Rugby now more popular than football AND GAA?!

**peadar1987** · 05/04/2011, 4:53 PM

Originally Posted by paul_oshea

I hope you got laid.

If I'd been trying to get laid I would have taken her to a chick flick and a nice restaurant. I probably wouldn't have made her pay for her own ticket either!

**Stuttgart88** · 05/04/2011, 10:28 PM

Originally Posted by elroy

The IRFU are the leading light in advertising and marketing and developing the game in recent years. However, the nature of their game assists them in comparison to football.....significantly less global competition and a much lower cost/wage base are two major differences.

All in all there is certainly room for all sports in this country, as most of us have a strong interest/participation in one sport but will follow/attend the others as well.

Bang on IMHO.

**ArdeeBhoy** · 06/04/2011, 1:31 AM

Anyone know the 'official' crossover between rugby and soccer fans, as in my experience it's not that great?

Virtually everyone I know who watches (and the fewer who play) GAA are all keen on soccer.
Generally most of them would be less keen on the rugby (usually armchair fans;some of the Munster heads would do the odd game), some will almost blank the national team (If it wasn't a UI team, the more 'political' would have no interest at all!) however.

Personally just an armchair egg-chasing fan;only seen an inevitable thrashing away to the AB's in '02 and the only games I'd be interested in paying for are game v.Eng.home or away, or Wales in Cardiff.
Or maybe a Rugby WC game, but my pal who's a veteran of the soccer, rugby and cricket (he has the money) says those prices are usually eye-watering. Around €100 per game in the last Rugby WC.
Now the Rugby Lge.team is a whole different ball game.....

**jbyrne** · 06/04/2011, 4:38 PM

Originally Posted by ArdeeBhoy

.
Or maybe a Rugby WC game, but my pal who's a veteran of the soccer, rugby and cricket (he has the money) says those prices are usually eye-watering. Around €100 per game in the last Rugby WC.

depended on the game. my ticket to the georgia match was about €30 but my ticket to the france match in paris was over €200 (last min decision to go and i paid for it!) although there were other categories available for about €50

**geysir** · 06/04/2011, 5:21 PM

Originally Posted by gspain

registered players eg playing for a club whether it be St. Kevins Boys, Ballyboden St Endas or Blackrock.

it doesn't cover things like astro parks, work leagues etc

Please read the definition for "participation" used by the esri survey, then come back.

Here, I'll save you the bother as you are not experienced in serious research and might get lost

ESRI 2008

Introduction
1.3 Relationship to Previous Research

Thus, in addition to traditional competitive games, doing non-competitive exercise activities, such as going to the gym, attending fitness classes or swimming, is counted as ‘playing sport’. Moreover, playing sport casually among friends is given the same status as playing organised sport in a club setting.

Please lads, do proper research and accurately quote from same research.
Please don't make up sh*t as fits prejudices.

**geysir** · 06/04/2011, 5:49 PM

From the 4 year overview of 4 annual reports 2004 -2008
ESRI Ballpark figures

Spectator participation is defined as 'attended a fixture in the last 12 months'
GAA 57% Soccer 16% Rugby 8%

Club membership as defined by subscription
GAA 26%
Soccer 13%
Rugby not figured

**Stuttgart88** · 06/04/2011, 8:02 PM

Geysir,

I thought the Ballpark Figures report contradicted some of the Irish Sports Monitor

http://www.esri.ie/UserFiles/publica...BKMNEXT155.pdf

Of interest to me were Figures 5.2 (playing %), 5.3 (playing % male), 6.1 (volunteers) and 6.3 (attendance). When gaelic football and hurling are separate, soccer looks better. But the GAA attendance numbers mentioned in Ballpark Figures (and quoted above) absolutely hammer soccer, whereas in the ISM soccer is ahead of hurling but behind gaelic football. Maybe the definitions are different in each report.

**paul_oshea** · 06/04/2011, 8:20 PM

I'd be interested to see 2008 - 2011 im sure Rugby would have increased, attendances anyway.....

As I said before, even if geysirs stats back that up, GAA is by far the biggest sport in Ireland whether that be attendance or whatever you want, you don't have to be a genius to open yer eyes and see.

That said from a clubs point of view. I reckon in Roscommon there is more soccer clubs than Gaelic clubs, even if they do include some galway based clubs. Simply because tiny villages & townlands will pull a soccer club together easy enough, but a GAA club can spread across vilages & townlands(and also have junior teams also...).

