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But it's still not true. Rugby fans get a minimum of five competitive home internationals a year plus at least three Heineken Cup games (unless you're from Connacht). We get maybe three competitive games a year, three and a half if we reach a play-off.Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
Huh? No EPL games are played in Ireland! Though don't dispute they're not watched.....Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin
Yeah but there's nothing like the amount of rugby union played compared to soccer which is almost year round in various guises.Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin
Rugby might more be comparable to the GAA....
In rugby there is a minimum of 2 competitive home internationals games p/a , every other year there are 3 competitive home internationals.Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin
Not that I give a sh'ite about rugby. But even that 6 Nations competition has dropped a few notches since the World Cup has gathered pace.
The Triple Crown should have stayed invisible.
I hope for the sake of 'Brand Ireland' that those Rugby lads get their act together at the next World Cup and avoid the scrap for the wooden spoon with some dignity.
All rugby games are competitive.
Looks like a lot of empty seats in the old East Lower at the Aviva in the rugby match (v Sth Africa). Only 5 mins gone, maybe there's been traffic or other problems.
Ticket prices have affected the sales of tickets for all games. Only the All Blacks game is close to selling out apparently.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
Ryle Nugent just mentioned it's about 3/4 full, and that it's unfortunate to not have a full house for the first home game at the new stadium
Why have the Irish people abandoned the national rugby team? :)
35000 fans for the visit of the World Champions, and people scoffed at 40,000 for the game versus the mighty Andorra in Football.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
Any ideas for the reasons of this? Effects of recession, or just people fed up over not getting value for money? Was shocking to see such a low crowd. Could you imagine how embarrassing it would have looked if we were still playing in Croke Park.
I reckon it's a combination
recession
high ticket and general matchday costs
ticket coupling with midweek friendly
rugby bandwagon taking attention from the football
Recession, definitely. Was the same last recession for the Euro 88 qualifiers, selling out stadiums for every game was something that really only started in the latter end of the 1990 qualifiers.Quote:
Originally Posted by MeathDrog
Plus we haven't qualified for anything for a decade, if it looks like qualification is on the cards the crowds will increase. Tickets are overpriced too, the FAI mad an unmerciful boll1x of ticketing for the new ground every step of the way.
It's an indication of the low popularity of Soccer in the country at present. It's sadly becoming an increasingly irrelevant sport to the masses probably due to our failure to qualify for anything in 9 years.
To compare to similar competitive rugby fixtures, both our France and England games had a capacity 51,000 crowd. Even all of the uncompetetive autumn rugby internationals had a higher attendance than this one, the lowest being Somoa at 31,000. So the excuse of "recession" just isn't holding water for me, I just don't think soccer is especially popular anymore.
Rubbish, you can't compare a six nations game against Englkand or France with a qualifier against Macedonia. If we were playing England or France in a qualifier the stadium would have sold out. The rugby crowds for the autumn internationals were abysmal.Quote:
Originally Posted by Murfinator
There are a number of factors at play.
The recession is a massive one. Many of my friends who have a real interest in the Irish team and Irish players just don't have the money to go to the games.
This ties in with the cost of the ticket - 45 euro for a game against an average at best European team. Put this in context....if you're unemployed or worried about losing your job, then it's difficult to justify paying that much if you have a family. Even those in steady jobs like public sector workers have taken pay cuts and may often be in negative equity. Throw in the cost for the supporters from around the country in getting to Dublin and it's an expensive day out.
The FAI should have charged 25 euro and 40 euro instead of 45/60. That would have made a big difference to the attendance.
Success, success, success and prices. Ireland v Holland under Hand 28,000. 2-1. Next home game v Belgium sell out. The Irish Rugby crew know in their heart of hearts that Rugby will never be a game for the masses. They will never be able to match Ireland v Italy QF or Ireland v Spain last 16. The potential of an Ireland team doing even better than a quarter finals at a major tournatment cannot be matched. The prices for matches now are ridiculous compared to the 70's/80's and most of the 90's. Reduced prices and continued success will see full stadiums.
I don't mind paying 45 to 60 euros for a big team like Holland, France, Spain etc (top seeds) but the other games should be a lot cheaper. The FAI needs to drop their prices again.
I've just had a quick check to see what England are charging for the friendly against Ghana in midweek and it seems a bit more sensible.
Ticket Prices £40, £30, £25, £20
Family Enclosure £20 Adults/£10 Children under 16
They ned to decouple the competitive games from the friendlies at this stage, it was fair enough when there was plenty of cash about but having to get a Tuesday ticket in addition to the ticket for last night definitely puts people off especially anyone from outside Dublin who'll travel for a Saturday game but would struggle to make it midweek.
Spot on. I went with a German mate (might as well be Irish) who said the same thing. He said you could justify it for Russia (maybe Slovakia) but not Macedonia, Armenia and Andorra. He was telling me how in Germany you can see games at top teams for 10-15 euro and get very cheap season tickets.Quote:
Originally Posted by shakermaker1982
English football is a rip off in comparison.
And yet these abysmal crowds were still better than Macedonia. Are you saying a friendly game to Samoa is more attractive than a qualifier to Macedonia? Because the Samoa friendly still had more people attending. Claim rubbish all you like, your ignoring the true reason here.Quote:
Originally Posted by Drumcondra 69er
People will pay money for meaningless rugby games over meaningful soccer games because of the popularity of the respective sports in the country.