With all the country tuned into the rugby world cup and general interest in Rugby growing all the time (at the expense of GAA in a lot of places). Can the GAA learn anything from the only professional game on the island?

What we need to do:
1. Respect for referees and disciplinary system (respect for referees and acceptance of punishment is non existant in the GAA).
2. Promotion of games - you never see or hear a single bit of promotion of GAA matches all year long but Connaught will promote a nothing match verse Zebre to the hilt and get a bigger crowd than Galway get for league matches. You never hear a peep about national league matches in the GAA.
3. Regular competitive matches - provinicial rugby has grown exponentially since the introduction of the Celtic/Magners/Pro12 league. Small clubs with no fanbase and no appeal had to be amalgamated to make it a worthwhile spectacle. Has anyone in the GAA the balls to cut weaker counties loose. Give them the option of amalgamation or secondary competition. They are holding everyone else back to the detriment of the greater good. Imagine what state Irish rugby would be in if they stayed with the AIL and allowed club teams compete in European competition.
4. Use of technology - the use of the TMO for scores and foul play has been a revelation and no one can have complaints about the end result of the match. We can't even watch replays of fould play on the big screen in Croke Park in case it shows up a bad refereeing decision.
5. Use of extra officials - the refs are in constant contact with the other two officals who also pull up off the ball incidents. GAA has more officals most of whom provide no assistance whatsoever.
6. Drinking in the stands - does wonders for the atmosphere. Are GAA men so ignorant that we cannot be trusted to have a few drinks during a match without killing one another?
7. Concussion protocols - This is taken seriously in rugby nowadays. Still ignored in GAA (Ross O Caroll, Aiden O shea etc)
8. Use of a sevens game to increase participation and skills development. You rarely see 14 people of all ages/sexes playing football of hurling for fun. GAA has a lot to learn from Rugby here.

What we should ignore

1. World cup style draw - The GPA are proposing a similar seeded structure for the GAA. We will end up with a similarly predictable outcome. Groups need to be weighted to provide more groups of death (give extra qfinal places to those groups). Only one group of the four was competitive in the RWC. If we go ahead with a similar system we will be lucky to have two competitive groups.
2. Emphasis on defence and size by Ireland/England/France - GAA is going the defensive route with bigger men, hopefully more counties can focus on attack and skills (like Argentina/Austrailia/NZ/Japan)

Ireland/England/France play rugby by kicking the ball when they should be passing by hand. GAA teams pass the ball by hand when they should be kicking it.

tirawleybaron (Mayo) - Posts: 1105 - 20/10/2015 09:37:37    1800453

"Can the GAA learn from rugby?"

Yes it can. No sport is perfect and never will be, each has their good and bad points. GAA can learn from rugby, rugby form GAA, soccer for etc etc

DoireCityFC (Derry) - Posts: 1580 - 20/10/2015 10:12:08    1800467

Well said doire. Rugby does plenty right but it also has problems. GAA does plenty right but gets very little credit for it. One point made about no promotion for the National Leagues is completely wrong.

Greengrass (Louth) - Posts: 6031 - 20/10/2015 10:51:08    1800490

Main things for me are the respect shown to the ref and the alcohol in the stadium.
The league is promoted well enough it is just people choose not to go.
The competitive fixtures is something that could be looked at but not feasible really, when do lads play with their clubs? They barely play with them as it is.

GAAHattrick (Dublin) - Posts: 278 - 20/10/2015 11:05:34    1800508

Funny how the rugby lads' "respect for the referee" seems to have evaporated in the last few days, as Joubert has been hung out to dry by his own governing body! And the much-lauded disciplinary system has shown serious inconsistencies during the WC too.

football first (None) - Posts: 1259 - 20/10/2015 11:06:56    1800509

DoireCityFC
County: Derry
Posts: 1330

1800467 "Can the GAA learn from rugby?"