**gspain** · 07/04/2011, 7:07 AM

Nonody is disputing that GAA attracts far bigger attendances. That is obvious.

This survey clearly shows that football is a much bigger participation sport. I think it is obvious to even the most diehard Airtricity League fan that the vast majority of football fans in this country support a British team.

**gspain** · 07/04/2011, 7:22 AM

Club membership is not an accurate guide of participation eother as most football clubs would only register playing members. Both rugby and the GAA have a tradition of allocating tickets to members and of course having "bar" members. This explains the discrepancy between playing numbers and memberships.

**paul_oshea** · 07/04/2011, 8:50 AM

Non playing membership its called.

And that definitely does not come under registered players. Any club I know has registered players that are sent to the county board, but non playing membership is not.

**Dodge** · 07/04/2011, 9:02 AM

Originally Posted by paul_oshea

Non playing membership its called.

And that definitely does not come under registered players. Any club I know has registered players that are sent to the county board, but non playing membership is not.

None of which detracts from gspain's point that the majority of Irish football people aren't registered. 90% of astro pitches in Dublin are booked solid 7pm-10pm every evening and most of these players aren't registered with a club. There's simply no argument that in terms of participation football has BY FAR the highest numbers. Likewise audience figures on TV show that football is the number one TV sport.

Go into 10 pubs in suburban Dublin on an all Ireland final day and I guarentee you 8 of them will be showing the English premiership on sky and not the highlight of the GAA calander. I'd say 6 or 7 of them would show the EPL instead of an Irish rugby international. The best supported sports teams in Ireland aren't Munster or Cork GAA or Dublin GAA but rather Manchester United, Liverpool and maybe even Celtic

**an_ceannaire** · 07/04/2011, 10:56 AM

Originally Posted by Dodge

None of which detracts from gspain's point that the majority of Irish football people aren't registered. 90% of astro pitches in Dublin are booked solid 7pm-10pm every evening and most of these players aren't registered with a club. There's simply no argument that in terms of participation football has BY FAR the highest numbers. Likewise audience figures on TV show that football is the number one TV sport.

Go into 10 pubs in suburban Dublin on an all Ireland final day and I guarentee you 8 of them will be showing the English premiership on sky and not the highlight of the GAA calander. I'd say 6 or 7 of them would show the EPL instead of an Irish rugby international. The best supported sports teams in Ireland aren't Munster or Cork GAA or Dublin GAA but rather Manchester United, Liverpool and maybe even Celtic

Carlsberg dont do stupid lazy and completely rubbish points.............but if they did!!

I lived in Ranelagh for 3 years. Hardly a GAA/Rugby stronghold. And if you think for one second that ANY and i mean ANY pub from Ranelagh to Walkinstown to Tallaght and Back to Artane, Donaghmede or Malahide would NOT have the All Ireland Football/Hurling Final on their tele, or would NOT show an Ireland International Rugby match, in favour of an EPL game.........your either delusional, or simply very very wrong. And its ridiculous to think so!! Seriously Dodge, we are well aware your not a Dubs fan or a Rugger Bugger but your bias towards soccer should not mean you become irrational.
And Gary, seriously, do you really think soccer is the top sport in Limerick......really.....i mean come on man!!!Drive around the suburbs any evening, any suburb, from Castletroy to Raheen to Dooradoyle to westbury to moyross to roxboro etc etc etc.......you will see FAR more young lads throwing around a gilbert on a patch of green than kicking a Mitre and you know that Gary!

**paul_oshea** · 07/04/2011, 11:54 AM

THe Players lounge.

**an_ceannaire** · 07/04/2011, 12:41 PM

Originally Posted by paul_oshea

THe Players lounge.

The Players Lounge! In Fairview! The one with all the navy and blue bunting out the front, the signed Dubs jersey on the wall and the first stop towards Croker for thousands of Northside Dubs on match days before Gaffneys..........?? That Players Lounge!! Hardly

**Dodge** · 07/04/2011, 12:44 PM

I lived in Ranelagh for 3 years. Hardly a GAA/Rugby stronghold. And if you think for one second that ANY and i mean ANY pub from Ranelagh to Walkinstown to Tallaght and Back to Artane, Donaghmede or Malahide would NOT have the All Ireland Football/Hurling Final on their tele, or would NOT show an Ireland International Rugby match, in favour of an EPL game......... your either delusional, or simply very very wrong.

