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Will Rugby World Cup Harm Gaa.

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The auld split season debate. Absolute yawn. Journalists and armchair supporters are the only people complaining about the split season. Club and county players and managers are massively in favour of it. Martin Breheny thinks the split season is terrible which automatically means it's actually great.

TheFlaker (Mayo) - Posts: 7908 - 13/10/2023 17:07:11    2508241

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Replying To OpenStand:  "In limerick there's already huge crossover between rugby and hurling supporters with both sports pulling from the same demographic in the greater limerick city area and also at underage level participation numbers .
There's great rugby players whose sons are now good hurlers and great hurlers of the past who's sons are good rugby players and in Limerick by and large both sports are doing fine together . Soccer tends to pull from a different demographic.
I could see Gaelic football which isn't big in limerick losing out around Ireland as Rugby is a far more entertaining game to watch than it and may encourage more youngsters in football areas to switch codes with so many people talking rugby rather than about the defensive Gaelic football matchs shown on tv ."
Anyone that finds a load of big lumps of men lying on top of each other atractive....fair enough.
I'll stick to watching gaelic football thanks.

Seanfanbocht (Roscommon) - Posts: 1451 - 13/10/2023 17:09:45    2508242

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Replying To journeyman:  "Agree totally with you last comment on the split season. It's not Rugby per se that is the thread but the lack of media attention, TV, discussion in schools etc that is the threat to the GAA with the split season. If the All Irelands had been in Sept the impact of the World Cup would have been mitigated somewhat. It seems a long time since the All Ireland's in July even more so for all the counties that were out of the championship since the end of May. Luckily in Limerick we are winning All Irelands at the moment but even at that a child that is playing hurling and Rugby may be tempted to concentrate on Rugby looking at the success of the Ireland and the potential to turn pro. The GAA have introduced the split season but yet I do not see any promotional campains at National Levels to offset this."
I agree on this - the split season will ultimately be a self inflicted wound reducing general interest and playing numbers over time. People are always going to watch the Rugby and Soccer internationals - they always have and this hasn't changed; the difference is less opportunity to watch top class GAA games.

In my part of Kildare the Rugby nurseries are busier than the GAA nurseries. There are more GAA clubs than Rugby clubs though so we've probably more kids playing GAA overall but Rugby participation is quickly catching up.

brianb (Kildare) - Posts: 292 - 13/10/2023 17:44:15    2508248

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No won't harm it. For the best part of decade the Ireland rugby team has been hyped to the heavens. As for winning the World Cup I think winning a Quarter final should be the first and only thoughts seeing as that is normally the stage of exit for the team.

The_analyser (Roscommon) - Posts: 3767 - 13/10/2023 17:45:48    2508249

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At last, RTÉ on their website for Sport are now retaining all rugby cup articles in the Rugby World Cup section whereas for weeks these articles also were given added exposure mixed in, in the section under Sport.

RTÉ being in Dublin 4 make me often wonder do the rugby brigade of South Dublin have a major influence in how RTÉ give exposure to the different sports. One need only listen to the opening news on RTÉ Radio 1 in the weekday mornings to be aware when it comes to sport those headlines are dominated by rugby, soccer, cricket etc. Again, I wonder is there anyone in Croke Park aware of such unfair balance and is willing to remind RTÉ of their duty to our National Games.

I expect I too will watch the game on Saturday but how I wish referees in Rugby would stop taking the limelight. Still, those whistle stoppages and the words of wisdom from the referee do give players plenty of time to draw breath.

ballagoballa (UK) - Posts: 49 - 13/10/2023 18:20:09    2508251

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Replying To anotheralias:  "Wow. Some stat that.
Good Counsel is NOT fee paying . But 10 out of 11. Given that about 50 of our 730 schools are fee paying thats 7% of schools providing 91% of the irish educated starters. Okay some schools are not co-ed , so if that was factored in it would be 14% at most providing 91%. Crazy stat still.
Are these stats biased by the possibility that lads who might not ordinarily have gone to these fee paying schools did so on a rugby scholarship or partly funded because of rugby potential ???"
Hurling is far and away the main sport in the Wexford Good Counsel college.

