The IRISH RUGBY thread

[Il Bomber Destro]

What makes the rugby bully boys so testy about relaying the reality of their connection with the game is that they see it for the charade that it is.

It's like a marriage of convenience, it's like a husband marrying his wife because her family is worth a few bob and the wife marrying her husband because he's got a well paid job.

They envy what football fans have, that true love at first sight that childhood sweethearts who grow old and happy together have. It's that game you start playing at 3 or 4 and do all throughout your childhood and early adulthood, the passion for the game is true and never leaves you. It's not about being able to wave at the camera.

Rugby players are all about their media profile, the footballers are serious individual concerned with being allowed to focus on their football.

Well to be fair the GAA is our national sport so it's no surprise we are football and hurling fans in the main. I've no real issue with lads jumping on the soccer or rugby bandwagons.

Soccer isn't a bandwagon - it's the beautiful game, the biggest game in the world and played all around the world - nobody wants to grow up and be a Paul O'Connell.

Rugby on the otherhand, is a game confined to current and former commonwealth countries that has had a minimal interest outside of these countries and even in those commonwealth countries (with the exception of New Zealand) it is a good distance away from being the number one sport.

[Zulu]

Soccer is the biggest bandwagon sport in Ireland though with very few supporting their local team and almost all picking the top British team of their youth to 'follow'. Now I personally wouldn't watch a soccer game if it was on in the front room, I'd have little interest in rugby either but if lads like to support those sports or newer fads like MMA I don't see the issue even if I can't get into them myself.

[Il Bomber Destro]

Soccer is the biggest bandwagon sport in Ireland though with very few supporting their local team and almost all picking the top British team of their youth to 'follow'. Now I personally wouldn't watch a soccer game if it was on in the front room, I'd have little interest in rugby either but if lads like to support those sports or newer fads like MMA I don't see the issue even if I can't get into them myself.

Bandwagon?

The vast, vast majority of football supporters have played the game for a start, been into it since they were old enough to kick a ball - who they decided to support is a different matter but the interest in sport is genuine.

The vast majority of rugby people have never chucked an egg shaped ball in their lives.

[seafoid]

What makes the rugby bully boys so testy about relaying the reality of their connection with the game is that they see it for the charade that it is.

It's like a marriage of convenience, it's like a husband marrying his wife because her family is worth a few bob and the wife marrying her husband because he's got a well paid job.

They envy what football fans have, that true love at first sight that childhood sweethearts who grow old and happy together have. It's that game you start playing at 3 or 4 and do all throughout your childhood and early adulthood, the passion for the game is true and never leaves you. It's not about being able to wave at the camera.

Rugby players are all about their media profile, the footballers are serious individual concerned with being allowed to focus on their football.

Well to be fair the GAA is our national sport so it's no surprise we are football and hurling fans in the main. I've no real issue with lads jumping on the soccer or rugby bandwagons.

Soccer isn't a bandwagon - it's the beautiful game, the biggest game in the world and played all around the world - nobody wants to grow up and be a Paul O'Connell.

Rugby on the otherhand, is a game confined to current and former commonwealth countries that has had a minimal interest outside of these countries and even in those commonwealth countries (with the exception of New Zealand) it is a good distance away from being the number one sport.

So is cricket
Big deal
Go tell India that cricket is a bandwagon sport
they'll tear your insides out

[Il Bomber Destro]

What makes the rugby bully boys so testy about relaying the reality of their connection with the game is that they see it for the charade that it is.

It's like a marriage of convenience, it's like a husband marrying his wife because her family is worth a few bob and the wife marrying her husband because he's got a well paid job.

They envy what football fans have, that true love at first sight that childhood sweethearts who grow old and happy together have. It's that game you start playing at 3 or 4 and do all throughout your childhood and early adulthood, the passion for the game is true and never leaves you. It's not about being able to wave at the camera.

Rugby players are all about their media profile, the footballers are serious individual concerned with being allowed to focus on their football.

Well to be fair the GAA is our national sport so it's no surprise we are football and hurling fans in the main. I've no real issue with lads jumping on the soccer or rugby bandwagons.

Soccer isn't a bandwagon - it's the beautiful game, the biggest game in the world and played all around the world - nobody wants to grow up and be a Paul O'Connell.

Rugby on the otherhand, is a game confined to current and former commonwealth countries that has had a minimal interest outside of these countries and even in those commonwealth countries (with the exception of New Zealand) it is a good distance away from being the number one sport.

So is cricket
Big deal
Go tell India that cricket is a bandwagon sport
they'll tear your insides out

I tell the IT chaps in work who are of middle eastern extraction that it's an awful load of tosh.

