Soroka is machine
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100k is some twine for lads playing a handful of games.
@gilgamboa, would the other provinces be shelling out similar wages?
It is but these lads would be captains of industry or titans of the professional services world if theyâd gone down a different career path so they need to be compensated for that.
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Rumors about aki and him.
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Id find a lot of those numbers hard to believe
Moana Pasifika are great fun @gilgamboa.
They have done unbelievably well this season
Itâs remarkable how badly Leinster and Ireland do without Ryan, a lot of their recent big losses are when heâs unavailable or goes off injured.
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Sure Furlong hardly play these days. Iâd say this Lions tour could be a bridge too far for him.
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Youâd wonder sometimes if Farrell is under instructions to make sure itâs an even contest.
Irish fans get a raw deal from Six Nations fixtures
If anyone was under any illusions about the decreasing importance of paying rugby fans in general, and Ireland supporters especially, then a cursory glance at the 2026 Six Nations fixtures will confirm as much.
The schedule was released yesterday and heaven knows how much bartering went into the negotiations between the various broadcasters (France TĂ©lĂ©visions, ITV, BBC and S4C, Virgin Media and RTĂ, and Sky RAI) and the six unions/federations. As the relative poorer relations, save for the Italians, the two Irish broadcasters and the IRFU clearly carry little clout.
How else can one explain the FranceIreland game being shunted forward to the Thursday ahead of the opening weekend? Apparently, itâs to avoid a clash with the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics a day later on Friday, February 6th.
Games on Friday night and Sunday afternoon inconvenience travelling fans anyway, but a Thursday night fixture is actively discouraging Irish supporters from travelling to Paris. That is presuming the game takes place in the Stade de France as, curiously, the venues have not yet been confirmed. Aside from the exorbitant expense of flights and hotels, supporters wishing to attend this game will have to take at least two, but probably three, days off work. That is a huge imposition and is bound to affect the number of Irish supporters who will attend the game.
Traditionally, one of the great defining features of the Six Nations is away supporters. Yet clearly France TĂ©lĂ©visions and the French Rugby Federation (FFR) donât give a damn about the travelling fans, and the other unions (including the IRFU) went along with them.
The hope must be that this is a one-off, but supposing it rivals the 6.7 and 6.6 million French TV audiences that watched the last two Friday night opening matches? This could be the thin end of the wedge, for all that appears to matter are the broadcasters and TV viewers.
In 2024, the Friday night opener between France and Ireland in Marseille drew an average audience of 6.6 million viewers, while this yearâs opening match between France and Wales, also on Friday night, was watched by 6.7 million viewers.
Tellingly, the 500-word release from the Six Nations confirming next seasonâs fixtures never mentioned actual paying supporters once, but instead stated the championship was âinviting more and more fans to tune in and enjoy the dramaâ.
âIn 2025, nearly 130 million fans were watching coverage of the Guinness Menâs Six Nations in home markets; a +6.30 per cent increase compared to the previous year, and the set of fixtures for 2026 promises to keep fans hooked for five rounds of sporting entertainment,â the release added.
If the host broadcasters and the FFR wanted to avoid a clash with the Winter Olympics opening ceremony, fair enough, but why not play the game on the Saturday or even the Sunday? After all, France v Ireland has effectively been the title decider for each of the last four seasons. Evidently, actual performances donât count for anything either.
Super Saturday
Next yearâs Six Nations will be concluded on Super Saturday with France v England at 9.10pm local time (8.10pm Irish time). This is the third time in a row that the biennial France-England clash will take place on the final Saturday night at Stade de France. Meanwhile, the two England-France games at Twickenham, in 2023 and last year, were held in rounds four and two in the late Saturday afternoon prime time slot (4.45pm kick-off).
As the biggest spenders among the TV broadcasters, if itâs not France TV, then clearly ITV are calling the shots.
Under their broadcast deal with the Six Nations, ITV televise all of Englandâs games. So it is that Englandâs opening three games against Wales, Scotland and Italy are all in the later Saturday afternoon slot. Englandâs only fixture in the unpopular, for fans at least, 2.10pm slot is their game against Ireland at Twickenham on the Saturday of round three.
By contrast, Italy have another Sunday game as well as a couple of early Saturday afternoon games, although even the Azzurri have been afforded two of the later, prime Saturday slots. After that Thursday night opener, Ireland have three outings in the Saturday 2.10pm slot, two of which are home games.