They won the Leinster Senior colleges title in 2022.

They get a lot of hurlers from the bordering clubs in Kilkenny.

Past hurler (None) - Posts: 744 - 13/10/2023 18:33:22    2508253

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Replying To Meath10:  "I do enjoy watching Rugby and obviously will be cheering for the Irish lads to go all the way but some of the goys drinking heino who follow the Rugby are unbearable to say the least. GAA will always be king :)"
Yeah. Roight on about the Heino. The goys try to look cool.

thelongridge (Offaly) - Posts: 1751 - 13/10/2023 19:34:15    2508258

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Replying To KillingFields:  "you dont need to call it a minority sport to try and dismiss it. everything is a minority sport compared to the largest.
no big deal.
its still one of the largest sports in the country compared to nearly all others in eevry metric"
If you read it carefully, I actually said it was a great achievement to reach the Rugby World Cup, and people of all sporting cultures , will be supporting Ireland in this tournament

Gaelic games are number 1 sport in this country, other posters have expressed similar comments.
You are unable/ unwilling to see this.

thelongridge (Offaly) - Posts: 1751 - 13/10/2023 19:43:37    2508259

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Replying To OpenStand:  "In limerick there's already huge crossover between rugby and hurling supporters with both sports pulling from the same demographic in the greater limerick city area and also at underage level participation numbers .
There's great rugby players whose sons are now good hurlers and great hurlers of the past who's sons are good rugby players and in Limerick by and large both sports are doing fine together . Soccer tends to pull from a different demographic.
I could see Gaelic football which isn't big in limerick losing out around Ireland as Rugby is a far more entertaining game to watch than it and may encourage more youngsters in football areas to switch codes with so many people talking rugby rather than about the defensive Gaelic football matchs shown on tv ."
Not just Limerick. I was on my into Castlemartyr on the way back from a funeral in Cork and there was a big sign wishing Mack Hansen the best of luck from Castlemartyr GAA Club at the side of the road.

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 12113 - 13/10/2023 21:00:39    2508265

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Replying To Magpie2:  "We all really want Ireland to do well and hopefully win the final but undoubtedly it has to effect the Gaa. Young lads who probably would have automatically opted for hurling or football may now be thinking of playing rugby.
With the massive television coverage and with the high profile of the Irish players and the game in general its inevitable that there will be a crossover to the oval ball. That will seriously dilute the Gaa club scene and subsequently at intercounty level.
There isn't really anything the hierarchy of the Gaa can do to stop the rot except maybe through promotion of our games and injecting even more energy into making it attractive to play hurling or football. No easy task I'm afraid but every club and county must work hard to hold on to the players they have and promote the games in schools, colleges and clubs. They are of course doing this already but now there is massive competition out there. So to sit on our hands is not an option.
I'm all for freedom of choice but we must fight tooth and nail to maintain high standards.
Winning the world cup would be great for us as a nation but will there be a cost to pay down the road?"
GAA spend too much worrying about what other sports are doing instead of focusing on promoting their own games. Young lads play multiple sports now and so they should, some will play all some will have preference for one over another as they grow older. Soccer was supposed to take over after italia 90. I love gaelic football and hurling and going to games, I am becoming increasingly disillusioned with the direction the gaa has been going in. I will be cheering on ireland tomorrow night and hoping they win and go all the way..