[imtommygunn]

What makes the rugby bully boys so testy about relaying the reality of their connection with the game is that they see it for the charade that it is.

It's like a marriage of convenience, it's like a husband marrying his wife because her family is worth a few bob and the wife marrying her husband because he's got a well paid job.

They envy what football fans have, that true love at first sight that childhood sweethearts who grow old and happy together have. It's that game you start playing at 3 or 4 and do all throughout your childhood and early adulthood, the passion for the game is true and never leaves you. It's not about being able to wave at the camera.

Rugby players are all about their media profile, the footballers are serious individual concerned with being allowed to focus on their football.

Well to be fair the GAA is our national sport so it's no surprise we are football and hurling fans in the main. I've no real issue with lads jumping on the soccer or rugby bandwagons.

Soccer isn't a bandwagon - it's the beautiful game, the biggest game in the world and played all around the world - nobody wants to grow up and be a Paul O'Connell.

Rugby on the otherhand, is a game confined to current and former commonwealth countries that has had a minimal interest outside of these countries and even in those commonwealth countries (with the exception of New Zealand) it is a good distance away from being the number one sport.

Paul o'connell is a beast of a man who deserves nothing but respect. Plenty of people want to grow up and be him and he's a hero to many. Look at what he has achieved. To be honest only a fool wouldn't respect him

Rugby is not my number one sport but i can see it's a great game too.

Soccer is not the beautiful game any more. Too much diving spoils it. I still like it but like gaelic football it is not as good as it was.

Dunno why you protest this much. Great game. Not my first preference but still great.

[Frank_The_Tank]

I have no interest in netball. But I don't spend my day joining netball forums to tell netball fans that they are wrong.

But that is exactly what you do. You choose to join a discussion on a sport you obviously hate, trying to show fans of that sport that they are all wrong and you are right. Either you are a troll, or completely insane.

If Netball gets as much hyperbole and vomit inducing, self congratulatory bullshit about it on all forms of media then I will be the first to rail against it. As it is, netball is an irrelevance and makes no odds to me. For a person living in Ireland right now it is very hard to go about and not have rugby foisted down your throat.

I am entitled to make valid criticisms about the nonsense level of hysteria about a niche game with little grass roots interest in the country. The real crux of the matter here is the defensive and nasty reaction from those who have been called out as impressionable bandwagon jumpers. They know that the criticisms I've put forward of the game are valid - yet the fact that they have gone from having no interest in the game to being self proclaimed rugby die hards - are hard to accept for them - it raises big questions on their intelligence levels and so it should. It's a bit like when yer man in The Crying Game falls for the lady with the tadger.

Your well entitled to your opinion.  Think everyone gets it.  Im asking why you are continually posting about in the thread.  I think we have all got the point of your argument some of which may be i agree with.  I only really got into rugby in the early 2000's.  Big deal like.  Why does it annoy you so.much like? 

You want people to accept your valid criticism of it but you are unwilling to accept the vast majority of people on this thread want to discuss the positiveness of ireland beating nz.

There needs to be acceptance that rugby football is built on myth and hyperbole. My criticism should be accepted because it is valid, yet it's not and it's been defended with all sorts of bullshit - I guess it annoys me because I'm a straight talker who is averse to bullshit and there is nothing more bullshit that the way rugby football is positioned in this country.

In your opinion there us nothing more bullsit in the way that its positioned.  But you can't seem to fathom that not everyone on the rugby thread shares that opinion.

I imagine this is what it would be like arguing with willie frazer.  So bigoted to one view.  So I give up trying to put across another point of view you fail to acknowledge.  Sometimes it hard not to bite on the troll post but.I'll be doing my best to ignore your posts.   

[Zulu]

Soccer is the biggest bandwagon sport in Ireland though with very few supporting their local team and almost all picking the top British team of their youth to 'follow'. Now I personally wouldn't watch a soccer game if it was on in the front room, I'd have little interest in rugby either but if lads like to support those sports or newer fads like MMA I don't see the issue even if I can't get into them myself.

Bandwagon?

The vast, vast majority of football supporters have played the game for a start, been into it since they were old enough to kick a ball - who they decided to support is a different matter but the interest in sport is genuine.

The vast majority of rugby people have never chucked an egg shaped ball in their lives.

Ah stop Bomber, there is a fairly superficial level of interest in soccer in Ireland. It's the glamour professional sport on our doorstep, in 50 years time rugby may well be the sport kids want to play as professionals. If we were beside America it would be American football. GAA is the sport that's in our souls, soccer most certainly isn't and will probably be replaced by rugby as the glamour sport of choice. Nobody does bandwagons like the Irish but why not let them at it? Like the Celtic or Man U fans??