Yes it can. No sport is perfect and never will be, each has their good and bad points. GAA can learn from rugby, rugby form GAA, soccer for etc etc

Agree totally and with Greengrass also ,
What will you never see on Hoganstand ???
What can rugby/soccer learn from the GAA , our inferiority complex knows no bounds .
Yes GAA shows every summer it has problems , be it referring , fixture lists ,lack of clarity around rules etc etc but its still the best big and small ball game played on this island .

Damothedub (Dublin) - Posts: 5193 - 20/10/2015 11:08:27    1800511

Tiraw you mustn't have been following the rugby world cup very closely if you believe 1, 4 & 7 to be correct. There are things that can be learned of course, but I would say one of the main things to learn is that TMO is a load of nonsense so I am amazed people still want it in the GAA.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 20/10/2015 11:14:37    1800513

Given the amount of abuse directed at Craig Joubert I would question the "respect for referees" that rugby is supposed to have.Joubert was the ref in the Scotland V Australia quarter final. Lots of attacks on him all round. As far as I can see Refs in rugby also seem to be coaches and commentators- giving a running commentary on the game eg Back white, get onside Blue 6 ! Do we want GAA refs to be like this?

galwayford (Galway) - Posts: 2517 - 20/10/2015 11:17:12    1800515

20/10/2015 09:37:37 tirawleybaron
With all the country tuned into the rugby world cup and general interest in Rugby growing all the time (at the expense of GAA in a lot of places). Can the GAA learn anything from the only professional game on the island?
What we need to do:
1. Respect for referees and disciplinary system (respect for referees and acceptance of punishment is non existant in the GAA).
2. Promotion of games - you never see or hear a single bit of promotion of GAA matches all year long but Connaught will promote a nothing match verse Zebre to the hilt and get a bigger crowd than Galway get for league matches. You never hear a peep about national league matches in the GAA.How would you create a process by which respect for referees is improved?
How would you change the discipline system for the better
There is plenty of GAA promotion for certain games/events but to be fair the GAA had a monopoly on sport in a lot of the country for years so never had to advertise and still attracted crowds. What do you want the GAA to do in relation to marketing/PR?
20/10/2015 09:37:37 tirawleybaron
3. Regular competitive matches - provinicial rugby has grown exponentially since the introduction of the Celtic/Magners/Pro12 league. Small clubs with no fanbase and no appeal had to be amalgamated to make it a worthwhile spectacle. Has anyone in the GAA the balls to cut weaker counties loose. Give them the option of amalgamation or secondary competition. They are holding everyone else back to the detriment of the greater good. Imagine what state Irish rugby would be in if they stayed with the AIL and allowed club teams compete in European competition.
4. Use of technology - the use of the TMO for scores and foul play has been a revelation and no one can have complaints about the end result of the match. We can't even watch replays of fould play on the big screen in Croke Park in case it shows up a bad refereeing decision.
5. Use of extra officials - the refs are in constant contact with the other two officals who also pull up off the ball incidents. GAA has more officals most of whom provide no assistance whatsoever.The reason clubs were amalgamated in Wales was for financial reasons as the welsh union couldn't run 9 then 5 professional sides. Cutting the number of counties and amalgamating them isn't needed. The sport is amateur and the different county boards will still exist. There is hawkeye and that is used.
To make better use of the umpires/other officials they would need to be qualified match officials? Will that happen and umpires undergo that training to become qualified match officials?
20/10/2015 09:37:37 tirawleybaron
6. Drinking in the stands - does wonders for the atmosphere. Are GAA men so ignorant that we cannot be trusted to have a few drinks during a match without killing one another?
7. Concussion protocols - This is taken seriously in rugby nowadays. Still ignored in GAA (Ross O Caroll, Aiden O shea etc)
8. Use of a sevens game to increase participation and skills development. You rarely see 14 people of all ages/sexes playing football of hurling for fun. GAA has a lot to learn from Rugby here.Where is drinking banned? That isn't an issue in most places????
Concussion has got better in GAA as in rugby.
There is 7s played in GAA and with the kilmacud 7s more GAA clubs/players probably play 7s in a year than rugby players/clubs

