d have to side with mesamis here..speaking as a dub the feeling is they represent a small minority elite in dublin and thats why i dont support them
alano12 (Dublin) - Posts:865 - 08/11/2016 18:26:01 1932820

and lads tis the opposite down here the munster team limerick hurlers ...they are the stars , theyre hollywood, their our heroes ,their ours even though at times thers more cork than limerick on the munster team...they're feted probably same as the footballers in dublin , they probably get a bit too much of it at times eg you see a munster player in shopping centre in a pub or at a club game and people be bugging them for selfies , same with the hurlers too, remember after 21s games last year bein on the pitch and cian lynch was surrounded by autograph hunters ...twas like one direction or messi , in fairness to the munster and limerick lads they take it in their stride

janesboro (Limerick) - Posts: 1502 - 08/11/2016 19:45:52    1932848

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13833 - 08/11/2016 19:59:26    1932857

mesamis how do you know what club rugby people are like when you have never been to a game and never met or known anybody involved in club rugby - i have been to club rugby in dublin as recent as last week and am happy to say they are a decent welcoming bunch same as the GAA lads in limerick

janesboro (Limerick) - Posts: 1502 - 08/11/2016 20:24:34    1932868

mesamis - go to a club game -just once - you might like it you might not - be brave try it (like the pun!!) if you dont like it dont go again you wont pick up any contagious diseases or anything

janesboro (Limerick) - Posts: 1502 - 08/11/2016 20:26:12    1932869

You can claim all you like that there is no elitism in rugby in Dublin, despite most of the players coming from a small and very priveleged section of society, and that the club players are all salt of the earth people from the flats but we both know that's not true.
MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts:10198 - 08/11/2016 19:59:26 193

premiership soccer players now come from a small and very priviliged section of society i.e. millionaires - should we not follow them now

janesboro (Limerick) - Posts: 1502 - 08/11/2016 20:55:01    1932878

You just don't get it man and that's okay too janesboro bud.

Limerick and Dublin are different places.

If rugby clubs are so choc full of normal people how come all the players from Dublin and the surrounding areas that play for Ireland and Leinster tend to all be from the fee paying segregated school elites? What defiency do these normal club players possess?

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13833 - 08/11/2016 20:55:04    1932879

premiership soccer players now come from a small and very priviliged section of society i.e. millionaires - should we not follow them now

janesboro (Limerick) - Posts:809 - 08/11/2016 20:55:01 1932878

Very few Premiership footballers come from the privileged sections of society.

Whatever privilege they now have they have earned.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13833 - 08/11/2016 20:58:48    1932880

Ormondbannerman,
I'll name the 10 countries that are playing rugby to a serious level.
England
Wales
Scotland
France
Ireland
Italy
Australia
New Zealand
South Africa
Argentina.
In New Zealand it's the only country that could be considered as the undisputed number one sport. In Wales it's tied with football mainly due to their success at the euros. Bit of luck we'll put an end to that!!! Outside these 10 everyone else is mediocre at best. Rugby is not the huge worldwide sport you think it is. Same way as I know most of North America and vast areas of Asia are football wastelands. In Georgia, often referenced as a rugby country, there are only 3,000 players. A one off match against Russia attracting a big crowd, doesn't mean the sport is the biggest in its country. in the same way I know crowds of over 50,000 at the odd soccer match in India don't make it a huge sport there. A couple of shock results like Japan or Tonga, are few and far between. The likes of Namibia and the Ivory Coast, Portugal at the World Cup is the equivalent is San Marino, Gibraltar and the Marshall Islands at a football one. 60 and 70 point hiding a being the norm. nice warm up games at the start of the group to get you going. You might not think it but I like rugby, just hate the way it's portrayed in the media and the way it's ills are swept away without any serious discussion And why do you feel the need to "protect" rugby against any critisim on an anonymous forum??? I find it strange a 'rugby' man would spend so much time on a gaa dominated website.

Bain (Donegal) - Posts: 470 - 08/11/2016 21:27:10    1932885

bain - youcould probably add japan tonga fiji and samoa to that list tis the national sport in the last 3 - look at the celbrations in fiji when they won gold at olympics

rugby aint a worldwide game neither is hurling of football - never will be - rest of the world loss me thinks!

janesboro (Limerick) - Posts: 1502 - 08/11/2016 21:44:13    1932889

Redslayer
Before i start let it be know im a big gaa fan as well got the club season ticket and managed to get to 12 senior championship round robin games , and all 6 knockout senior games, plsu a good few junior matches and some football games too inc semis and final -but i loves the rugby as well
I know they get <100 at home gates. It's like that for years. I see it for myself on alternative Saturday's.
Buccaneers i presume, wasnt alway like that , in thel ate 90s there got to semis and were getting crowds of 5/6000 they have a guy playing the field of athenry on a trumpet to gee up crowd before games. Munsters v garryowen got 2500 (only pity was that it was in dooradoyle so they got the gate!!) last april which is close to what the well v glen rovers got last sunday - i was at both games. Remember being up in athlone there in 1991 for last game of league where win for us a wesley to beat terenure got us promoted. Somebody brought a mobile phone (first time i ever saw one) which was like a brick (remember del boy in only fools) and after winning our game we were all huddled around it in reverence waiting for the wesley score (they won we went up - won first div 2 years later)
I would say less than 2% of rugby watching Ireland look or follow AIL rugby. Id say less than half a per cent-their loss i love it

It's almost dead!
It isnt it alive (GORDONS ALIVE -remember flash gordon) , come to a club game in limerick and tis still good and strong and passionately followed, bear in mind its a breeding ground for most the pro players in ireland , akin to what club hurling does for the inter county.
Go to any pub for next Ireland match and ask these fans who are the present AIL champions. 99% will not know or sadly care.
Probably the same for the all ireland club hurling champions. Although going to a pub is hardly scientific

