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Replying To Saynothing:  "What other name have you for it other than a friendly?"
Maybe you should play a game see how friendly you find it?

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 17537 - 16/11/2025 18:54:56    2644819

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Replying To GreenandRed:  "What part of it isn't true?"
That we don't grow plenty of good rugby players

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 17537 - 16/11/2025 18:56:25    2644821

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Replying To Bon:  "Well it is a British sport after all."
It's worth remembering that our home grown players develop and play that game at home and across the world.
They earn more than a decent living bringing home huge salaries. Good luck to them.

supersub15 (Carlow) - Posts: 3308 - 16/11/2025 20:52:22    2644862

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Replying To KillingFields:  "why wouldnt you?
would be fantastic to have 2 teams from this island in the tournament. wierd to be so down on them"
Not wierd at all imo.

Pope_Benedict (Galway) - Posts: 4468 - 16/11/2025 21:11:26    2644871

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Replying To Viking66:  "Maybe you should play a game see how friendly you find it?"
Same could be said for any contact sport Viking.
How Rugby supporters can get such a horn over friendly games is beyond me. Its just game time for players which is important but no different than a friendly game in any other sport in which results are taken with a piece of salt. You need to beat the top teams when it actually matters as we found out in the world cup.

Bon (Kildare) - Posts: 2587 - 16/11/2025 21:32:20    2644880

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I hate what was done to the Irish by the Brits all throughout history as much as anyone but I'm able to separate that from sports or music or film, etc. I can enjoy Rugby, Soccer, Tennis, Golf, a Beatles or Stones song, etc. Many here can't seem to grasp that separation.

SouthGalway (Galway) - Posts: 101 - 16/11/2025 22:37:18    2644897

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Replying To Bon:  "Same could be said for any contact sport Viking.
How Rugby supporters can get such a horn over friendly games is beyond me. Its just game time for players which is important but no different than a friendly game in any other sport in which results are taken with a piece of salt. You need to beat the top teams when it actually matters as we found out in the world cup."
Exactly. Dublin beat Tipp in challenge last January.

So we're better than All Ireland champions?

I think not.

BarneyGrant (Dublin) - Posts: 3816 - 17/11/2025 00:00:00    2644908

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Replying To Viking66:  "That we don't grow plenty of good rugby players"
The three Kiwis are backs. We grow plenty of plenty of Gaelic Footballers and hurlers of the athletic profile of backs. The IRFU have made plenty of good good moves, many since professionalism. But blocking paths to international team isn't one one of them. Not so long since non-provincial players wouldn't be considered for Ireland. Now they'll take players from anywhere. But never progressed beyond a World Cup 8 standard. A flawed plan.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 8357 - 17/11/2025 00:41:39    2644913

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Replying To Bon:  "Same could be said for any contact sport Viking.
How Rugby supporters can get such a horn over friendly games is beyond me. Its just game time for players which is important but no different than a friendly game in any other sport in which results are taken with a piece of salt. You need to beat the top teams when it actually matters as we found out in the world cup."
Since you have never been involved in the sport, its no great surprise that you don't understand it. Its the same for any sport, players and supporters of that sport will always find reason to be more passionate about it than those looking on from the outside. However what object to is people making lazy comparisons to their own sport in a way to try and belittle the other sport.
Ask yourself a question - where was the last friendly game that Kildare had played? I guarantee you they didn't trave to Australia to play it. The world cup comes around once ever four years, A lot of sports you could argue ar the same in the Olympics would be seen as the top of the game, however do they stop trying to be the best they can be for the other 3years ? Everytime they go out they want to prove they are the best and be the best, that just doesn't happen in a world cup. SA are the best in the world not because they won a world cup but because of their consistency against all major teams.

zinny (Wexford) - Posts: 2119 - 17/11/2025 07:02:11    2644918

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Replying To Bon:  "Same could be said for any contact sport Viking.
How Rugby supporters can get such a horn over friendly games is beyond me. Its just game time for players which is important but no different than a friendly game in any other sport in which results are taken with a piece of salt. You need to beat the top teams when it actually matters as we found out in the world cup."
The World Cup would be nice to win, but at the end of the day its like an All Ireland Final. These friendly games as you put them determine whether you go to a world cup or not. And what your chances in a world cup as regards seeding might be.
Beating top teams any time is nice. Same as in Football or Hurling. If we beat any team in a League semifinal or Final Id be delighted for example, though I know at the same time its only the League. Im always delighted if we beat Kilkenny or Galway in a Round Robin hurling game also, and I would be delighted if we ever beat Dublin again in one too!!! Id be delighted if we won Leinster, though thats only like being delighted to win the 6 nations, which I always am also seeing as we have won way less 6 nations than Wexford have won Leinsters, but like Leinster the top teams from elsewhere arent in it. Likewise I'm sure Cavan supporters were delighted with their win in Mayo, and their recent Ulster Championship wins also, even though they were pretty much only friendly games also, insofar as noone was knocked out after them.