There is also a Friday night home game against Wales to prepare for. It seems safe to presume that the hospitality industry will not be enamoured by the scheduling of Irelandâs games, while the atmosphere may be lacking at the Aviva in one or two of them.
Granted, all of this takes place against the backdrop of Tier 1 countries meeting for three days in London. The World Rugby Council meets on Wednesday to exchange ideas and discuss how they can keep the game sustainable.
Rugby is facing something of a postpandemic crisis where TV revenues have, at best, seemingly reached something of a plateau. In the case of the Champions Cup, the TV rights in the UK and Ireland dropped by over half from circa âŹ17.5 million when the EPCR turned down TNT Sportsâ initial offer and ended up accepting a reduced deal from Premier Sports.
No country is immune. Even in France, where the club game is buoyant, the FFR owe World Rugby a big bill for the losses made in hosting the 2023 World Cup.
In England, Wasps, London Irish and Worcester all went out of business. Even the IRFU, although they have a strong balance sheet and assets, have cut their menâs Sevens programme and are conducting a study into the efficiency of the model. At least they have not reached the stage where the WRU are at in culling one of their four regions.
The time to work together has never been more necessary. Perhaps itâs time to stop allowing free-to-air rights holders like RTĂ and Virgin Media simply cherry picking the Six Nations or Autumn Nations Series without investing in domestic competitions further down the pecking order. As it stands, neither broadcaster will show a solitary provincial match next season.
Unity is strength, and if the Tier 1 countries could pool more of rugbyâs various strands together they could probably strike a better deal for themselves and the sport generally. Ultimately, of course, he who pays the piper calls the tune. We get it. Thatâs the way of the world. The broadcasters are funding the professional game. Without the broadcasters, there would be no professional game.
But rugby and the Six Nations are giving the actual real live, paying, singing, chanting, eating, drinking and colourfully bedecked supporters short shrift.
Theyâd be wise not to keep doing so.
The end is nigh Gearoid a mhac
Ireland menâs sevens players to be paid in full until end of 2025 as union says womenâs programme remains key part of strategy
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The Ireland menâs sevens team
Members of Irelandâs menâs sevens squad will be paid in full by the IRFU until the end of the calendar year and given access to an education bursary after the programme was axed by the union.
And the union insists it is committed to the womenâs programme as a key part of its strategy, despite fears within the squad that it will be wound down in the medium term.
IRFU performance director David Humphreys met with players and staff today to provide information on the decision to shut down the menâs sevens programme, with members of the squad and staff put on notice.
After the meeting, several members of the womenâs squad shared a video on social media which was published last Friday by former Ireland menâs sevens captain Harry McNulty who advocated for a u-turn on the decision to wind up the menâs programme this morning and warned that the women would be next for the chop.
Amee-Leigh Costigan, who captained the Ireland XVs team in this yearâs Six Nations, described the decision to cancel the programme as âsad and disappointingâ.
McNulty is among a number of leading former players like Terry Kennedy, Greg OâShea and Billy Dardis who have come out strongly against the IRFUâs decision which was announced last Wednesday by Humphreys.
On Saturday, a group of parents of players involved in the programme wrote to the IRFU calling for the union to publish the âcomprehensive reviewâ of the sevens programme referenced in its statement.
However, it now appears any hope of convincing the IRFU to change their mind is gone and there are growing fears that, having seen the union cut their menâs sevens team, a number of other leading unions are considering following suit.
Unlike the Irish menâs programme, the womenâs squad are part of a large group of players contracted to a shared XVs and sevens programme.
As it is a World Cup year, the majority of the leading players are involved in the XVs side at the moment.
The perception among players of a uncertain future of the sevens programme is another potential distraction for a group of players still reeling from the decision to part company with highly-rated defence coach Hugh Hogan with just a few months to go until the World Cup.
With the focus on the XVs programme this season, the sevens results have dropped and Ireland find themselves out of the top eight places and in the second tier of World Rugbyâs new structure next season.
That programme will be run by Rugby Europe and as a result it is unlikely that the IRFU will have access to World Rugby funding.
As a result, there will be fewer sevens tournaments for them to play next season which is feeding the fears that the programme will be greatly diminished.
The union reaffirmed its commitment to the womenâs sevens programme in the statement it released last Wednesday.
"Itâs important to note that the womenâs sevens programme remains a critical part of our development strategy for womenâs XVs rugby,â Humphreys said in the IRFU statement last week.
