Rugby now more popular than football AND GAA?!

[Fixer82]

Don't forget the IRFU can effectively sign players too - like Jean Kleyn, who qualified for Ireland purely because he'd been playing for Munster for the last three years.

(For the record, I've no interest in rugby because I think it's an ugly, tedious sport, and I just can't bring myself to sit through ten minutes of it, let alone a full game. Others don't agree with that obviously, which is fine.)

True. International rugby has become a joke with this stuff but it has been extended to 5 years now I believe.

[tetsujin1979]

Correct, but that doesn't kick in until the new year, so expect to see a few signings made between then and now.

[jbyrne]

3 weeks in Japan I didn't see one lad spewing up in the street, I didn't hear any of the IRA songs, I didn't see rubbish strewn on the streets outside pubs where we'd been drinking, I didn't see arguments or scraps between our fans in the stands.

Also saw a bit more entertainment on the pitch!

It's not all by any stretch, but it was something I noticed.

grand slam match cardiff 2009, afternoon ko, two irish fans beside me puked all over about 5 seats during the first half.
bordeaux rwc 2007, witnessed two separate sets of Irish fans throwing digs in the irish bar during an argument over Irelands Call.

3 weeks in Japan / korea 2002 i didn't see one single incident from the thousands of Irish fans i encountered that i was ashamed of.

btw the 2002 entertainment on the pitch was great also!

[NeverFeltBetter]

There will always be incidents of people overindulging in drink or getting into fights in tournaments, regardless of the sport. There's a perception that rugby isn't as bad for that as other sports, but I'm not sure how much basis that really has beyond anecdotal observation. If I was to declare which sports fans are the worst regards drinking/violence/awful to be around on match days, it would be the GAA by a country-mile, but that's strictly my own experience.

[wexfordned]

Whatever the merits of this overall debate, it's daft to "congratulate" the IRFU for producing home grown talent.

Football is played professionally in nearly 50 countries in Europe
The competitive & economic landscape is massively different between the two games.
Rugby has the luxury of automatic entry to the annual European Championships equivalent, and virtually guaranteed entry to the RWC, and virtually guaranteed passage to the QFs
Rugby has the luxury of a X-border closed club league with foreign TV money from the UK and South Africa; the LOI doesn’t
Rugby has the luxury of virtually guaranteed access to the Champions League equivalent – so even more money
IRFU can tell its players not to go abroad or they won’t play for Ireland (which is lucrative). FAI can’t.
So Rugby has a guaranteed pathway into the very top of the professional game; the FAI can’t guarantee anything like this. The FAI deserves criticism for neglecting the LOI, for sure, but this is a material point and a better funded LOI will only go so far in reducing our reliance on the UK system, unfortunately
The Irish Times is saying the IRFU needs to poach GAA players because its reliance on the schools sasytem isn't producing enough talent!

I admit my interest in rugby's success has diminished in recent years, mainly to to its patronising tone towards football. I think Japan has really hurt though and maybe the penny will drop that both codes are up against it on a global level and a bit more balance will return.

Irish rugby is able to consistently produce young talent as there is a clear pathway for players from underage teams/leagues around the country all the way up to the international team. Irish football as far as I can see from being involved on the administrative side is nothing like that. The only links I can see is between Bohs and St Kevins which is working well for them both. None of the leagues/provinces seem interested in working together either at schoolboy or adult level and seem to work against the LOI rather than with them. The only thing that matters is their own patch.

Based on soundings by the schoolboys association over possible FAI management/board changes that wont be changing anytime soon.

[Stuttgart88]

Irish rugby is able to consistently produce young talent as there is a clear pathway for players from underage teams/leagues around the country all the way up to the international team. Irish football as far as I can see from being involved on the administrative side is nothing like that. The only links I can see is between Bohs and St Kevins which is working well for them both. None of the leagues/provinces seem interested in working together either at schoolboy or adult level and seem to work against the LOI rather than with them. The only thing that matters is their own patch.

Based on soundings by the schoolboys association over possible FAI management/board changes that wont be changing anytime soon.

I refer you to my previous post!

[Stuttgart88]

There will always be incidents of people overindulging in drink or getting into fights in tournaments, regardless of the sport. There's a perception that rugby isn't as bad for that as other sports, but I'm not sure how much basis that really has beyond anecdotal observation. If I was to declare which sports fans are the worst regards drinking/violence/awful to be around on match days, it would be the GAA by a country-mile, but that's strictly my own experience.

