Why Irish Rugby Will Always Dominate | The Rugby Pod

[@thereader6667]

As an Englishman, I actually felt pretty low when Ireland got knocked out by NZ IN 23. And not just because I lost a few quid that day.

[@Mark-Ozi]

Same and I'm an Aussie.

[@Frankabagnale33]

Imagine how we felt 😅😭 was watching it with a kiwi, a Scot and an Englishman too! On reflection though, in a game of thin margins which could have gone either way all I hope is that the coaches learned from it and will be better prepared for the next one ☝️

[@nzfreeski]

@@Mark-Ozi you gave up on your own team?

[@celticlofts]

@@Frankabagnale33 : And that's the key to it. We tend to learn from our mistakes. We lost the first game against New Zealand when we went to play them in the series, and then we won the next two games. We lost the first game against South Africa and won the second one.

[@BazBoks]

I knew the All Blacks would win, Ireland were way too arrogant. They got carried away after the SA win, which could have been a different story like most of the knockout games. They just immediately thought, well no one can stop us now

[@BM-vz1938-s8g]

Chirp of the week in SA after RG's one hand catch: "Is there anything (other than actually playing for Munster) that this man can’t do?" 😅

[@cateym]

The gate receipts at Croker will go some ways when Snyman gets injured again.

[@BazBoks]

Munster dropped him in a line out, could have ended his career

[@drdecco1]

@@BazBoksAs a non-aligned Irishman I’ve always wondered what really was happening in that early line out - he was launched and the launchers seemed to turn their backs - or is it just me?

[@BazBoks]

@drdecco1 if I'm a conspiracy theorist, did RG Snyman piss off some Munster players before that incident?

[@Ackrow1]

Tadhg Beirne was actually let go by the Leinster academy . He had played for Lansdowne who were coached by Mike Ruddock . It was Ruddock who saved his career by recommending him to Scarletts - he was going to quit the game ! In his 1st season 2016-2017 Scarletts won the Pro12 !

[@oshead]

He was unfortunate with injuries for a few key years which hampered his selection for Leinster. How lucky we are that Scarlets picked him up when they did.

[@BarryHawk]

Byrne bros aren't up to scratch, but Frawley and Crowley are class and Predergast could be even better.

[@amantedellopera1681]

No could about it,he has the great attacking verve to his game,with fine kicking game,dummy passes,delayed passes

[@SMacCuUladh]

@@amantedellopera1681 He needs to up his off the tee game, then he'll be totally rounded.

[@tjobrien8436]

And wait for Casper Gabriel. Completely different gravy. 😂

[@crowleyclan3004]

Not sure about Prendergast's defence....yet, but he has time.

[@eoinmiller5620]

@crowleyclan3004 Defence can always be learned and usually takes a little extra time to bed in. Plus, once he's added some mass, it should come more naturally

[@fonz114]

It's actually insane how Rugby is only the 4th biggest sport in a small country like Ireland. They are punching Way above their weight, and have done for a long long time. Sensational

[@DrussRua]

Leinster would have dominated the game if Ross O'Carroll-Kelly had been playing for them 15-20 years ago. Fock it, he still could, he's only in his 40s.

[@chrisbyrne7399]

Still could if someone could find his play books 😉

[@ShaneConnolly-zk8sl]

😂😂

[@jacosnyman2393]

As a Saffa, hats of to the Irish teams..same quality s a proper Iriish Whisky

[@mikeyeee]

Saffa? How dare you. You need some more pap, wors and sunshine there. You have become an Soutie

[@jacosnyman2393]

​@@mikeyeeeand more Irish whiskey

[@neil216]

There’s an E in Irish Whiskey. Whisky is muck. 😂

[@SMacCuUladh]

@@neil216 well said.

[@5jacksonsjourney179]

@@mikeyeee😂

[@michaelvdunne]

The kids play Gaelic football in primary school giving them ball handling skills. Then they play at local clubs rugby soccer Gaelic football and hurling so they have pretty good hand eye coordination by the age of 8/9/10. It helps.

[@clemfandango619]

Yeah, kids from other countries don't play any other sport but Rugby

[@niallodonnell8860]

Gaelic doesn't produce ball handlers any more but they are fit.

[@baruchhashem49]

They always say that but still most of the players play club rugby and then attend rugby schools.

[@ctf1537]

it's the private school feeding the system

[@vincentc1454]

@@clemfandango619Imbecile. It’s only complimentary sport that is relevant. There’s probably no ball handling sport in the world that can help somebody with rugby like Gaelic football does.