The general rugby masses only know about the 4 provincial teams and the national team. Probably the same for inter county. Was at the 2014 football replay and it seemed there was damn all limerick people at it

Ask a Clare of Limerick GAA fan who are their present county champions - >75% will know. Hurling yes - limrick football not so sure
Basically rugby has a lot of pretentious and bandwagon fans! I
gaa has a bandwagon too look at the crowds for first round championship games or league games compared to later stages of championship and id include my own beloved limerick in that as welll
as for the pretentious bit i hate this crap which comes froma minority on this site oooh our sports are better coz ye dont get as good attendances,

janesboro (Limerick) - Posts: 1502 - 08/11/2016 21:45:34    1932891

MesAmis  firstly my rugby background is club rugby - the schools game never really interested me by the way im also a gaa nut and live for the day Limerick finally win liam mccarthy or footballers win munster -it would beat ireland winning a RWC for me

I think its down to quality coaching, tradition and a good vibrant schools competition. the Dublin schools are an excellent breeding ground for rugby player in dublin the fee paying schools have more money so they have better coaches - akin to Dublin GAA, better facilities and equipment etc Look at the attached and see the the army of coaches each team seems to have and thats costly. They all have access to S&C coaches, access to weights programmes, nutritionalists, medical back up, forwards coach, backs coach video analysts, they get fed after training and before and after matches. which as you know costs money, which to me is a bit OTT for lads of that age The coaching set ups often are better than a lot of senior clubs. They are training effectively as full time pros . Its no different to Dublin football whereby a fine coaching and support structure structure is filtering its way down to schools level and these coaching structures require funding and probably lots of it

The leinster Schools are getting very good support from the leinster branch in terms of coaching structures and support i.e. coaching rugby the Leinster way. Dublin GAA possibly do the same sending coaches to schools. Leinster have the money to do it Dublin as well. The competition itself is vibrant of a good standard , and very well attended. Because of the emphasis on the schools game the club game is a bit neglected. In Munster once you are playing at junior cup or senior cup level with your school you cannot play with your club. Hence clubs are having to amalgamate to field team thus having a real negative effect on the club game in Limerick where traditionally the club game would be more important than schools.

Schools are also on the look out for good club players who aint in rugby playing schools or who are at lower level playing schools and trying to get that player to their school. The provinces are constantly watching these games with a view to selection of provincial and national age grade/schools teams and awarding academy contracts

Its also manifesting itself in the provincial and also the club game. Leinster due to some of the reasons above are producing better players - they have more rugby playing schools than we do in munster of course due to population. The players themselves at club level and the club administratiors are a sound bunch. Most guys in fairness who do well at top level gaa and rugby are usually down to earth and humble guys.

of course the down side is the issue of player burn out - and getting players back involved with club rugby ie the guy who doesnt make the provincial academy -but now has no loyalty to a club coz he has been playing with his pals at school - schools gaa players still play with their clubs so this aint an issue , plus at that age they shall we say discover the temptations of life

But all of these players would have started out most likely firstly with their dads out the back playing whatever sport the old man is into (or even in the house) same as i do with our two. Some days we play rugby, the next day its hurling the next its soccer or football some days we do boxing. I dont care less what level they end up playing once they enjoy it Then they go play with their pals in a club and it goes from there. When i lived in Dublin i played with old wesley , they were a great bunch just normal guys like myself i suppose.

But there is always a place in sport for the social player the junior b hurler the club rugby player (and i put myself in this space) who wasnt the best but plays the thing for enjoyment and enjoys the social side of the game as i still do today in both rugby and gaa

janesboro (Limerick) - Posts: 1502 - 08/11/2016 21:54:46    1932892

and mesamis that invitation to drop down to munsters v terenure is still open

janesboro (Limerick) - Posts: 1502 - 08/11/2016 21:55:48    1932893

Bain (Donegal) - Posts: 470 - 08/11/2016 22:14:09    1932896

Are Tallaght, a relatively new club, and Clondalkin, more established, be considered to be posh rugby clubs?

Would St. Vincents, more than double their nearest rivals in county titles, be considered a posh club? Is it the club that over the years, even before Heffo's playing days, that has the most county players?

What is the GAA marketing budget and what is the IRFU marketing budget? Which of them are getting the best return on their marketing spend ?

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 8150 - 08/11/2016 22:24:17    1932898

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 08/11/2016 22:30:38    1932900

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 08/11/2016 22:36:58    1932901

Lads, Italy are not a "serious rugby nation". Two professional clubs, both still whipping boys after all these years.

A friend of mine once said while we watched an Ireland Six Nations game in the pub, 'when we were young, in order to play rugby you had to be either rich or Protestant...& we were neither!". I think that over-exaggeration has changed a lot over the years, thankfully.

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 08/11/2016 22:44:44    1932902

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13833 - 09/11/2016 07:27:22    1932913

I don't see what Tallaght and Clondalkin having rugby clubs has to do with anything -mes amis

i think the point he is making is that given that they are two predominantly working class areas and the clubs in question are drawing players/members from the local community.

janesboro (Limerick) - Posts: 1502 - 09/11/2016 09:43:05    1932928

Soma keeper -- italy are probably a tier 2 nation

but in the same way theres not enough counties competing at the higher levels of the mccarthy cup there aint enough nations competing at the top end of international rugby so we need to keep them on board and encourage them to progress, same as hurling need to get the carlow westmeath laois offaly teams up the progress ladder
Look at the attendances they get for internationals (topped up by vast travelling support granted). And if it was up to me id be looking at getting Georgia and Rumania up there as well .

janesboro (Limerick) - Posts: 1502 - 09/11/2016 09:56:38    1932932