A few pages back I posted quotes from Welsh Transport Police who say that rugby nights in Cardiff are worse for trouble than football.

[SkStu]

I admit my interest in rugby's success has diminished in recent years, mainly to to its patronising tone towards football.

Can you explain this a little more to me? How has "rugby" been patronising towards football? Bodies like World Rugby, IRFU etc been denigrating football? Or a couple of inconsequential goons in the media or "personalities"? Of which football has its own. Which surely just boils down to some of them being arrogant XXXXs as opposed to some rugby conspiracy against football.

[wexfordned]

I refer you to my previous post!

So the fact the FAI has no pathway for youngsters or players from leagues around the country to even LOI football level, never mind International level doesn't seem a coincidence to you why this country is so inept at producing footballers?

Shows why John Delaney was allowed run FAI as his personal plaything for years whilst running the LOI into the ground. Board members from district leagues get looked after, fans get free beer for the train meanwhile LOI teams get screwed/ignored. In Irish football it's all about look after your own patch and not the bigger picture and the best thing for football in the country.

[Stuttgart88]

So the fact the FAI has no pathway for youngsters or players from leagues around the country to even LOI football level, never mind International level doesn't seem a coincidence to you why this country is so inept at producing footballers?

I never said that at all.

And the recent changes shifting the balance of power from schoolboy to LOI clubs is a change in the right direction, albeit one still with flaws, imho.

[Stuttgart88]

Can you explain this a little more to me? How has "rugby" been patronising towards football? Bodies like World Rugby, IRFU etc been denigrating football? Or a couple of inconsequential goons in the media or "personalities"? Of which football has its own. Which surely just boils down to some of them being arrogant XXXXs as opposed to some rugby conspiracy against football.

Goons in the media, statements from World Rugby when they can never say anything positive about their game without separating it from football, friends who are rugby supporters only...

I think I told you offline once how I was almost literally ambushed by two pals in a West London pub one night. Vincent Browne wrote an IT column saying that amid all the adulation rugby gets it’s worth noting that there’s a boorish, hard-drinking frat boy culture associated with it and a fair degree of misogyny too. I had the temerity to post a comment underneath the article saying that despite his sensational tone and exaggerations, there’s an element of truth to it. So it wasn’t even a whole endorsement. I added that there’s good & bad in all sports and it’s pointless to compare the worst of one with the best of another. People were spitting blood in the comments section that day! My comment was quite moderate I thought.

After a few beers and amicable chat, my rugby mates turned on me, brought up the online comments I had made, which were months ago now, saying they’d never read such biased rubbish and that I was totally anti-rugby. I pointed out that the previous hour had been spent talking about their trip to the HK 7s, which contained a fair few misogynistic hard-drinking frat boys anecdotes. I also pointed out to one of them that after I texted him about Celtic beating Barcelona he replied “**** your roundball sh1te” and that it was he who was biased. He also told my wife one time that if he had kids he wouldn’t let them play football. His own wife asked how I could show my face in Dublin after my Irish Times comments. I kid you not.

The other mate said he’d be cheering Croatia against us in the Euros because he had a holiday home there! We had a blazing row – well, I got shouted down, I tried to reply in a measured manner. I got both barrels about rugby’s gay refs, no racism blah blah blah, I replied that rugby doesn’t rescue kids from gun & knife crime around the world so it’s a more complicated debate than meets the eye, but no, I was shouted down like some blasphemer by two crazed fundamentalists.

The day after I apologised for my role in the row (even though I felt blameless) and gave a £50 online donation to a rugby spinal injury charity but my mate didn’t reply and didn’t speak to me for 6 months. I can trace my loss of connection with the rugby team to that night. Ever since – in fact, no, before – my rugby sanctimony radar has been turned up to highly sensitive.

The list is long, and that’s why this thread has over 80 pages. My recollection is that the early pages contained lots of pro-rugby / anti-football media bias examples. But you only have to walk around parts of SE Dublin to pick up on the knackerball / wendyball stuff.

[DeLorean]

They sound like gobsh!tes Stutts in fairness. Maybe drop them and go back to supporting your country, if it isn't too late.

[livehead1]

A lot has changed in a decade then!