[@Acknetan]

I was in Croke Park it was a sell out and it was some atmosphere Rugby is growing at a massive rate in Ireland

[@1choccoman]

In terms of interest in the ireland team and tv views yes. But a lot of the people who go to matches in the aviva might have no involvement in a rugby club. Numbers playing soccer and gaa far outumbers rugby

[@zombievikinggaming4258]

Participation isn't growing, only viewing numbers

[@eoinmiller5620]

The center partnership could very easily be from Connacht in the near future. Cathal Forde and Hugh Gavin both look incredible atm. Theres also more Osborne brothers on the way...

[@KewKew-do3kq]

Ulster have two big 12s coming through

[@eoinmiller5620]

@KewKew-do3kq Berman and a De Klerk do look class in fairness. I really hope ulster get their player development sorted because, much like munster, it's been a bit iffy the last few years imo.

[@alanwilkinson7592]

@@eoinmiller5620 it’s postlewaithe and Carson he is talking about. Berman and De Klerk is well down the pecking order

[@eoinmiller5620]

@alanwilkinson7592 haven't seen much of Carson play, so can't comment. Also think Jude would be a really fun 11 in the same vein as Lowe.

[@coldphinger]

@@alanwilkinson7592 DeKlerk is a Leinster product anyway, no? Out of St Michaels I think.. Edit: Actually so is Berman, Leinster product. Coach Murphy using his Ireland U20 contacts....

[@MrRugbylane]

I go to watch my local team, who play in Leinster 2a, which in basically the 8th Division. However even at that level, the quality of the games is excellent and the standard of play is surprisingly good. Irish success at the international and pro level is clearly trickling down to improve standards at all levels

[@MattRose-f2n]

Its easy to highlight "the money", but at the end of the day, its the academy and the school system that's made Leinster what they are today! The only thing holding the provinces back are the coaching tickets, in my opinion... Leo Cullen is a lucky man, as is Rowndtree.

[@toma411]

The academy system sustained by the millions pumped into it. The professional level coaching and facilities provided to the school boys, the best of which all quickly funnelled into the development Leinster squads. it's easy to highlight the money because it's so obviously the reason. Why skirt around it?

[@kiliancarroll4562]

​@@toma411 As someone who went to a rugby school in Dublin, I would be very surprised if their level of investment is more than what you get in England. The competition has driven the coaching level, and then the senior team is working 5 or 6 days a week. It's a short sprint really to the schools cup starting in late January and finishing mid March. That competition is huge and just seems to get more attention than any other schoolboy sport in Ireland.

[@toma411]

@@kiliancarroll4562 There is no one area in England with that level of concerted investment with the end goal of producing players for a single team. There'll be more money overall I'm sure, but it will be spread much wider, with multiple clubs in London for example. Not really comparable.

[@kiliancarroll4562]

@@toma411 The goal of the schools is to produce the best players and teams they can. Then there is a provincial instead of pro club system. It's quite simple really, it's just a sensible consolidation of the resources we have.

[@toma411]

@@kiliancarroll4562 Very sensible, but makes for non-competition on the provincial level. Not entertaining.

[@Natedawg38]

Squidge just did a video on the leinster academy and i have to admit i was bowled over with how slick that organisation is. Holy hell they have so many layers of talent coming up it is nothing short of a conveyor belt. I think it could be leinsters year with the imports and the johney come lately realisation from leo that frawley is a miles better 10 than ross byrne.

[@bengormley2517]

Leo last to find out...lame

[@jbw18866]

Great video by squidge

[@1choccoman]

If leinster don't win the European Cup it would be like man city signing mbappe and bellingham and failing to win the Premier league

[@truecalling61]

It was good but he did get some facts wrong. The number of schools (he included girls schools) and their budgets. Having ex-pros coach has made a huge difference.

[@ManusODonnell-i6l]

The Irish school boy system has always been top level what has changed in the last 30 years is the connection to the provinces via the academies.

[@garytaylor6408]

Munster had to shed one of the two "foreign" second rows when Kleyn went back to SA. IRFU rules.You can't have two in the same position so one had to go, so yes the injury profile was an issue. Kleyn also had a great season the previous season.

[@rory4924]

It was the IRFU’s decision to not cap kleyn between world cups. Rassie took advantage of this and took the option away from Ireland and subsequently Munster having two SA second rows. Kleyn is Irish capped. The IRFU are to blame, they should have made an exception for Munster, just like they made an exception for Johnny sexton 10 years ago to allow him play for Ireland when he was at Racing 92.