âWe fully recognise the need for a structured pathway for our female athletes and are committed to continuing the growth of the womenâs programme. The womenâs game is still in its infancy stage and as the structures within the Womenâs game evolve, we will continue to monitor the impact that Sevens has as a development opportunity.â
Write a parody Irish Times article about Leinsterâs upcoming Heineken Cup rugby match against French team La Poisson, written in the style of Gerry Thornley. Write about the âTop Quatorzeâ, the âPro de Deuxâ and the âespoirsâ. Incorporate elements of a cringe-inducing LinkedIn post.
ChatGPT said:
Absolutely â hereâs a parody Irish Times article written in the style of Gerry Thornley, known for his grandiose prose, encyclopedic French rugby references, and occasionally misty-eyed Leinster romanticism. To spice things up, Iâve also layered in elements of a cringe-inducing LinkedIn post tone â the kind that makes a rugby fixture sound like a TED Talk about resilience and personal branding.
Leinster Face French Renaissance in La Rochelleâs Shadow: The Poisson Threat in the Top Quatorze Tide
Gerry Thornley, The Irish Times (Parody Edition)
As Leinster prepare for this weekendâs Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final showdown against the resurgent French club La Poisson, the narrative arcs are as layered as a Toulouse backline. A contest not merely of muscle and mettle, but of mindset, micro-margins, and â if the latest squad video is anything to go by â branding alignment.
Founded in 1997 by disillusioned Boulogne fishermen and former pageant choreographer GĂ©rard DĂ©gage, La Poisson have gone from Pro D2 perennials to Top Quatorze disruptors in what their director of rugby recently described as an âagile performance journey.â (One assumes that includes both weightlifting and influencer partnerships.)
Having narrowly edged out Castres in what many in France called âle slugfest de pluie,â the men from the Bay of Scales now find themselves face-to-face with a Leinster side in search of redemption â or at least, post-La Rochelle healing.
âWe didnât lose that final last year,â Johnny Sexton might have said had he adopted the tone of a corporate keynote speaker, âwe gathered crucial feedback in a high-pressure learning environment.â
This season, La Poissonâs spine â from enfant prodige scrum-half Lucas Gribouillis (21, but with the eyes of a 48-year-old Basque farmer) to journeyman flanker Xavier Pommefrit â has blended youthful flair with ferocious grinta, nurtured by a flourishing espoirs academy thatâs often described as âa Montessori for monstrous back rows.â
Their Pro de Deux partnership (named so for the clubâs signature offloading ballet) between South African inside centre Vuyo Pretorius and Fijian salsa-instructor-turned-fullback Tevita Raka-Kala-Kala offers a challenge rarely seen outside of Cirque du Soleil. Pretorius, notably, credits his 92% tackle completion rate to listening to âThe High Performance Podcastâ during cold plunges in octopus-infused sea baths.
This is not just a team. This is a case study in elite culture delivery.
Leinster, meanwhile, will field a mix of seasoned campaigners and LinkedIn-ready blue-chip prospects from St. Michaelâs and Blackrock, many of whom are already discussing âoperational resilienceâ and âpivoting post-pandemicâ before turning 23.
âWhen you see someone like Caelan Doris working on himself both as a player and as a personal brand,â said one assistant coach, âyou understand what Leinster 3.0 is all about.â
The clash promises to be a titanic tussle of tempo and tenacity, set against the backdrop of Dublin 4, where the artisanal coffee is as hot as the back-row selection debates. Itâs not just about silverware anymore. Itâs about legacy, data-driven excellence, and the deep emotional ROI of an accurate exit strategy from your own 22.
As one particularly earnest UCD student put it on LinkedIn after attending a midweek captainâs run:
âWatching Leinster prepare for La Poisson reminded me that in life, like in rugby, itâs not about avoiding contact â itâs about leaning in with trust, technique, and total brand integrity.â
Let the battle commence.
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Someone needs to bash their heads together.
Six Nations RugbyâThe end is nigh for real supportersâ: Readers react to Irelandâs fixture list
The Six Nations has decided to schedule its opening game, France against Ireland, on a Thursday next year, the first time there will be a midweek fixture in the tournamentâs history.
What does that, and other fixture decisions to accommodate television over the last few years, mean for the average match-going Irish fan? Irish Times readers have had their say.