[Il Bomber Destro]

What makes the rugby bully boys so testy about relaying the reality of their connection with the game is that they see it for the charade that it is.

It's like a marriage of convenience, it's like a husband marrying his wife because her family is worth a few bob and the wife marrying her husband because he's got a well paid job.

They envy what football fans have, that true love at first sight that childhood sweethearts who grow old and happy together have. It's that game you start playing at 3 or 4 and do all throughout your childhood and early adulthood, the passion for the game is true and never leaves you. It's not about being able to wave at the camera.

Rugby players are all about their media profile, the footballers are serious individual concerned with being allowed to focus on their football.

Well to be fair the GAA is our national sport so it's no surprise we are football and hurling fans in the main. I've no real issue with lads jumping on the soccer or rugby bandwagons.

Soccer isn't a bandwagon - it's the beautiful game, the biggest game in the world and played all around the world - nobody wants to grow up and be a Paul O'Connell.

Rugby on the otherhand, is a game confined to current and former commonwealth countries that has had a minimal interest outside of these countries and even in those commonwealth countries (with the exception of New Zealand) it is a good distance away from being the number one sport.

Paul o'connell is a beast of a man who deserves nothing but respect. Plenty of people want to grow up and be him and he's a hero to many. Look at what he has achieved. To be honest only a fool wouldn't respect him

Rugby is not my number one sport but i can see it's a great game too.

Soccer is not the beautiful game any more. Too much diving spoils it. I still like it but like gaelic football it is not as good as it was.

Dunno why you protest this much. Great game. Not my first preference but still great.

It's not a great game, it's a game devoid in any bit of ingenuity, intelligence, craft and skill. It's a bunch of a steroid addled, meatheads smashing into each ad nauseam.

Too much diving in soccer? Well I suppose we can look at the silver lining and say diving is a compulsive action done in the heat of the moment, it's not like some lad brought on fake blood capsules in a premeditated attempt at cheating the rules.

As for O'Connell? What has he achieved? There's plenty of instances of lads taking up rugby in their adulthood and becoming professionals without ever having played the game before, it's about the only sport a giant freak like O'Connell could excel at.

[Il Bomber Destro]

Soccer is the biggest bandwagon sport in Ireland though with very few supporting their local team and almost all picking the top British team of their youth to 'follow'. Now I personally wouldn't watch a soccer game if it was on in the front room, I'd have little interest in rugby either but if lads like to support those sports or newer fads like MMA I don't see the issue even if I can't get into them myself.

Bandwagon?

The vast, vast majority of football supporters have played the game for a start, been into it since they were old enough to kick a ball - who they decided to support is a different matter but the interest in sport is genuine.

The vast majority of rugby people have never chucked an egg shaped ball in their lives.

Ah stop Bomber, there is a fairly superficial level of interest in soccer in Ireland. It's the glamour professional sport on our doorstep, in 50 years time rugby may well be the sport kids want to play as professionals. If we were beside America it would be American football. GAA is the sport that's in our souls, soccer most certainly isn't and will probably be replaced by rugby as the glamour sport of choice. Nobody does bandwagons like the Irish but why not let them at it? Like the Celtic or Man U fans??

Superficial?

It's the most popular sport in the country, has been for some and still continues to be - it shows no sign of abating either.

The thing with rugby is that quite a high amount of people who follow it and attend matches have no real sporting interest. I would say the % level of housewife interest in rugby is through the roof.

[Frank_The_Tank]

Soccer is the biggest bandwagon sport in Ireland though with very few supporting their local team and almost all picking the top British team of their youth to 'follow'. Now I personally wouldn't watch a soccer game if it was on in the front room, I'd have little interest in rugby either but if lads like to support those sports or newer fads like MMA I don't see the issue even if I can't get into them myself.

Bandwagon?

The vast, vast majority of football supporters have played the game for a start, been into it since they were old enough to kick a ball - who they decided to support is a different matter but the interest in sport is genuine.

The vast majority of rugby people have never chucked an egg shaped ball in their lives.

Ah stop Bomber, there is a fairly superficial level of interest in soccer in Ireland. It's the glamour professional sport on our doorstep, in 50 years time rugby may well be the sport kids want to play as professionals. If we were beside America it would be American football. GAA is the sport that's in our souls, soccer most certainly isn't and will probably be replaced by rugby as the glamour sport of choice. Nobody does bandwagons like the Irish but why not let them at it? Like the Celtic or Man U fans??

Superficial?

It's the most popular sport in the country, has been for some and still continues to be - it shows no sign of abating either.

