-commentator Ronnie Whelan whether Cox had handled the ball (while a replay was being shown that made clear that he had), Ronnie said, "I don’t care". End of discussion.

But the most shocking thing of all is how relaxed Cox was when he admitted his guilt in the post-match interview. It didn’t seem to occur to him that he had done anything wrong.

He had done something wrong, of course. It was an open and shut case of cheating. The play should have stopped the minute the ball touched Cox’s arm, the keeper should have stayed on the pitch and the game should have remained 11 vs 11. Cox knew all this. His protest to the ref was both dishonest and dishonourable.

It tells you all you need to know about football that the player shows not even a flicker of regret about what he did. Cox, who is merely a symptom of a game that has lost all claim to our respect, presumably isn’t concerned about the ethical nitty-gritty. But if the Irish football team ever try to sell tickets to a match that kicks off on a weekend morning - and if they then find that their former fans say, "thanks but no thanks" - they will know the reason why.

http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/food-drink/outrageous-prices-but-gordon-ramsay-at-powerscourt-should-have-top-chefs-worried-1139257.html

[paul_oshea]

That's awful ****e on so many points.just back from work otherwise id actually email the fool

[Closed Account]

I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of emailing. He's just looking for a response. Gutter journalism.

[BonnieShels]

Add that to the plop that Cut and Paste had on the back of the Evening Errorld.

[Stuttgart88]

What a ****. Did anyone read Liam Toland saying after we went 7 down against Wales Cian Healy should have gone down feigning a head injury so the Irish could regroup and effectively call a time out (because a stoppage involving a front row necessitates a clock stop)? Or Marcus Horan feigning injury in the Magners League decider? Or a Munster centre taking out BO'D in the same game? Or 'quins feigning a blood injury against Leinster - using fake blood capsules? Or Brian Moore on BBC saying Ireland should deliberately collpase a French scrum in case a ref gave a penno erroneously? Or Matt Dawson running off line into PO'C after a pen just to get him yellow carded and to gain 10m?

Rugby is a great game, but let all the holier than thou egg chasers go fcuk themselves if they think their sport is inherently honest whereas football isn't.

Jesus, that crap makes me hopping livid.

Cox did not set out to cheat. Handball happens. Refs call it or they don't, just as refs call forward passes or late tackles, or they don't. Should the Aussies who high tackled the Springboks last w/e be asahmed? No. An incompetent ref missed it. Thierry Henry handled the ball deliberately and calculatedly. In fact Cox as good as admitted he handled it. It was quite a refreshing interview.

IRL Rugby WC Q/F. Public reception? A few turned out at the airport. Ireland's rugby players deserve more than that muck journalism too.

[paul_oshea]

dont forget dawson and neill back from many years ago well before any of the diving or handballs or whatnot...

Stutts looks like you are still grumpy ;)

[Stuttgart88]

It was an open and shut case of cheating.

The play should have stopped the minute the ball touched Cox’s arm
No it wasn't. As the cnut said, the ball touched his arm. Just like the Springbok's neck got tangled in the Aussie's arm. At least twice.

[Jinxy]

Here, don't attribute his nonsense to me!

[Stuttgart88]

"it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that what Cox did was actually worse than the Hand of Frog incident"

[Jinxy]

I think there is a certain type of individual in this country whom Mr Lowry is probably representative of.
They've no interest in sport in general and yet they claim to love rugby even though they've never played or been a member of a club, nor could they tell you the name of the closest AIL team.
Plus they don't understand the rules.

[Irish_Praha]

What a cnut. Did anyone read Liam Toland saying after we went 7 down against Wales Cian Healy should have gone down feigning a head injury so the Irish could regroup and effectively call a time out (because a stoppage involving a front row necessitates a clock stop)? Or Marcus Horan feigning injury in the Magners League decider? Or a Munster centre taking out BO'D in the same game? Or 'quins feigning a blood injury against Leinster - using fake blood capsules? Or Brian Moore on BBC saying Ireland should deliberately collpase a French scrum in case a ref gave a penno erroneously? Or Matt Dawson running off line into PO'C after a pen just to get him yellow carded and to gain 10m?