[@garytaylor6408]

@@rory4924 couldn't disagree with anything you say, 💯 correct .

[@JohnSmith-wo2fz]

@@rory4924 It could have been Kleyn's decision. Maybe he wanted to play for his country.

[@boru1982]

Yep, when Kleyn was called up to the SA team last year after being overlooked by the Irish set up we knew one of them would have to go. In saying that everybody in Munster was happy that it was Kleyn who stayed and not Snyman.

[@fionanburke3084]

@@rory4924 The IRFU do not select the Players they appoint the Coach who does the selecting. Andy could have selected Kleyn to keep RSA mitts off him, however Kleyn was selected ahead of Big Dev for RWC 2019 which many disagreed with. When Andy took over he never picked Kleyn which is telling :) Check out Squidge Rugby's take on the Leinster Academy and you can see another outsider's view of the riches Leinster have natively that the other provinces and other World Clubs, could only dream of having :)

[@reversedengine]

I was at the St Joseph's festival in Ipswich this weekend. St Michael's won both the U15 and U18 competitions easily. The only English school that could stand up to STMC was Brighton College.

[@johnhearne2192]

I think another key factor to success of schools system in Ireland is that the kids that go there are sons of rugby families for the most part and are brought up watching, living and breathing rugby. Success of teams had bred success with kids seeing Irish teams winning and competing at the highest level internationally. Its become a virtuous cycle of high performance and internal competition in squads is intense. It's feels like small is great rather than a lot of talent spread thinly across many teams.

[@patrickkavanagh3504]

They are also from very wealthy families. So no part time jobs, best equipment, physiotherapy etc. Almost professional.

[@iankavanagh9174]

If you want a really in-depth analysis of how the system works - watch Squidge Rugby who goes into great detail on “how did Leinster build the worlds best academy”. From someone who saw Ireland battered for decades, I don’t see our great teams going away anytime some - hopefully enough to get by one of those QF in a World Cup.

[@ashishd380]

I think poaching players from other countries helped.

[@iankavanagh9174]

@@ashishd380 Irish u20’s consist of Irish players born in this country haven’t lost a six nation game in 3 yrs, yet clowns talk about “poaching” other players. I was referring to academy you clown.

[@craig6520]

Harry Byrne and Prendergast both rejected opportunities to move to other Irish provinces this year. Prendergast is in university in Dublin. Harry Byrne had pretty much no excuse.

[@stiofain88]

Realistically once it was realized that Frawley was the current 10 and Prendergast was the future they should have made efforts to get Ross Byrne to Ulster and Harry to Connacht if either of them wanted the opportunity to fight for the Irish jersey. Tector was available as cover in Leinster already. Unfortunately Cullen has realized that a year too late.

[@eoinmiller5620]

Harry refusing to move didn't go down well with either Leinster or the IRFU

[@alany1400]

@@stiofain88At Ulster we have Murphy joined as a much better prospect common from the U20 team plus Morgan who is IQ so no need for Byrne.

[@stiofain88]

@@alany1400 Richie? He's still a bit young though no? Like he'll need a few years to bulk up and get the hang of things before ye could put him out in big games. I'm delighted Morgan worked out as I couldn't work out why ye wanted him and haven't seen someone take the helm at 10 since Jackson was exiled but for 5ft 8 he's a brilliant operator.

[@alany1400]

@@stiofain88 I agree PJ was a loss that , to date hasn’t been replaced. However Morgan is a good player and is Ireland Qualified, both Cooney and Doak can cover 10 and Murphy will grow into the role. I don’t think it would have been a progressive move to take a Byrne , neither of whom are upgrades.

[@mickcanavan]

Great discussion...really enjoyed it! From an Irish fan...it's what I love about rugby, there's fierce rivalry but also fierce respect for each other too...well most of the time! 🙂 Rugby is the winner..a cliche, but true none the less.

[@elsmid]

They're asking what the "secret sauce" is and he is telling them. The competitive atmosphere of the schools game, in the Dublin area especially, and the fact that players are coming to age level with a lot of competitive experience and a high standard of coaching behind them.

[@PatrickKelly-hj4qm]

I am from Leinster and what you're not understanding is most of them players are from Leinster

[@kenrehill8775]

Those

[@hansolo-m7p]

Given the fact most people in Ireland live in Leinster it's not that hard to believe

[@hansolo-m7p]

Given the fact most people in Ireland live in Leinster it's not that hard to believe

[@TaTa-wv9kl]

Leinster has the largest number of private schools. It’s those schools that make up the backbone of the Leinster Academy. All the players are concentrated into a known group, well resourced, good coaching. They play very competitive games from very early. By the time a player plays for Ireland he’ll have been playing to full stadiums and often televised for maybe 10 years.