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 20/10/2015 11:43:52    1800526

20/10/2015 09:37:37 tirawleybaron
What we should ignore
1. World cup style draw - The GPA are proposing a similar seeded structure for the GAA. We will end up with a similarly predictable outcome. Groups need to be weighted to provide more groups of death (give extra qfinal places to those groups). Only one group of the four was competitive in the RWC. If we go ahead with a similar system we will be lucky to have two competitive groups.
2. Emphasis on defence and size by Ireland/England/France - GAA is going the defensive route with bigger men, hopefully more counties can focus on attack and skills (like Argentina/Austrailia/NZ/Japan)
Ireland/England/France play rugby by kicking the ball when they should be passing by hand. GAA teams pass the ball by hand when they should be kicking it. I don't think weighting of draws helps things.
Giving extra quarters places to some pools shouldn't be done.
20/10/2015 10:12:08
DoireCityFC
"Can the GAA learn from rugby?"
Yes it can. No sport is perfect and never will be, each has their good and bad points. GAA can learn from rugby, rugby form GAA, soccer for etc etc TOTALLY
20/10/2015 11:05:34
GAAHattrick
Main things for me are the respect shown to the ref and the alcohol in the stadium.
The league is promoted well enough it is just people choose not to go.
The competitive fixtures is something that could be looked at but not feasible really, when do lads play with their clubs? They barely play with them as it is. Why is drink in stadium such an issue? Changing philosophy around when clubs play has to change
20/10/2015 11:06:56 football first
Funny how the rugby lads' "respect for the referee" seems to have evaporated in the last few days, as Joubert has been hung out to dry by his own governing body! And the much-lauded disciplinary system has shown serious inconsistencies during the WC too The discipline system is very good but doesn't have its faults....
20/10/2015 11:08:27 Damothedub
Agree totally and with Greengrass also,
What will you never see on Hoganstand ???
What can rugby/soccer learn from the GAA, our inferiority complex knows no bounds .
Yes GAA shows every summer it has problems, be it referring, fixture lists,lack of clarity around rules etc etc but its still the best big and small ball game played on this island .Rugby/soccer can learn a lot from GAA but where......
20/10/2015 11:14:37 Soma
Tiraw you mustn't have been following the rugby world cup very closely if you believe 1, 4 & 7 to be correct. There are things that can be learned of course, but I would say one of the main things to learn is that TMO is a load of nonsense so I am amazed people still want it in the GAA. TMO in its current incarnation is not great but the idea of it is right and it needs some sort of overhaul
20/10/2015 11:17:12 galwayford
Given the amount of abuse directed at Craig Joubert I would question the "respect for referees" that rugby is supposed to have.Joubert was the ref in the Scotland V Australia quarter final. Lots of attacks on him all round. As far as I can see Refs in rugby also seem to be coaches and commentators- giving a running commentary on the game eg Back white, get onside Blue 6 ! Do we want GAA refs to be like this? There is a good respect for referees. Better than most sports. There is more questioning than ever but that's natural
Rugby referees are not coaches/commentators. Nothing wrong with warning players to stay onside etc It helps the game and sport be better

ormondbannerman (Clare) - Posts: 13473 - 20/10/2015 11:50:19    1800532

Scotland media claiming institutional bias in refereeing decisions. That makes me laugh.

Offside_Rule (Antrim) - Posts: 4058 - 20/10/2015 12:11:07    1800540

Ah jaysus offside, don't be going down that road of funny handshakes etc.


Next we'll be talking about the DUP blocking rate relief for GAA clubs while allowing it for orange halls!!

bumpernut (Antrim) - Posts: 1852 - 20/10/2015 12:47:56    1800557

Just to even things up, here is a list of things the GAA does well

1. Democracy - any member can propose a rule change to congress - the challenge is selling it to the conservative members

2. Parish system - promotes a sense of community identity and brotherhood that cannot be matched

3. Skills - the basic core skills of GAA sports (high fielding, footpassing/striking out of hand, solo run) are seen as supreme skills in other sports

4. Man on man marking with fair contest for possession (sadly a dying art in football) is only replicated in Aussie rules

5. Kicking ball out of play - met with great cheers in Rugby and applause for defenders who clear a ball in soccer. you'd get slated for that messing in GAA.