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 17537 - 17/11/2025 07:24:33    2644920

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Replying To Lockjaw:  "That was unbelievable!

Still a lot of work to do, but fair play to those lads. They've restored a lot of pride in the Irish shirt.

Roll on March!!"
Was exciting and good luck to them but you'd think they'd won the World Cup the way some are going so mad about it.

Seanfan (Roscommon) - Posts: 222 - 17/11/2025 08:37:57    2644929

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Replying To BarneyGrant:  "Exactly. Dublin beat Tipp in challenge last January.

So we're better than All Ireland champions?

I think not."
Only the most deluded of types could read into that.
Its like beating New Zealand in a friendly then getting schooled by them in a World Cup.

Bon (Kildare) - Posts: 2587 - 17/11/2025 09:42:33    2644933

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Replying To BarneyGrant:  "Exactly. Dublin beat Tipp in challenge last January.

So we're better than All Ireland champions?

I think not."
Who played in that game Barney? And was Liam McCarthy qualification or seeding affected by it? Big difference between challenge games and games which decide if you qualify for the World Cup at all, and what seed you are in the draw.

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 17537 - 17/11/2025 09:48:39    2644936

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Replying To SouthGalway:  "I hate what was done to the Irish by the Brits all throughout history as much as anyone but I'm able to separate that from sports or music or film, etc. I can enjoy Rugby, Soccer, Tennis, Golf, a Beatles or Stones song, etc. Many here can't seem to grasp that separation."
ABE and the North teams.

Saynothing (Tyrone) - Posts: 2473 - 17/11/2025 09:59:52    2644942

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Replying To SouthGalway:  "I hate what was done to the Irish by the Brits all throughout history as much as anyone but I'm able to separate that from sports or music or film, etc. I can enjoy Rugby, Soccer, Tennis, Golf, a Beatles or Stones song, etc. Many here can't seem to grasp that separation."
Absolutely sport, film, music are great, if you followed the line of thinking through of everything British is bad then you won't be eating roses or turkey at Christmas.

FullOfPorter (Roscommon) - Posts: 472 - 17/11/2025 10:02:25    2644945

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Replying To GreenandRed:  "The three Kiwis are backs. We grow plenty of plenty of Gaelic Footballers and hurlers of the athletic profile of backs. The IRFU have made plenty of good good moves, many since professionalism. But blocking paths to international team isn't one one of them. Not so long since non-provincial players wouldn't be considered for Ireland. Now they'll take players from anywhere. But never progressed beyond a World Cup 8 standard. A flawed plan."
Our failure to get past the Quarter final stage has nothing to do with where 3 of the current backs were born.
What it has to do with is that on the day we weren't good enough to win those games. Some years we were probably over achieving to get to a Quarter Final at all, other years we played poorly, or suffered key injuries, or just lost to a better team on the day in a game of fine margins. Or a combination of all 3 factors.
Knockout rugby is the same as any knockout game in any sport. There were knockout games this millennium which Mayo lost for example, to teams who probably over the season or a period of years weren't as consistent as Mayo were. But on the day they beat Mayo. That's knockout sport for you.

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 17537 - 17/11/2025 10:32:43    2644954

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Replying To Bon:  "Only the most deluded of types could read into that.
Its like beating New Zealand in a friendly then getting schooled by them in a World Cup."
Rankings boost hands England drastically easier Rugby World Cup draw - Page 3 of 3 - Ruck https://share.google/8GJfxz0EHPeMeTDhZ

Just a bit of info on how the draw for the next World Cup, or World Cups in general, works Bon, as it seems you are becoming quite interested in rugby. That's not the actual draw, which won't take place til December, but how it would be if it was made now.
As you can see South Africa and Australia are in a really tough group, as are NZ and Scotland, while Argentina and Wales are currently in a bit of a group of death also, as in a group with 2 teams who could possibly be way better when the world cup comes around.

So all these games this autumn, or any autumn, are far from meaningless.

Rankings boost hands England drastically easier Rugby World Cup draw - Page 3 of 3 - Ruck https://share.google/8GJfxz0EHPeMeTDhZ

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 17537 - 17/11/2025 10:58:59    2644968

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Away from the rugby talk for a minute, I think it's absolutely fantastic that the Irish football team have restored a bit of pride and interest. Look - there's still a lot of work to do to qualify, we know that. But it's still nice to savour two brilliant victories. My young fella has already updated his Santa list from wanting an Mbappe Real Madrid jersey to wanting an Ireland shirt with Parrott on the back.

Growing up, we were so lucky to enjoy big tournaments that Ireland qualified for. I don't think anything else captivates the nation so much as when the Ireland team is involved in a major football tournament. The rugby lads do very well, but when football mania kicks in, it's a differeny story altogether.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 10131 - 17/11/2025 11:21:45    2644982

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