totalrecall (Leitrim) - Posts: 922 - 13/10/2023 21:08:05    2508269

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Irish soccer is finished

Zucker (Leitrim) - Posts: 156 - 13/10/2023 21:39:40    2508274

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Replying To Magpie2:  "We all really want Ireland to do well and hopefully win the final but undoubtedly it has to effect the Gaa. Young lads who probably would have automatically opted for hurling or football may now be thinking of playing rugby.
With the massive television coverage and with the high profile of the Irish players and the game in general its inevitable that there will be a crossover to the oval ball. That will seriously dilute the Gaa club scene and subsequently at intercounty level.
There isn't really anything the hierarchy of the Gaa can do to stop the rot except maybe through promotion of our games and injecting even more energy into making it attractive to play hurling or football. No easy task I'm afraid but every club and county must work hard to hold on to the players they have and promote the games in schools, colleges and clubs. They are of course doing this already but now there is massive competition out there. So to sit on our hands is not an option.
I'm all for freedom of choice but we must fight tooth and nail to maintain high standards.
Winning the world cup would be great for us as a nation but will there be a cost to pay down the road?"
No definitely not. As has been said rugby is in the most part for lads attending fee paying schools. I have known lads involved in some of the strong Dublin schools over the years. They take they're Senior and Junior cups very seriously and actively will tell lads not to play other sports when in cup years. I suppose not too far from lads playing intercounty I suppose. But when these cups are finished and lads finish school you find that the majority of them will never play rugby again. Most only play for the school teams so not attached to clubs.

This is where the GAA will always have the advantage. GAA clubs offer so much more for people outside of just playing.

I'd nearly be of the opinion that the GAA has never been stronger.

Low2Joe (Wexford) - Posts: 48 - 13/10/2023 21:46:59    2508275

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Replying To Zucker:  "Irish soccer is finished"
No such thing as Irish soccer. An oxymoron. A poor imitation of Seán Bhuí like most things Irish people are besotted with. Why GAA still run after them offering them venues beggars belief. FAI hosting Euros is laughable. Don't have a pot to pee in. And if they did, someone would steal it :-)

BarneyGrant (Dublin) - Posts: 2590 - 13/10/2023 22:46:31    2508282

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Replying To ulsterrules:  "Like most of Ireland I will be cheering them on as they are doing great things in their sport but I do not see it as a threat considering it is still mainly a private school sport, certainly at the top level, of the home grown players who started against Scotland 11 went to school in ireland 10 of these went to private schools .

Keenan Blackrock college private/Fee paying
Ringrose Blackrock college private/Fee paying
Sexton St Mary's college private/Fee paying
Porter St Andrews private/Fee paying
Sheehan Clongowes private/Fee paying
Furlong Cood Council college not sure
Beirne Clongowes private/Fee paying
Henderson belfast acadamy private/Fee paying
O'Mahoney Pesentation Brothers cork private/Fee paying
Van de Flier Wesley College private/Fee paying
Doris Blackrock college private/Fee paying

The biggest threat to GAA is the split season that leave Aug/Sept empty of games for people to follow. it is 13/10/2023 and most counties are only starting county finals"
The fee for Belfast RA is 140 pounds a year!

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 12113 - 13/10/2023 23:44:13    2508287

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Replying To thelongridge:  "Yeah. Roight on about the Heino. The goys try to look cool."
Some of the women are worse

Bon (Kildare) - Posts: 1917 - 13/10/2023 23:50:59    2508288

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Replying To jimbodub:  "Not sure if it's been mentioned

But I think Rugby at all levels is in for a tough time in the years ahead with the following

Latest lawsuit shows that serious brain injury is seen at all levels of the sport

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/sport/2023/feb/02/latest-lawsuit-shows-brain-injuries-are-factor-at-all-levels-of-rugby

The physicality of the sport now, at an all time high compared to previous incarnations of the game, unfortunately there's probably several prominent players across the current word cup that could be seriously ill in the years ahead.

Concussion is a common injury in the sport. Not a good thing by any means.

Personally wouldn't be sending my kids near it, that's just my own take on it."
Was about to make this point myself, things like the Steve Thompson story could damage rugby down the line.