[@coolmoejay]

​@@hansolo-m7p there are 2.8 million in Leinster, and 2.3 in Ulster. That's isn't enough of a difference to explain the gap.

[@davepenn7774]

Rugby is the 4th in terms of playing numbers, but it has years to catch up with other countries as it was such a minority sport, but it's been growing big time the past two decades. As a spectator sport tho its definitely competing for the top spot. I think the world cup game against new Zealand was the most watched game since the Irish soccer team made the quarter in italia 90.

[@clemfandango619]

Humble bragging. Its the only pro team sport played in Ireland and the only big person sport Ireland plays.

[@Joseph13163]

I think they are all pretty much level even league of ireland,but rugby and hurling would be tied in terms of average

[@ShiNooBi1986]

Rugby is 4th in Australia who have two WCs. Same player population as NZ

[@clemfandango619]

@@ShiNooBi1986 and that's with competition from NRL and AFL, not weakling sports like GAA.

[@Joseph13163]

@@clemfandango619 Weakling sport remind us again which stadium this game was played

[@lithiummano]

Rugby is constantly growing in Ireland, it's good to see

[@JonJonJonJonJonJonJonJon]

Always been massive. I have family and friends from dublin north and south. Zero follow GAA. That’s for farmers and bitter nordys. Rugby is number 2. After soccer

[@1choccoman]

​@@JonJonJonJonJonJonJonJonanyone who thinks rugby is more popular than the gaa is cracked. Literally gaa club in every village and parish in the country. A heap of bandwagoners going to ireland matches is not a real indication popularity

[@niallkerley2779]

In the development setups, Leinster runs a two-tier system where players are screened at u15s in club's and progressing to one of five regional development squads, then on to Leinster youth clubs squad. Meanwhile the schools set-up is running in tandem and the best from both are taken eventually into the academy. This is now also happening in the girls and women's game too with girls being screened for the five regional development squads and in turn on to a Leinster squad and IRFU set-up. Leinster really do live their "From the Ground Up", that's what is breeding the success.

[@harryocallaghan8082]

People find it hard to realise & awknowledge the reasons as to why Leinster are constantly so good. They put systems and structures in place about 20/25 years ago and put a lot of work & effor into the club from grassroots, schools, academies, stadiums, small clubs etc. Michael Cheika was one of the main reasons why Leinster developed into a world class rugby club. He implemented a lot of things so it would benefit the club down the line that would lead to success. The schools system is probably the main reason. The Leinster schools senior & junior cup has a lot of schools and every athlete particular in the top 5/6 schools, St Michael’s, Blackrock, Belevedere, Gonzaga, Terenure, St Mary’s have top class facilities like gyms, pitches, physio rooms, top class coaches (ex pro players), pretty much mini-professional size centres alongside the rest of their schools. And that’s just a few schools I mentioned. Other schools such as Clongowes, Terenure, Newbridge, Roscrea, St Andrews, Presentation Bray, CBC, Kilkenny produce bucket loads of rugby players. All within the Dublin/Leinster region. There’s an argument that the reason they are so dominant is because well that’s where most or the largest population is in Dublin so they have an advantage. A urban metro population of roughly 1.5/2 million people. But I could name at least 5 other big cities in the world that have 1 popular professional club that has a similar position to Leinster in terms of location and population yet they never win anything on the big stage. All have big private rugby schools and catchment to provide their club with success yet theme we reach their full potential like Leinster do. I live right beside where Leinster train and you can only really describe what it’s like when you are in the bubble of primarily south county Dublin. Rugby is everywhere you go. And it’s always brought up in conversations. Hurling & Gaelic football is big too and very popular but the culture of Leinster rugby and its fans is very positive and everybody wants them to do well. Kids want to play for Leinster when they see the Sextons, Doris’, Keenan’s, VDF’, Ringrose’ etc. They also invest very shrewdly in coaches and foreign players. They don’t just get anyone in because they might have a prolific or well known winning history. They think about who would best fit the club and the team and its trajectory. Leinster is a unique team that has been at the forefront of innovative change and challenges in world rugby and could be compared to the All Blacks of old, Manchester United, Lakers, Barcelona etc It hasn’t always been in our culture but it is definitely going that way and they don’t look like they are slowing down anytime soon.

