GeoffreyBoycott:
After a great decade of success for Irish rugby, the back to back championship wins in 2014 and 2015, the Grand Slam win of 2009 and five European Cups for Munster and Leinster, it was inevitable that Ireland would at same stage enter the period of transition they are in now. All sports are cyclical. The structures are sound and Ireland will come again.
GeoffreyBoycott:
You really need to take a break after all the clampings I have dished out to you of late. Your rantings are getting more and more bizarre. I stated in a gaelic football discussion last summer that of the 19 counties that have won the All Ireland football championship, Cavan, Offaly and Roscommon are the only three counties with populations of less than 100,000 to have done so. All that’s old tradition now as the last win for Offaly was in 1982, Cavan in 1952 and Roscommon in 1944. We’re talking about the Ireland rugby team here so Cavan in 1952 or Roscommon in 1944 in a different sport are of no relevance.
I’ve checked back on the post and my recall is correct, albeit the references to Cavan, Roscommon and Offaly were in 2015 and not 2016. Signs are that @Nembo_Kid has completely lost it and is just rambling incoherently. Here’s the post from 17 May 2015.
Demographics is a factor at play when it comes to the current state of former traditional powers like Roscommon, Offaly and Cavan. They are the only three counties with populations of less than 100,000 to reach an All Ireland Football final in the last 80 years. Roscommon has a population of about 63,000 which is about 10,000 less than both Cavan and Offaly. Only Leitrim, Carlow, Longford and Monaghan are more sparsely populated.