I’m speaking from experience. Can’t speak for all areas obviously, but I’m happy to stand by the claim. In particular I’d say in tallaght that the ONLY place to show the All Ireland hurling final in Tallaght would be Thomas Davis’ clubhouse. I know about 6/7 regular GAA attendees. Even these wouldn’t suggest Hurling has a national appeal 9as can be witnessed by the 25,000 who attend the Leinster hurling final last year)

Seriously Dodge, we are well aware your not a Dubs fan or a Rugger Bugger but your bias towards soccer should not mean you become irrational.

I am a rugby fan, and indeed a fan of most sports. I regularly attend Leinster games, and have done since they were playing in front of 1,500 in crappy donnybrook

**gspain** · 07/04/2011, 12:56 PM

Originally Posted by an_ceannaire

Carlsberg dont do stupid lazy and completely rubbish points.............but if they did!!

I lived in Ranelagh for 3 years. Hardly a GAA/Rugby stronghold. And if you think for one second that ANY and i mean ANY pub from Ranelagh to Walkinstown to Tallaght and Back to Artane, Donaghmede or Malahide would NOT have the All Ireland Football/Hurling Final on their tele, or would NOT show an Ireland International Rugby match, in favour of an EPL game.........your either delusional, or simply very very wrong. And its ridiculous to think so!! Seriously Dodge, we are well aware your not a Dubs fan or a Rugger Bugger but your bias towards soccer should not mean you become irrational.
And Gary, seriously, do you really think soccer is the top sport in Limerick......really.....i mean come on man!!!Drive around the suburbs any evening, any suburb, from Castletroy to Raheen to Dooradoyle to westbury to moyross to roxboro etc etc etc.......you will see FAR more young lads throwing around a gilbert on a patch of green than kicking a Mitre and you know that Gary!

I never claimed football was the most popular sport in Limerick. Although you'd be surprised how popular it is in the city and you'd be surprised how many people you'd see kicking a football rather than throwing a rugby ball. Likewise I'd imagine that in Kilkenny far more people would be pucking a sliothar.

I recall a letter i nthe paper a few years ago about a guy walking the South circular road in Dublin entering a few pubs trying to watch the All Ireland and not being able to but maybe he should have gone to Ranelagh.

I don't think the survey distinguished between playing and non playing memberships.

**Stuttgart88** · 07/04/2011, 1:21 PM

My only anecdote of Limerick is that my mate who lives minutes away from Thomond says that there is far more organised schoolboy soccer participation than rugby. I've no idea whether he's right or wrong, but he is certainly not biased, being an ex-player and huge fan of both sports, and his family being founders of Wexford Wanderers RFC.

an_ceannaire, is there still no acknowledgment that you were wildly wrong about the Paris versus Grand Slam viewing figures on RTE? Or do you just wait until your discredited "facts" become forgotten before reverting with more?

I have to say what Dodge says about the A-I finals on TV surprised me - although I used to live across the road from the Merrion Inn and watched EPL & SPL football there regularly, always to a full house. They never ever had the GAA on in the 1990s. But whether that's accurate or not is not the big issue here. The rest of Dodge's post was accurate and echoed what I have been saying: participation numbers of soccer are huge and the big English football teams are more popular than the big rugby franchises.

In fact I'd love to know how many Irish people a week travel to the UK to watch English or Scottish football, even now. Hundreds? Thousands? How many did up until 2007?

**Stuttgart88** · 07/04/2011, 1:34 PM

Originally Posted by Dodge

I regularly attend Leinster games, and have done since they were playing in front of 1,500 in crappy donnybrook

Blow-in! I used to go when there'd only be a few hundred, when Ulster won it about 40 years in a row and it'd be effing freezing.

**an_ceannaire** · 07/04/2011, 1:43 PM

Firstly, Dodge, apologies for the language used in my post ie Delusional etc etc.....i gets carried away at times! So sorry about that mate.

Stutts, Your right. I was mistaken re the Viewership Figures for the GS game V the France game. Hands up on that I will admit when I am wrong. No hassles.

But might I suggest that one possible reason for the figures is this.
The France game was on a Wednesday, a school night. The vast vast majority of fans watched it at home so nearly every box in the country had it on.
The Rugby was on a Saturday. Nearly everyone watched it in the pub. So half the tv's in the country were switched off cos everyone was down the pub!

Fair Point?

Gary, re lads in town playing soccer or rugby on estate green's etc etc.....honestly Gary and I am not saying this on a wind up, and i admit to often being a wum on here in the past, apologies for that lads, but genuinely Gary, you really do see more young lads with a Gilbert than a Mitre.........would you accept that?