Munster Rugby - We DID start the fire (Part 2)

[gilgamboa]

@Julio_Geordio

Should the bottom end of AIL be regionalised? The traveling is cat. Up North, down to Cork etc

Yes one million percent yes. In fact there should be no senior rugby outside of the top two tiers… Two national leagues and provincial leagues organised on merit then with national playoffs for the top tier of regional rugby

There are clubs like Sundays well who barely stay afloat in senior rugby but will do whatever it takes to win enough games to stay up senior. They are at nothing… Highfield got relegated to junior 10 years ago and they used it to reset the club and they have won a few promotions in senior since. There is v little meritocracy in club rugby as too many average clubs survive in it

[gilgamboa]

@Heyyoubehindthebushes

Im biased but Division 1A has more quailty matches than URC. Hard to see broadcasters pick up games due to over saturation of the pro game, very hard to move games to suit tv times clashing unless its a local derby.

Quality in it is excellent. Lot more contracted players available now regularly. Surprised they never tried a double header with a Munster game

[Heyyoubehindthebushes]

Id agree with you but there is no way itll be passsd, even regionalised in division 2. There is a massive gap between Divison 1A and 2A only 2 divisions apart

[LionelRitchie]

@gilgamboa

Surprised they never tried a double header with a Munster game

Great idea

[gilgamboa]

@Heyyoubehindthebushes

Id agree with you but there is no way itll be passsd, even regionalised in division 2. There is a massive gap between Divison 1A and 2A only 2 divisions apart

Agree it will never happen. Too much ego and match tickets at play to do it

We went up senior and within a season most of older lads had stopped playing. After years of commitment to get there to give double the commitment to knock around the lower reaches of the lowest tier and take loads of time off work and be on buses most of every second weekend. Waste of time
There is also far less appetite for Saturday rugby with fans… Our crowds much bigger playing much lower level on sundays. Saturday is a working day for many in the country

[Heyyoubehindthebushes]

Why would they do that? Who would get the gate money? Complete madness. Youll have 2 sets of supporters who couldnt give a toss about the other game. Like having a munster hurling championship match with an ulster football championship double header in croke park

[Heyyoubehindthebushes]

The irfu would love to cause a ruckous to remove the international ticket allocation to clubs to sell to ticketmaster instead.

The voting power of 30 clubs in division 2 will always vote it down

[gilgamboa]

@Heyyoubehindthebushes

Why would they do that? Who would get the gate money? Complete madness. Youll have 2 sets of supporters who couldnt give a toss about the other game. Like having a munster hurling championship match with an ulster football championship double header in croke park

It would be great promotion for the club game and you know it

Kids don’t even know the AIL exist. Kids drag parents to games.

[gilgamboa]

@Heyyoubehindthebushes

The irfu would love to cause a ruckous to remove the international ticket allocation to clubs to sell to ticketmaster instead.

They could just redistribute to all clubs equally. And not give the senior clubs a massive allocation a multiple of what junior clubs get

Senior clubs won’t accept that though… And why would they I suppose aside from having best interest of the game at heart

[Heyyoubehindthebushes]

I dont think it would be, only could see shannon do it, for the old prism digital video.

True about kids dragging parents to games. Ive a buddy who only goes to munster games for the young fella, he couldnt give a toss about the match.

Many clubs try to get minis to play at ht during games now great for the kids and brings the parents in.

Best thing to promote the game imho is tg4 to have 1 game a week on a friday evening or Saturday at 5. Would be easy to find a local enough derby to move to that time

[gilgamboa]

@Heyyoubehindthebushes

Best thing to promote the game imho is tg4 to have 1 game a week on a friday evening or Saturday at 5. Would be easy to find a local enough derby to move to that time

The highlights available are top class as it is

[Heyyoubehindthebushes]

Its a big incentive for bringing in membership and sponsers. Too many senior clubs, 50 is too many 32 is enough 4 divisions of 8 keeping current promotion/relegation system

[Heyyoubehindthebushes]

Yeah they have done a great job the last 2 years. Very good

[Halfpipe]

Isn’t great promotion for the club game the last thing the franchises want? Ulster definitely don’t want to show their fans that they could head to Ballynahinch instead to see more entertaining rugby for much cheaper, I’m sure Munster are the same.

[Julio_Geordio]

I was working with a lad in Dublin one time playing low end AIL and he’d be going to Clonakilty of a saturday or somewhere mental like that and I was looking at him thinking what an absolute mad man you are.

It might not have been Clon now I could have made that up, but it was somewhere way down anyway. Massive respect for the commitment but its not sustainable, he packed it in after a year or so and went playing seconds which was more local.

Its the LOI problem for soccer, lads can make €100 a week playing in Limerick, why would you bother making €200 and having to go to Finn Harps or whatever. Grand as a young lad chasing the dream, but the reality dawns quickly I think

[FlakeAway]

@Julio_Geordio

why would you bother making €200 and having to go to Finn Harps or whatever. Grand as a young lad chasing the dream, but the reality dawns quickly I think

Know a Treaty United player who was on €50/week last year gone back to junior soccer now this year. Just not worth It he said.

[gilgamboa]

@Halfpipe

Isn’t great promotion for the club game the last thing the franchises want? Ulster definitely don’t want to show their fans that they could head to Ballynahinch instead to see more entertaining rugby for much cheaper, I’m sure Munster are the same.

I don’t know about ulster but lot more cooperation in Munster these days. A rising tide and all that. Its the cheapest source of players for them all and making it a vibrant competitive competition keeps young players busy sitting waiting for a chance

[gilgamboa]

@Julio_Geordio

It might not have been Clon now I could have made that up, but it was somewhere way down anyway. Massive respect for the commitment but its not sustainable, he packed it in after a year or so and went playing seconds which was more local.

It could easily have been clon they were senior for years. Clon to Belfast would be an epic voyage. Up Fri stay in the ferrycarrig, skip up to Belfast Saturday grub few pints onto the bus home

[Julio_Geordio]

I know a desmond league soccer player who was getting €50 a game. And I have heard lads were on more but don’t know for a fact.

[Heyyoubehindthebushes]

Since ian costello came back there is a massive improvement in the relationship with clubs. Himself and rowntree do attend games to watch guys when released. Costello also goes to training sessions to see how academy players are training in the club environment. We are starting to see the benefits for munster now of this new approach compared to previous regimes. Id still burn munster but feom their point of view they are now doing it correctly for the development of young players