[Stuttgart88]

But there's still so much that winds me up. I'm a white collar professional in London. As Owls Fan said about his Leeds(?) scene, the sheer underlying assumption I'm a rugby fan first & foremost (if not only) by my fellow Irish at professional networking events just makes me weep. Not to mention being invited to drinks receptions on the night of Irish footy games which has happened a lot

[wexfordned]

I've seen numerous drunken fools at Ireland away games and got into rows over how can you care more about drinking/session than the result and performance. Used to drive me mad. One of the reasons I stopped going to away games. Doesn't inspire a hatred of soccer though.

Its a different supporter goes to Ireland away games in rugby in 6 nations. Older crowd and less of the drunken mess that goes with the football. You're always expecting a decent performance and an excellent chance of winning the game. WC in Japan is different though. Majority of people there would have had to save for a couple of years to attend it so if they want to go mad, then why shouldn't they?

Some peolple seem to think the Irish rugby team get an easy off the Irish media. This week should make them think again. Some of the articles written in the last 10 days or so are what you'd expect from the english media when they go out of an international tournament. Shocking stuff and completely over the top.

[The Fly]

I think I told you offline once how I was almost literally ambushed by two pals in a West London pub one night. Vincent Browne wrote an IT column saying that amid all the adulation rugby gets it’s worth noting that there’s a boorish, hard-drinking frat boy culture associated with it and a fair degree of misogyny too. I had the temerity to post a comment underneath the article saying that despite his sensational tone and exaggerations, there’s an element of truth to it. So it wasn’t even a whole endorsement. I added that there’s good & bad in all sports and it’s pointless to compare the worst of one with the best of another. People were spitting blood in the comments section that day! My comment was quite moderate I thought.

After a few beers and amicable chat, my rugby mates turned on me, brought up the online comments I had made, which were months ago now, saying they’d never read such biased rubbish and that I was totally anti-rugby. I pointed out that the previous hour had been spent talking about their trip to the HK 7s, which contained a fair few misogynistic hard-drinking frat boys anecdotes. I also pointed out to one of them that after I texted him about Celtic beating Barcelona he replied “**** your roundball sh1te” and that it was he who was biased. He also told my wife one time that if he had kids he wouldn’t let them play football. His own wife asked how I could show my face in Dublin after my Irish Times comments. I kid you not.

The other mate said he’d be cheering Croatia against us in the Euros because he had a holiday home there! We had a blazing row – well, I got shouted down, I tried to reply in a measured manner. I got both barrels about rugby’s gay refs, no racism blah blah blah, I replied that rugby doesn’t rescue kids from gun & knife crime around the world so it’s a more complicated debate than meets the eye, but no, I was shouted down like some blasphemer by two crazed fundamentalists.

The day after I apologised for my role in the row (even though I felt blameless) and gave a £50 online donation to a rugby spinal injury charity but my mate didn’t reply and didn’t speak to me for 6 months. I can trace my loss of connection with the rugby team to that night. Ever since – in fact, no, before – my rugby sanctimony radar has been turned up to highly sensitive.

The list is long, and that’s why this thread has over 80 pages. My recollection is that the early pages contained lots of pro-rugby / anti-football media bias examples. But you only have to walk around parts of SE Dublin to pick up on the knackerball / wendyball stuff.

Sorry but....

[Charlie Darwin]

Correct, but that doesn't kick in until the new year, so expect to see a few signings made between then and now.

It's 2021 I think, but I may be wrong on that.

[Charlie Darwin]

grand slam match cardiff 2009, afternoon ko, two irish fans beside me puked all over about 5 seats during the first half.
bordeaux rwc 2007, witnessed two separate sets of Irish fans throwing digs in the irish bar during an argument over Irelands Call.

3 weeks in Japan / korea 2002 i didn't see one single incident from the thousands of Irish fans i encountered that i was ashamed of.

btw the 2002 entertainment on the pitch was great also!

Fairly clear trend here that Japan is a civilising influence on the Irish.

[Charlie Darwin]

But there's still so much that winds me up. I'm a white collar professional in London. As Owls Fan said about his Leeds(?) scene, the sheer underlying assumption I'm a rugby fan first & foremost (if not only) by my fellow Irish at professional networking events just makes me weep. Not to mention being invited to drinks receptions on the night of Irish footy games which has happened a lot

Quit your job and come join us

[tetsujin1979]

Football is the most popular participation sport in New Zealand: https://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/li...reation/sports