TerribleFootwork (Wexford) - Posts: 1760 - 13/10/2023 23:54:09    2508290

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Replying To OpenStand:  "In limerick there's already huge crossover between rugby and hurling supporters with both sports pulling from the same demographic in the greater limerick city area and also at underage level participation numbers .
There's great rugby players whose sons are now good hurlers and great hurlers of the past who's sons are good rugby players and in Limerick by and large both sports are doing fine together . Soccer tends to pull from a different demographic.
I could see Gaelic football which isn't big in limerick losing out around Ireland as Rugby is a far more entertaining game to watch than it and may encourage more youngsters in football areas to switch codes with so many people talking rugby rather than about the defensive Gaelic football matchs shown on tv ."
Rugby an entertaining game you think. What's entertaining about 20 men all above 20 stone in a circle like bulls eating from a round bale? They walk into tackles and the faster men stick the ball under their arm and run like …. .Now I would say the No 10s can kick dead balls.

Saynothing (Tyrone) - Posts: 2018 - 14/10/2023 02:46:53    2508296

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Replying To Stmunnsriver:  "wow what a silly post! typical, so imature and so childish, this very same conversation went on in 66/67 after england won world cop , ever more so when jack charltons team was in their prime, the total opposite has happened, i remember a phone in on gaa radio show in early 90s one lad from antrim was nearly crying on air saying soccar was going to wipe out the gaa by the turn of the century, get a grip"
Saying my post is silly, childish and immature is very insulting. You obviously didn't understand what I was saying. I won't stoop to your level and throw back similar words that you used. Fortunately I have a thick neck and view your post with a smile.
What in fact I was saying was that the gaa should up their game, improving grounds, facilities, training methods, coaching, referees etc.
To bring up the world cup of 57 years ago is like comparing apples and oranges. Things change, they evolve, people think differently. Kids growing up now are saturated with sports coverage. With the massive coverage of the world cup lads growing up will want to be a Jonathon Sexton or a Tadgh Furlong. Yes the gaa will survive, I've never doubted that but as I said in my earlier post we must look at the bigger picture.
I am a very passionate supporter of gaa. It is far and away my number one sport. I want to see it thrive. I sincerely hope that our games do not lose players but I am thinking ahead and wondering will we be as strong in say 5 or 10 years time. I certainly hope so. Time will tell.

Magpie2 (Wexford) - Posts: 286 - 14/10/2023 09:10:09    2508303

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Replying To Low2Joe:  "No definitely not. As has been said rugby is in the most part for lads attending fee paying schools. I have known lads involved in some of the strong Dublin schools over the years. They take they're Senior and Junior cups very seriously and actively will tell lads not to play other sports when in cup years. I suppose not too far from lads playing intercounty I suppose. But when these cups are finished and lads finish school you find that the majority of them will never play rugby again. Most only play for the school teams so not attached to clubs.

This is where the GAA will always have the advantage. GAA clubs offer so much more for people outside of just playing.

I'd nearly be of the opinion that the GAA has never been stronger."
Id agree with that we have never been stronger and just need to concentrate on developing our clubs and counties.The rugby fraternity are largely from fee paying schools and wanabies.20 countries at rugby World cup 19 sing their national anthem with pride while"OUR" supporters sing a song knocking the nations founding fathers.

jobber (Westmeath) - Posts: 1463 - 14/10/2023 09:24:07    2508305

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Replying To Viking66:  "The fee for Belfast RA is 140 pounds a year!"
Money is not the bar in northern rugby schools!

It should also be borne in mind that for all the ongoing whinge about how narrow minded the GAA allegedly was, that the Catholic private schools run by the orders were overwhelmingly hostile to GAA and in most case did not permit hurling or football. Protestant schools had or have no interest which is their own business.

When I was teenager in Dublin in 70s, the middle class Catholic schools would not let vocational and other schools in working class areas participate in schools competitions.

I'm starting to recall myself into donning the Dublin goalkeeper's AIG jersey tonight :-)

BarneyGrant (Dublin) - Posts: 2590 - 14/10/2023 11:12:04    2508309

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