âIf you were planning on turning away fans, you couldnât do better than this farce of fixturesâ
- I have attended Five and Six Nations games since 1964. In that time I have only missed nine home games, and have gone to 50 or 60 away games over the years. I therefore feel entitled to comment on the upcoming fixtures. France on a Thursday evening is very inconsiderate, especially as a venue is in doubt. Likewise having two home games in the early afternoon slot is not ideal either.
Looking at the price of the autumn series I dread to think what Six Nations tickets will cost. If you were planning on turning off attendees from the sport you couldnât have devised a better scheme than this farce of fixtures. The end is nigh for real supporters who are the backbone of our sport. Big media and corporate attendees will not stay involved once interest from grassroots dissipates. â Gerry Gilligan, Co Dublin
âIreland would be laughed out of the room if they suggested a Thursday night matchâ
- There goes any hope of going to France against Ireland in the Six Nations next year. A Thursday night game?! Sure, how many people interested in the Winter Olympics will actually tune into a rugby match? Can we see some stats?
Once again, the French and English get their way and the rest just pick up the pieces, with whatever time slots are left available. Can you imagine if Ireland even attempted to request a Thursday night fixture against England or France? Theyâd be laughed out of the room! But as long as the English and French are happy, the rest will fall in line! Hopefully see you in 2028 France! â Andrew, Co Dublin
âIt is very unfair and to the detriment of Irish fans and the hospitality industryâ
- The 2025 Six Nations saw poor timings of matches with most starting around 2pm on the Saturday, so I assumed for the 2026 we could sit back and look forward to a majority of prime time matches. This seems very unfair and is very much to the detriment of Irish fans and the hospitality industry who will suffer as a result. Can anyone explain who made these decisions? â RĂłisĂn Sweeney, Co Dublin
âMy preference would be for all games to be on Saturdayâ
- Having emigrated to the US and being six hours behind Ireland, the kick-off times are all very early but that is not the issue at the weekend, itâs when games are on midweek thatâs the problem. I remember when I first started going to Lansdowne Road for Five Nations games back in the 1970s when matches were almost played at the same time with the half-time score of the England game, if they were losing, got the biggest cheer of the day.
I would be interested to know, apart from the concluding Saturday when all three games are played consecutively, how many people watch all three games in a weekend, how many watch every game? My preference would be for all games to be on Saturday Ă la the final day of the Six Nations. This then frees up the other days for family stuff and household chores. â Colin Phillips, Van Zandt County, Texas, United States
âWhy not have home and away matches in the Six Nations?â
- Given that Six Nations is the cash cow that funds much of rugby and what attracts casual fans and anoraks alike, why not have more of it? Home and away each year.
We saw when the grassroots supporter got access to RWC tickets in France, there was a latent demand. We would easily fill Aviva for five home matches per year and take a full allocation for away matches. Give the market more of what it wants, rather than diluting it. Follow the example of the most successful sports on earth and give punters what they want from the top down. â Paul Holland, Co Dublin
âSaturday or Sunday could, and should, have been chosenâ
- A poor decision by the Six Nations to move what has been the marquee game of the last three seasons to a midweek slot. To play it on a school night in Paris, gives a fairly clear indication of the value that the tournamentâs organisers and broadcasters place in the travelling supporters of both teams.
Many Irish fans will rightly decry the need to take at least two, and more likely three, days out of their working week, but, equally, it should not be overlooked that the majority of home fans will be obliged to travel from the southwest of France in similar circumstances. If not to clash with the Winter Olympics, why Thursday? Saturday or Sunday could, and should, have been chosen.
The weekend away trip is what is great about this tournament. The promise of spring after the dark days of late winter, a few decent meals and the renewal of friendships that have spanned decades. The rugby is grand, hell, sometimes itâs even great, but I learned many years ago to separate the result from the enjoyment of the trip. Parachuting the opener to the tournament into the workday week will hollow out the experience for the travelling fan. â Patrick Mullarkey, Belfast
There is the essential learning
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Read somewhere (Facebook) that in 1995 before the WC final François Pienaar was talking to the ref before the match. François asked him what would happen if the match didnât go ahead, ref said the team with the best disciplinary record would win, meaning NZ would have won, as SA got a man sent off during the Canada game earlier in the tournament. Thatâs hardly true is it?
I donât think it was the final, was it not some group game that was nearly rained off and would have knocked them out at group stage
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I donât know, he said final, would make sense what with the final nearly being called off due to waterlogged pitch also mind.
Edit, yeah was sf. My apologies, final was a nice day.