Club Vs Provence

Uncle Mort · Post by **Uncle Mort** » April 27th, 2006, 3:35 pm

Malahide Mullet wrote:More Bulldozer then Ballerina

But it would have been so very much more useful to both you and your team mates had you taken the ball with you

Malahide Mullet · Post by **Malahide Mullet** » April 27th, 2006, 3:37 pm

coddlesangers · Post by **coddlesangers** » April 27th, 2006, 4:06 pm

I think you've all lost the plot with this frantic effort to get more people following Leinster. Why?

Kindly Follow the Coddle plan for a brighter future..

1stly - tell noone about Leinster rugby. Pretend it doesn't exist. When people ask you "did you see the match", acquire the constipated grimace of loyalty of the cousin shaggers, accompanied by the chip of significance (chip to be balanced on shoulder, except when applying for jobs in the province of Leinster). Shout COMMONNNN MUNNNNSTERRR. That will do for starters. Should certainly scare away the wimmin.

2nd ban all from Donnybrook who have not served an appropriate rugby apprenticeship of at least 30 years, culminating in an Orgasm of Sheepskin.

Finally, sit back and enjoy watching Europes most entertaining team in the privacy of your own stadium, accompanied only by other true devotees of the blue and gold...

I actually felt sorry for Munsterfans last week, no wonder they don't show for celtic league matches, I nearly fell asleep everytime they had the ball..

COME ON YOU BOYS IN BLUE

jezzer · Post by **jezzer** » April 27th, 2006, 4:25 pm

I grew up in the country, moved to a town with a "big" local club and went to a private Dublin school. And having seen a bit of all sides of the argument, i am adamant that there is an over-reliance on the schools to provide the talent to the senior structure. With that over-reliance comes a couple of big problems. The comparatively few players to choose from (small no. of rugby schools, drop-out rate, ignores late-developing players) means we are over-looking a huge rugby-playing resource in the clubs. It also alienates those who didn't go to private schools, which diminishes the player and supporter base.

The schools cup is a wonderful competition, but only to those whose school is playing in it (and seeing as 4 or 5 schools win it most of the time, many of the schools who are in it aren't that bothered with it either.)

More schools need to play rugby. More attention needs to be put into club players. So what you need is a root-and-branch overhaul of the club structure. Local schools feed local clubs who feed county clubs who feed a tier of clubs below the provincial level. Private schools/old boys clubs would enter in at an appropriate level. Being the best OH in Tullamore is great but it isn't going to put dinner on the table, so these guys need a route upwards.

Mauler · Post by **Mauler** » April 27th, 2006, 4:38 pm

A number of years ago I switched clubs from Wanderers FC to Coolmine RFC. One of my first games was against Unidare RFC. I had never heard of them, let alone played against them. In the car driving over to their grounds (at the time they had no club house only some cabins) the 5 of us in the car were chatting that there must be one Keith Wood or one Simon Geoghegan in the sprawling housing estates in Finglas. This was at a time prior to the game turning professional, where Irish rugby was at an all time low with the exception of a couple of great wins in ‘93 &’94 against England. Where we only had 3 Lions picked for the tour to NZ. There were kids whom we drove by who I suspect had never touched a rugby ball, let alone played a game of rugby. Who would not know who Geoghegan or Wood were or even that Ireland had just beaten England.
Now thankfully things have changed a little, with the Tallaght project and of course the higher profile that rugby has in the media and on TV, but it must change further. The traditional breeding ground of rugby players in Leinster, namely the private schools, will still continue, but it must be in parallel with taking the game into the non traditional areas, setting up & funding clubs here and introducing the game into the community schools. It is the only way our sport will grow.

coddlesangers · Post by **coddlesangers** » April 27th, 2006, 4:50 pm

Would you mind not putting in serious well thought out posts in the middle of my insane ramblings? You're wrecking the whole look of the thing.

Many thanks

Sangers

Leinsterman · Post by **Leinsterman** » April 27th, 2006, 6:40 pm

Mauler wrote:A number of years ago I switched clubs from Wanderers FC to Coolmine RFC. One of my first games was against Unidare RFC.

You went from the Dark Side to the even darker side - Wanderers to Coolmine.

Still though - at least you played a great club in one of your first games.

No doubt there were several punch-ups during the game.

harryp · Post by **harryp** » April 27th, 2006, 6:42 pm

I don't think the biggest problem is the 2 codes. I'm from a Club background, didn't go to a rugby school yet, I love the Schools Cup, its a fantastic competition, but Leinster U18 Cup is as good a competition and upto the same level!

The problem, is with the IRFU, and how it combines the 2 codes! Too many players finish in school or at U18 level because there is no next step up. Its not Leinster Branches problem, or the Clubs problem its the IRFU's problem, and they will never deal with it.

At the end of the day, the Schools Cup is unofficially run by half a dozen untouchable Principals, and the Leinster U18 Squad / U19 Squad is run by 2 or 3 "well positioned Clubs" and the IRFU is afraid of its shoite to touch either set up!

Leinsterman · Post by **Leinsterman** » April 27th, 2006, 6:46 pm

harryp wrote:
The problem, is with the IRFU, and how it combines the 2 codes! Too many players finish in school or at U18 level because there is no next step up. Its not Leinster Branches problem, or the Clubs problem its the IRFU's problem, and they will never deal with it.

Very true, I've sat in on several Leinster Junior Branch metings discussing this very problem this season. There are "plans" to reintroduce an U20s competition next season but when you see some of the old farts in the committee positions at some of the bigger clubs, well.......

harryp · Post by **harryp** » April 27th, 2006, 7:03 pm

Leinsterman wrote:
harryp wrote:
The problem, is with the IRFU, and how it combines the 2 codes! Too many players finish in school or at U18 level because there is no next step up. Its not Leinster Branches problem, or the Clubs problem its the IRFU's problem, and they will never deal with it.
Very true, I've sat in on several Leinster Junior Branch metings discussing this very problem this season. There are "plans" to reintroduce an U20s competition next season but when you see some of the old farts in the committee positions at some of the bigger clubs, well.......

Badly needed, as is an U19 competition, but will either ever happen to an acceptable level. There was an U19 comp started about 5 years ago, but didn't work.

Leinsterman · Post by **Leinsterman** » April 27th, 2006, 7:23 pm

Well, there's a lot of interest to reintroduce it but the gripe with a lot of clubs, particularly Junior Metropolitan ones is that players are quite literally "poached" by the universities. Unis like UCD have bagloads of players but if you're not in the first XV then they don't give a shoite about you and you're tied to the uni for the season until all their competitive fixtures are finished. As a result, players are lost to the game.

What is going to be even more fun is the online player registration business which is being brought in by the IRFU next season. Once you're "electronically" registered with a team, you can't even guest for another team without.... wait for it...

1. Faxing in transfer requests with the players registration number

2. Filling the transfer request out electronically

This is going to seriously hurt the smaller clubs....