The reality is Gaelic football has the potential to be the greatest field sport going if we could take out the negative play and handpassing.
Hurling has the same potential but needs to have the ball altered to reduce the length players can strike the ball which would increase the man v man contests

tirawleybaron (Mayo) - Posts: 1105 - 20/10/2015 13:14:22    1800574

What can rugby/soccer learn from the GAA, our inferiority complex knows no bounds .
Yes GAA shows every summer it has problems, be it referring, fixture lists,lack of clarity around rules etc etc but its still the best big and small ball game played on this island .Rugby/soccer can learn a lot from GAA but where......

Lets start with Rugby , how about social inclusion , come to my neck of the woods in Dublin 15 and find me where the hell rugby is ?
Its elitist head is raised in Castleknock only , I can name every Secondry school in Dublin 15 and tell you which very very few have rugby teams or have ever had or seen a rugby coach GPO etc GAA accepts and openly encourages from all walks of life

Next soccer , well were on earth would you begin , I only have a hour for my lunch break .

Finally if you had to ask the question in the first place , says it all really

Damothedub (Dublin) - Posts: 5193 - 20/10/2015 13:16:05    1800576

One thing that the GAA could learn from the rugby world cup is how a one-sided game can still be enjoyable, you just appreciate the skills and effort on view. Namibia celebrated scoring a last minute try in a 64-19 hammering against Argentina as if they had won the competition. Imagine the reaction from GAA pundits if there were wild celebrations when a side like Wicklow/Louth/Offaly scored a late goal against Dublin when getting a 30-40 point hammering.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 20/10/2015 13:56:15    1800589

There is a lot wrong with the GAA, both on and off the pitch, for instance the very fact we all argue over whether this is true or not shows that Democracy is alive and kicking - it doesn't solve anything but sure that's another problem we have. Then discipline or lack of it, caused by archaic poorly defined rules are causing huge problems and yet we will argue till blue in the face. BUT despite that, the games are short, generally they are entertaining and generally played in good spirit and free from controversy. For me its all down to poor vague rules, horribly written sanctions, and Gaelic games needs to decide what parts of the games need special attention to help it evolve. Players fitness and skill levels and coaching has outgrown the rules of the game.

But can we really learn anything from other sports? I doubt it some of the other sports are just plain ugly to watch.

arock (Dublin) - Posts: 4895 - 20/10/2015 13:59:30    1800590

Soma
County: UK
Posts: 1176

1800589
One thing that the GAA could learn from the rugby world cup is how a one-sided game can still be enjoyable, you just appreciate the skills and effort on view. Namibia celebrated scoring a last minute try in a 64-19 hammering against Argentina as if they had won the competition. Imagine the reaction from GAA pundits if there were wild celebrations when a side like Wicklow/Louth/Offaly scored a late goal against Dublin when getting a 30-40 point hammering.

A lot of people slagged off Fermanagh this year because their fans and players celebrated their goals against Dublin in the quarter-finals.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13705 - 20/10/2015 14:10:36    1800597

personally I find rugby boring. Too much stop/start. The same 5 or 6 teams always playing each other and very little change in the teams that dominate. I have tried to embrace it a few times but for me it hasn't a patch on the GAA. So no!

SaffronDon (Antrim) - Posts: 2385 - 20/10/2015 14:19:53    1800604

Democracy has never worked )

TheRightStuff (Donegal) - Posts: 1688 - 20/10/2015 14:24:37    1800606

The GAA could learn how to turn a blind eye to all the diving and cheating that's endemic in rugby.

Breffni40 (Cavan) - Posts: 12116 - 20/10/2015 14:25:02    1800607