Rugby is a great game, but let all the holier than thou egg chasers go fcuk themselves if they think their sport is inherently honest whereas football isn't.

Jesus, that crap makes me hopping livid.

Cox did not set out to cheat. Handball happens. Refs call it or they don't, just as refs call forward passes or late tackles, or they don't. Should the Aussies who high tackled the Springboks last w/e be asahmed? No. An incompetent ref missed it. Thierry Henry handled the ball deliberately and calculatedly. In fact Cox as good as admitted he handled it. It was quite a refreshing interview.

IRL Rugby WC Q/F. Public reception? A few turned out at the airport. Ireland's rugby players deserve more than that muck journalism too.

CNUT CNUT CNUT CNUT

I was amused by the interview too. The stream i was looking at started with RTE for the pre-match analysis and changed to Sky Sports for the game and after match analysis so I presume you saw the Sky interview or else he was asked the same questions by RTE. I know he was probably buzzing after the result and getting MOTM but it was bilndly obvious that he hadn't really been following the fortunes of the Irish team from a young age when the interviewer started talking/asking about past play-offs all he could think of was the France play off. He's only been on the Irish scene for about 6 months and there is a bit of a plastic about hime but now that he is on board I can see him being very commited and hopefully he will have as many fond memories to look back on like the likes of Townsend and co.

BTW did Dumpy get it put back at him about Cox getting MOTM after all his pre-match slating of him?

[Jinxy]

In fairness Dunphy put his hands up and said he got it wrong.

[Charlie Darwin]

Anybody who's ever played rugby knows that a substantial part of the game is based around who can cheat the most cleverly. There are a lot of honourable things in rugby that soccer can learn from but altrusitically obeying the rules is not one of them.

[Irwin3]

I was amused by the interview too. The stream i was looking at started with RTE for the pre-match analysis and changed to Sky Sports for the game and after match analysis so I presume you saw the Sky interview or else he was asked the same questions by RTE. I know he was probably buzzing after the result and getting MOTM but it was bilndly obvious that he hadn't really been following the fortunes of the Irish team from a young age when the interviewer started talking/asking about past play-offs all he could think of was the France play off. He's only been on the Irish scene for about 6 months and there is a bit of a plastic about hime but now that he is on board I can see him being very commited and hopefully he will have as many fond memories to look back on like the likes of Townsend and co.

BTW did Dumpy get it put back at him about Cox getting MOTM after all his pre-match slating of him?

In fairness to Cox I don't think there are many 14 year olds with one Irish grandparent who would be closely following the Irish team. Also he openly declared in the press aged 22 and had notified Doyle/Hunt of his eligibility beforehand when at his first club Reading. Obviously part of this is that he realised as a pro footballer that his prospects were better with Ireland than with England. All this shows that he doesn't mess about and like you said he appears very committed.

http://eircomsports.eircom.net/News/news/soccer/sprouting-up-simon-cox.aspx

[Noelys Guitar]

Isn't it wonderful. We are getting under their skin again. I love it. I hope he writes more articles like this. Everyday if need be for self therapy purposes. Lowry and his ilk should band together with the wee chaps. A type of shared misery club. Because it is only going to get worse for them. Wall to wall coverage. What Coxy ate for breakfast 15 years ago. Davy Kehoe presenting Prime time. Extended coverage of 1988. Extended coverage of 1990/1994/2002. Fcuk it. Lets throw in a few qualifiers from down the years as well. Player profiles. Management profiles. Fan profiles. A new song. Fcuk it a whole bunch of new songs. Chat shows, endorsements, billboards. Replica shirts. Sing songs near closing time (ever weekend up to and including June 2012). Cars with flags on. Houses with flags on. People with flags on. Packed pubs. Now lads show some sympathy for Lowry and the wee individuals. Just not too much.

