Rugby now more popular than football AND GAA?!

**Qwerty** · 10/10/2010, 6:35 PM

Like any sport you have the hard core fans who support the team through thick & thin and then you have the folks that jump on the band-wagon when success comes rolling in.

Given how poor our actual results have really been in the last 8 years and the mostly inept performance of the FAI I think the interest in the team is pretty strong.

Given how much humbug sourrounds the Ireland team it's pretty amazing how popular the team is but we love humbug! we are humbug!

Examples of humbug -

The FAI appointing Stan
The FAI appointing Trapp as the 2nd higest paid manager in international football.
The embarrassing over-reaction to Henry's handball
The ludicrious salary of John Delaney
The FAI retaining Don Givens for so long
The continual recruitment of players who couldn't find Ireland on a map of the UK & Ireland ( I am not referring to James McCarthy or Aiden McGeady, you know who I'm talking about...).
The attempted recruitment of players who have played for England at U21 level and who are known to want to play for England at senior level.
The Fran Rooney debacle and the usual FAI power struggles.
Genesis report
Limerick F.C. v FC Barcelona
FAI ticketing
and on and on and on....thank God for the IRFU or the Ireland team would be playing at the RDS!

**Jinxy** · 10/10/2010, 6:56 PM

Originally Posted by SUB of the day

Viewing figures for Leinster V Munster peaked at 313000, numbers for ROI V Russia still not available, but I will be stunned if they don't surpass this by some margin.

The Russia game would have got way, way more than that.
As did any big GAA game over the summer.

**Charlie Darwin** · 10/10/2010, 8:28 PM

Originally Posted by Jinxy

The Russia game would have got way, way more than that.
As did any big GAA game over the summer.

Yeah, rugby is still the minority sport by some distance. I bet if you did a demographic analysis on the numbers you'd find the audience profile for the rugger is a lot younger than either of the other sports.

**Jinxy** · 10/10/2010, 8:36 PM

I dunno about that.
I went to a couple of rugby games in Croke Park and I found it generally to be a much older crowd with far fewer kids than you'd get at a GAA/soccer game.

**Charlie Darwin** · 10/10/2010, 9:00 PM

That's a money thing. Watch rugby in any pub in south Dublin and it's all 20-30 year olds.

**jbyrne** · 10/10/2010, 9:49 PM

Originally Posted by Qwerty

thank God for the IRFU or the Ireland team would be playing at the RDS!

thank god for the fai and the irish government or the irfu would be playing in the rds

**bwagner** · 11/10/2010, 8:12 AM

A silly dublin fool just summed the whole thing up there to me in work ...They (Ireland) f**king* got Doyle injured for " US" (us being Wolves of course) ....Wolves !

**elroy** · 11/10/2010, 9:02 AM

Originally Posted by bwagner

A silly dublin fool just summed the whole thing up there to me in work ...They (Ireland) f**king* got Doyle injured for " US" (us being Wolves of course) ....Wolves !

What a top of the range clown. Ask him what part of Wolverhampton has he connections with again?!?

There was a piece in the paper yesterday about an FAI and Garda run project in Ballymun every Friday night. Its a midnight five a side league. Apparently has brought down the rate of anti social behaviour on that particular night by over 50%. Great initiative and as Dunph/Giles always advocate its the working class kids playing ball on the street is where the real football talent comes from. Can you imagine the IRFU supporting such a venture?!? They probably dont even know where Ballymun is.

Football is for all. Rugby as a participation sport is for you if you are from Limerick, if not then its only for the private school, middle class upwards brigade. Sad but by and large true.

**jbyrne** · 11/10/2010, 9:08 AM

Originally Posted by elroy

There was a piece in the paper yesterday about an FAI and Garda run project in Ballymun every Friday night. Its a midnight five a side league. Apparently has brought down the rate of anti social behaviour on that particular night by over 50%. Great initiative and as Dunph/Giles always advocate its the working class kids playing ball on the street is where the real football talent comes from. Can you imagine the IRFU supporting such a venture?!? They probably dont even know where Ballymun is.

Football is for all. Rugby as a participation sport is for you if you are from Limerick, if not then its only for the private school, middle class upwards brigade. Sad but by and large true.

what you say is true to a great extent but the IRFU have set up camp in many places you wouldnt think of including tallaght for example

**elroy** · 11/10/2010, 9:14 AM

Originally Posted by jbyrne

what you say is true to a great extent but the IRFU have set up camp in many places you wouldnt think of including tallaght for example

Am happy to be proven wrong in certain instances but what I wrote above is my own personal experience in Cork and Dublin. Only really need to look at the demographics of the Irish/Leinster/Munster teams to illustrate the background of the vast majority. Must admit it was only when I moved to Dublin a few years ago that I fully realised the extent of the private school upbringing attached to Rugby.