The thing with rugby is that quite a high amount of people who follow it and attend matches have no real sporting interest. I would say the % level of housewife interest in rugby is through the roof.

I would say GAA is the most popular sport in the country.

As for your second point do you have any actual factual figures to back up these claims or if you say the level is through the roof does that make it true?

[Milltown Row2]

Lad protest to much... obviously he's on under another name, been here before and keen on drawing attention as not get any from friends family or pets by the look of it, disruption key to his being... troll

[Frank_The_Tank]

What makes the rugby bully boys so testy about relaying the reality of their connection with the game is that they see it for the charade that it is.

It's like a marriage of convenience, it's like a husband marrying his wife because her family is worth a few bob and the wife marrying her husband because he's got a well paid job.

They envy what football fans have, that true love at first sight that childhood sweethearts who grow old and happy together have. It's that game you start playing at 3 or 4 and do all throughout your childhood and early adulthood, the passion for the game is true and never leaves you. It's not about being able to wave at the camera.

Rugby players are all about their media profile, the footballers are serious individual concerned with being allowed to focus on their football.

Well to be fair the GAA is our national sport so it's no surprise we are football and hurling fans in the main. I've no real issue with lads jumping on the soccer or rugby bandwagons.

Soccer isn't a bandwagon - it's the beautiful game, the biggest game in the world and played all around the world - nobody wants to grow up and be a Paul O'Connell.

Rugby on the otherhand, is a game confined to current and former commonwealth countries that has had a minimal interest outside of these countries and even in those commonwealth countries (with the exception of New Zealand) it is a good distance away from being the number one sport.

Paul o'connell is a beast of a man who deserves nothing but respect. Plenty of people want to grow up and be him and he's a hero to many. Look at what he has achieved. To be honest only a fool wouldn't respect him

Rugby is not my number one sport but i can see it's a great game too.

Soccer is not the beautiful game any more. Too much diving spoils it. I still like it but like gaelic football it is not as good as it was.

Dunno why you protest this much. Great game. Not my first preference but still great.

It's not a great game, it's a game devoid in any bit of ingenuity, intelligence, craft and skill. It's a bunch of a steroid addled, meatheads smashing into each ad nauseam.

Too much diving in soccer? Well I suppose we can look at the silver lining and say diving is a compulsive action done in the heat of the moment, it's not like some lad brought on fake blood capsules in a premeditated attempt at cheating the rules.

As for O'Connell? What has he achieved? There's plenty of instances of lads taking up rugby in their adulthood and becoming professionals without ever having played the game before, it's about the only sport a giant freak like O'Connell could excel at.

Divining is surely a compulsive action done in the heat of the moment - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC-H2wXK4T4

Also O'Connell has a handicap of about 3 at golf which is pretty good and was a really decent swimmer as a youngster - but the giant freak was probably only able to excel at 1 sport. 

[Zulu]

The interest in domestic soccer is the true reflection of our passion for the game. I live in the UK now and the difference between their everyday interest in soccer and ours is stark. We aren't even close to being genuinely passionate about the game. Mind you, I prefer our broader, if often superficial, interest in sports. The UK is a one trick pony and all the worse for it.

[Il Bomber Destro]

Soccer is the biggest bandwagon sport in Ireland though with very few supporting their local team and almost all picking the top British team of their youth to 'follow'. Now I personally wouldn't watch a soccer game if it was on in the front room, I'd have little interest in rugby either but if lads like to support those sports or newer fads like MMA I don't see the issue even if I can't get into them myself.

Bandwagon?

The vast, vast majority of football supporters have played the game for a start, been into it since they were old enough to kick a ball - who they decided to support is a different matter but the interest in sport is genuine.

The vast majority of rugby people have never chucked an egg shaped ball in their lives.

Ah stop Bomber, there is a fairly superficial level of interest in soccer in Ireland. It's the glamour professional sport on our doorstep, in 50 years time rugby may well be the sport kids want to play as professionals. If we were beside America it would be American football. GAA is the sport that's in our souls, soccer most certainly isn't and will probably be replaced by rugby as the glamour sport of choice. Nobody does bandwagons like the Irish but why not let them at it? Like the Celtic or Man U fans??

Superficial?

It's the most popular sport in the country, has been for some and still continues to be - it shows no sign of abating either.

The thing with rugby is that quite a high amount of people who follow it and attend matches have no real sporting interest. I would say the % level of housewife interest in rugby is through the roof.

I would say GAA is the most popular sport in the country.

As for your second point do you have any actual factual figures to back up these claims or if you say the level is through the roof does that make it true?

Incorrect soccer is more popular and more played than gaelic football, hurling, basketball or rugby.