There's certainly a strong bandwagon-effect but you're greatly mistaken if you think the only people who followed rugby before recently were "a few rugby heads". A bit of success doesn't take a sport from 'nowhere' to 'everywhere'.
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The Provincial structure is not unique, it's modelled entirely on the All-Black set-up, local clubs, provinces, national team at the top of the pyramid with first dibs on the players availability. Everything revolves around the national team first and foremost, the provinces come secondary to that.
Warren Gatland was in charge of Ireland in the early days of professionalism and was very influential in the structure.
You see this is something I don't understand. I am Irish through and through and put my support for the Irish football team before all other. But I now live in Australia permanently after I married an Aussie. We are expecting our first child and to me that child will be as much Irish as Australian. I will bring them up sharing my passions and heritage. Say for example they were to become a decent footballer (long shot but stay with me) would they not be as entitled to play for Ireland as someone who grew up in the country? Would their Aussie accent outweigh their Irish parent and love for Ireland?
We're not comparing like-with-like. Qualifying for a WC is a major football achievement for Ireland. Not making a WC Q/F is a disaster for the rugby team. Also, beating Australia ina November test is nice, but not crucial. I'm not sure there'd have been many people leaving Croker yesterday absolutely gutted if we'd lost 13-20, but maybe that says more about me than the rugby crowd.
The only game I can think of in rugby that is equivalent to a knockout game is something like when we played Argentina in 2003 as third seed(?) and we won by a point. That was a winner take all play off game.
I love the 6 Nations and winning the Slam was a great achievement - one to be savoured - but the fact that if you have a bad 6N campaign sure you just start again next year, totally un-disadvantaged. It's just not the same, not to mention the truly global nature of football.
The Point is winning the Grand Slam will never never compare with beating England in Euro 88 or the penalty shoot-out in Italia 90 for the mood and euphoria it generated, those moment resonate deeper simply because soccer is the peoples game Rugby is a game for the middle classes and boarding school set, In Dublin it starts in Kielys in Donnybrook and ends somewhere just outside Dunlaoighre with pockets of stronghold in class divided cities like Cork and limerick..You are never going to get a Christy Moore song about the Grand Slam, the best you'll get is closing Dawson Street on a Sunday afternoon.
We always qualify for Rugby WC tournaments but you'll hardly ever going to hear of a Joxer story with sleeping bags rolled out after all the stout was polished of simply because the lads from Foxrock or Douglas will be booked into the Radisson or Hilton . There won't be any fans there from Ballybough or Ballymun.
Rugby is Populist at the moment but it's still an elitist sport for aspiring classes and middle classes..thats the Class issue thing out of the way.
On technique its several levels below soccer. There was a big hoopla yesterday because a 22 yr prop burst through 2 or three Aussie Tackles.. not skill in my opinion, the guys is no different to a prize bull stuffed with a diet and weight regime to give him bulk so its no wonder he can knock a few lads over with the Ball squeezed to his chest, in soccer if you can skip past three players while only relying on ball contol, speed and trickery its real skill simply because you never have full possession of the ball only the Goalkeeper has that, Compare Maradonas unreal skill in WC 86 and Rugbys equivalent Johan Lomu in Rugby WC 95, there is no comparison Maradona was a gifted Genius Johann Lomu was Freakishly big and fast but thats it.
Beating England in Euro 88 you won't get anything that will beat that in rugby, soccer or any other sport.
As for your comment about Rugby being a middle class sport you haven't a clue. I support both soccer and rugby and this is a complete generalisation of Rugby supporters. As for Christy Moore not writing a song for the grand slam thats just ridiculous. Anyway, who do you think played for the Irish team during the 6 Nations last year.
Complete rubbish. I think you'll find similar stories from both Leinster, Munster fans and Irish fans and the lengths they went to to get to Heineken Cup games and Grand Slam games and also to World Cups.
Rugby has always been a well supported sport in this country especially at International level.
I know if that lad had been playing soccer he would have gone down rolling around the ground like he'd been shot at the first whiff of a tackle.
Jonah Lomu!!! What are you like. Maradona is perhaps the best to have ever played football. Lomu is nowhere near the best player to have played Rugby. Just shows how much you know about Rugby?
Even in the 90's when the Irish rugby team were cack they still got great support and internationals especially the 5 nations were always sold out.
Even the club game in the early 90 with the AIL acheived some big attendances etc. easily comparable to what Irish football clubs got. The IRFU decided that provinces were the way to go and though its not perfect they have been proved right. Look at Irish football clubs at the moment?!
The idea that rugby has just been popular over the last 10 years is rubbish - although it is more popular now and has probably attracted some of the ole ole brigade from the football in the late 80's and 90's - maybe Christy Moore will do a song about it? Wound that just be grand - think of the crack we'd have ;)
Ultimately there are some @rseholes that follow rugby that have a negative view on football. Although after reading some the opinions on this thread I can say the same about some Irish football fans - appears they too have a nicely balanced chip on each shoulder.
A provincial system just wouldn't work in football though.
http://foot.ie/forums/showthread.php...de#post1222903
That's my opinion on it anyway.
Well that's something that I've never understood. You've chosen to live in Australia, that is your country of choice, you might have a romantic view of yourself being 100% Irish or whatever you like but you're not part of the community here, you don't live the day to day life or communicate with the people here all the time every day. I speak form experience knowing many Americans with distant Irish relatives who claim to be heavily Irish despite never actually being in the country. For some people being "Irish" is some abstract romance thing in their head that makes them special as its something unique to them compared to the people around them. To me, being Irish is choosing Ireland as your home, Australia is your home and it was your decision to make it that, just like it's my decision to choose Ireland as mine.
WTF mate. Are you serious? I was born and raised in County Roscommon and was 30 when I moved to Australia, I have an Irish passport and my whole family is Irish - yet I'm not really Irish because I live in Australia. So by your reckoning a recent immigrant to Ireland is more Irish than me because they have chosen to live in Ireland?
It’s a big world out there you know and Irish people have travelled the world throughout history – doesn’t make us any less Irish
Be careful you don't get a nosebleed so far up there on your (really REALLY GREEN) pedestal.