And just for the record, am not one of these twisted anti other sport brigade (of which the gaa seem to have many). Am very happy to see Irish rugby do very well and there are elements of its organisation that we as football supporters can learn from. its just Irish football is my no.1 no question.

**tetsujin1979** · 11/10/2010, 9:42 AM

Originally Posted by jbyrne

what you say is true to a great extent but the IRFU have set up camp in many places you wouldnt think of including tallaght for example

This is true, I think a team from Tallaght knocked out one of the big schools (Blackrock or St Mary's) out of the Leinster schools cup earlier this year?

**gastric** · 11/10/2010, 9:56 AM

On the debate about rugby and soccer, the reality is rugby is our only professional team sport, we are successful in club rugby and these lads are seen to be part of the community. The top Irish soccer players live abroad, earn mad money and the majority of them will probably never live in Ireland again. This is why rugby continues to flourish in Ireland.

**Stuttgart88** · 11/10/2010, 10:15 AM

Why have Irish football fans abandoned foot.ie? A day before a big match I'd expect fresh posts every few minutes!

**elroy** · 11/10/2010, 10:18 AM

Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

Why have Irish football fans abandoned foot.ie? A day before a big match I'd expect fresh posts every few minutes!

That is true, its a lot quieter these days. YBIG seems to be the flurry of activity, although a fair few clowns on that and not as easy to follow. Plenty of impressive work done by the lads there though.

**jbyrne** · 11/10/2010, 10:28 AM

Originally Posted by tetsujin1979

This is true, I think a team from Tallaght knocked out one of the big schools (Blackrock or St Mary's) out of the Leinster schools cup earlier this year?

it was a team from bray that knocked blackrock out of the senior cup but the school concerned is still from the same genre of school as the likes of blackrock. its more in the club game that new forces from non traditional rugby playing areas have appeared

**Stuttgart88** · 11/10/2010, 10:29 AM

Originally Posted by elroy

That is true, its a lot quieter these days. YBIG seems to be the flurry of activity, although a fair few clowns on that and not as easy to follow. Plenty of impressive work done by the lads there though.

The lads do great work, but the forum is like a bit of banter rather than a discussion platform as far as I can tell.

**tetsujin1979** · 11/10/2010, 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by jbyrne

it was a team from bray that knocked blackrock out of the senior cup but the school concerned is still from the same genre of school as the likes of blackrock. its more in the club game that new forces from non traditional rugby playing areas have appeared

That was it, my mistake. Although I have heard of IRFU projects in Tallaght to get the game played in non-traditional areas

**Jinxy** · 11/10/2010, 12:41 PM

Originally Posted by elroy

Am happy to be proven wrong in certain instances but what I wrote above is my own personal experience in Cork and Dublin. Only really need to look at the demographics of the Irish/Leinster/Munster teams to illustrate the background of the vast majority. Must admit it was only when I moved to Dublin a few years ago that I fully realised the extent of the private school upbringing attached to Rugby.

And just for the record, am not one of these twisted anti other sport brigade (of which the gaa seem to have many). Am very happy to see Irish rugby do very well and there are elements of its organisation that we as football supporters can learn from. its just Irish football is my no.1 no question.

For a lad that isn't 'anti' any sport you never miss an opportunity to have a go at the GAA.
Surely you're not so naive that you don't realise there is a large anti-soccer element amongst the rugby fraternity?
I know plenty of rugby afficionados that happily refer to soccer as 'chavball'.
These are the same lads that were turning their nose up at having to cross the river to watch international rugby in Croke Park.
Look at any of the rugby forums.
They can't wait till the day the IRFU are freed from the shackles binding them to the FAI and irish soccer.

**Polster** · 11/10/2010, 12:53 PM

Recession guys, I can't be justifying €90 + travel and accom from London. Throwing in the friendly games as a package is taking the p**s in the current economic climate to. How about trying to fill the stadium for friendlies by vastly expanding out the school boy tickets and better concessions for others. At €5.60 a beer in the stadium they'll make up their money if they get enough people in.

After 20 years on the block booking, I didn't take up the last allocation, I know others the same.