[jbyrne]

Chris Lowry: No wonder fans are abandoning soccer for honest rugby
how can the Irish rugby team sell out the O2 Arena for a game that starts early on a Saturday morning?


the tickets were free and it wasnt full

didnt read the rest

[tetsujin1979]

the tickets were free and it wasnt full

didnt read the rest
I knew it wasn't a sell out, but I didn't realise it was free tickets. Pretty much invalidates the rest of the article

[jbyrne]

I knew it wasn't a sell out, but I didn't realise it was free tickets. Pretty much invalidates the rest of the article

was 1/3 to half full i heard. tickets were free and i think you could nab up to 16 tickets!

[Jinxy]

Isn't it wonderful. We are getting under their skin again. I love it. I hope he writes more articles like this. Everyday if need be for self therapy purposes. Lowry and his ilk should band together with the wee chaps. A type of shared misery club. Because it is only going to get worse for them. Wall to wall coverage. What Coxy ate for breakfast 15 years ago. Davy Kehoe presenting Prime time. Extended coverage of 1988. Extended coverage of 1990/1994/2002. Fcuk it. Lets throw in a few qualifiers from down the years as well. Player profiles. Management profiles. Fan profiles. A new song. Fcuk it a whole bunch of new songs. Chat shows, endorsements, billboards. Replica shirts. Sing songs near closing time (ever weekend up to and including June 2012). Cars with flags on. Houses with flags on. People with flags on. Packed pubs. Now lads show some sympathy for Lowry and the wee individuals. Just not too much.

Great stuff Noely. :D

[Sullivinho]

Isn't it wonderful. We are getting under their skin again. I love it. I hope he writes more articles like this. Everyday if need be for self therapy purposes. Lowry and his ilk should band together with the wee chaps. A type of shared misery club. Because it is only going to get worse for them. Wall to wall coverage. What Coxy ate for breakfast 15 years ago. Davy Kehoe presenting Prime time. Extended coverage of 1988. Extended coverage of 1990/1994/2002. Fcuk it. Lets throw in a few qualifiers from down the years as well. Player profiles. Management profiles. Fan profiles. A new song. Fcuk it a whole bunch of new songs. Chat shows, endorsements, billboards. Replica shirts. Sing songs near closing time (ever weekend up to and including June 2012). Cars with flags on. Houses with flags on. People with flags on. Packed pubs. Now lads show some sympathy for Lowry and the wee individuals. Just not too much.

This. Amen. Word. And indeed, hear hear.

[ArdeeBhoy]

All this proves is we should adopt cricket as our national game.
Were it not for the weather...

[BonnieShels]

Like it was before 1884...

[tetsujin1979]

was 1/3 to half full i heard. tickets were free and i think you could nab up to 16 tickets!
was the same for the Australia game, which was on later in the morning.

[bennocelt]

"I was watching rugby with my friend last week, he said 'let's make this interesting', so we put football on instead" -a joke I heard today, i liked it anyway.:D

[TiocfaidhArmani]

Yep, rugby can sell out Lansdowne no bother...

http://www.sportsfile.com/winshare/watermarked-b/Library/SF650/470473.jpg

...and would never have to resort to slashing ticket prices to sell out (http://www.limerickpost.ie/index.php/navigation-mainmenu-30/dropline-menu-mainmenu-34/2537-irfu-cut-ticket-prices-for-6-nations.html).

A friendly game. That the best you can do?

[jbyrne]

A friendly game. That the best you can do?

against the world champions on a late saturday afternoon, prime sports event attending time

[IsMiseSean]

against the world champions on a late saturday afternoon, prime sports event attending time

Was it also the game to give them a "big" send off to the RWC??

[jbyrne]

Was it also the game to give them a "big" send off to the RWC??

no, but the first international in the new stadium