Great competition Munster junior cup has to be hardest to win hands down
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I wouldn’t know many club presidents happy to give up a home game just to be a curtain raiser at a pro14 game. The crowds are very small but there is still an honour to hosting these games, and the bar receipts are important as well.
Two way street Munster need to generate new fans themselves…lack of cooperation is a pure joke. Noone is blameless though…the pro game doesnt give a fuck about the clubs, and the senior clubs dont give a fuck about the junior clubs etc…
Some of the decisions made around underage club rugby would make your blood boil
Or players to be a side show. I remember a few years ago Young Munster and Shannon weren’t even allowed warm up on the main pitch in thomand. They had to walk to and from LIT.
They definitely wouldnt give it up. Thats part of the issue. Short term thinking and minding their own patch has a lot of clubs stuck in a rut
Constant changing age grades? Or not allowing schools player play with clubs? Or dictate where and when the inter pro players play?
A lot of questionable decisions over the years. The latest one is there is no more cups to be awarded below under 13, knocking great cups like the James Keating in Bruff at Halloween and other traditional cups played between clubs like the Lystate cup between YM and Richmond on Stephen’s day at under 12. Theres 2 types of YM player those who won it and those who didnt
The funny thing is, anyone in Munster Branch or Leinster etc prob came through the clubs. Yet it’s like they go native. You see the same thing when lads make it up to the IRFU
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And have you seen how Munster treat clubs?
You had over 2000 people at YM Shannon last year same time as Munster played Cardiff in Cork.
Same night Con played UCC the same night. Higher div clubs are trying to distance from the provinces over the treatment over last few years
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Both. The age grade thing primarily. There is a brilliant comp at u 16 level with all players gteed 10 or 12 games in a league format that gets regraded half way through into three comps based on results…so all clubs have chance to compete at own level
But then it jumps from u 16 to u 18.5 to align with schools…and the cut off is mid year not Jan.this is an absolute shambles as it gives some fellas three years at the 18.5 grade…so you would have fellas still playing u 16 gaa who would be up against lads too old for minor gaa…lads in transition yr against lads in college…massive fall off in numbers from 16s…loads of clubs struggling to field at 18.5
This year actually munster branch have changed format of schools senior cup…two round robin pools of 6 teams…11 schools and a munster clubs representative team…rep team cant go into the knockout stages though…
Schools hoard a heap of players too. Its a joke.
They are…and I can see why. On the other hand, the high div clubs would cut the throat of any club below them so sympathy is limited!
They did something similar when I was playing it went from 16s and 18s to 17 and 19s. The date was moved from Jun to Jan. I went from 16s to 19s, and was a week over age for 17s. Playd with a lot of lads in college an were also playing 21s. Was a big step up only got into the team after Christmas
50 senior clubs is way too much too tho. Lower league clubs wont like to hear it but 2B and 2C are glorified Junior.
Agreed. But there is huge international ticket advantages to being a senior club so nobody wants to change status quo.
Two national leagues and the rest should be regionalised…can have national play offs then if you want to once regional element completed…all the clubs know this makes sense
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Agreed cost saving too saving long trips. More potential Friday games. Win win win for all
My beloved galwegians are apparently looking for planning permission to relocate to very near my few acres of scrub. Please God they’ll succeed. It’d be great to be able to watch hurling, rubby and even, God forbid, soccer within a very short stroll.
Where abouts in Galway is that? The club house was real old school. Windy as fuck up there
Out West. This is what I’ve been told only, so not 100% certain.
Never found glenina any windier than anywhere else tbh.
What Woukd you know about it?
The real soul of rugby is a St Mary’s v Thomond tie in the Munster Junior Cup
Christ but it’s awful shite