[@raphaelkavanagh6950]

Interesting The power base of Dublin GAA is now the southside of Dublin with clubs like Kilmacud Crokes and Cula the new club champions and based in Stillorgan and Dalkey with huge memberships. Dublin south is also a rugby stronghold. Dublin's northside was formerly the power base of GAA in the county. I enjoy watching both codes.

[@stewohig]

Whilst the Bok's are continuously mentioned in terms of size, rugby has become a game that suits very athletic people who have great footballing skills. Growing up in Ireland, and if you are sporty, the likelihood is you will play a number of sports competitively. Most of which you will play before you every play rugby. Football, Gaelic sports, hockey, basketball are played by many as youngsters. All of these, as team sports, help create an understanding of space on the pitch, working with others, developing your talent in terms of ball handling skills along with instilling a desire to win. You have also become coachable, which is hugely important. In Ireland, we tend not to produce giants, however we do produce a huge amount of 6ft to 6ft 4in guys who have speed an athleticism in abundance. Marry this with having grown up playing sport and you have all the ingredients for the modern game.

[@ciaranandrew8905]

Exactly, hence why Joe McCarthys and Toners are outliers, and we always had an abundance of back rowers, back rows are usually between the 6ft and 6ft 4 range.

[@sh00termacg]

The IRFU told Munster to drop one of the locks. Interesting story there, Jean Kleyn was IQ, but was ignored by Andy Farrell for squad selection (I mean how many 130kg locks do we have in Ireland?). Rassie calls up JK after 5 years of being ignored and he won a world cup with SA. Andeh has a history of not capture capping players who are essential to the provinces, then these guys can't stay in Ireland (RG) or their head is turned by the chance of international rugby elsewhere (Antoine Frisch). Meanwhile Munster are down two starters that they totally would have kept.

[@decekfrokfr3mdx]

Kleyn isn't 130kg and before the world cup only had one good season. The most important question is who of the Irish locks would Kleyn be ahead of - Beirne, McCarthy, Ryan, or Henderson? Definitely not. And then there's Baird and Ahern coming through as hybrid lock-flankers, and other longer-term secondrow prospects like Izuchukwu, Edogbo, Evan O'Connell and Spicer (6'11" and 138kg), etc. It was the right call by Farrell to not to pick Kleyn, Munster were just unlucky when Rassie brought him back into the South Africa fold.

[@jameswyatt4443]

To be fair, neither South Africa or Ireland really need Jk. Maybe their most stacked positions each, barring injuries.

[@Bkh0498]

@@decekfrokfr3mdxMcCarthy at the time wasn’t developed like he is now. He was only just arriving on the scene and barely even featured in the World Cup because of it.

[@FR-je9bw]

Kleyn was overlooked by Ireland because he is incapable of catching and passing, etc. Subtle arts demanded by our style of play. He is a one trick pony who can shift a piano but can't play one. We pick all court players

[@Bkh0498]

@@FR-je9bw reason we loose quarter finals

[@bwana4711]

Ireland are the benchmark for maximising what you have. Very small population of players but getting the best out of them. Regardless of the use of overseas players they are a tiny country punching against giants and winning. Also, Bokke 🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦

[@TWEQDvideo]

And how about NZ? only 28,000 Adult Male Players , Women's only 900 Female Adult Rugby Players - 9 XV RWC titles . We won't go into the multiple 7s rugby titles

[@Jeffrey-rm4rj]

​@@TWEQDvideoIt's their #1 sport though. So all their best athletes are likely to play rugby.

[@TWEQDvideo]

@Jeffrey-rm4rj viewership , not participation numbers. In fact, it's a dying game here. We lose top talent to rugby league. The aussie teams come to NZ and sign them up as teens.

[@Jeffrey-rm4rj]

@@TWEQDvideo that's interesting I did not know that!

[@craigwright9798]

This argument often comes up and at some point we have to throw it out. It’s clear that the biggest countries struggles to exert and extended dominance means that clearly their size counts against them. The guy at the end said it 2 or 3 times. He thinks the close proximity of schools to each other is a massive thing for the system, provoking genuine competitiveness from a very young age meaning they’re genuinely ready to play pro rugby from 19/20.

[@eamonlyons8069]

We (Munster) just don't have the academy level schools system. Leinster has Blackrock, St Marys, and others that put so much money into rugby development and their crop go to Leinster were there is familiarity.

[@FR-je9bw]

Time for the Pres and Cristian Alumnists to get their wallets out.

[@baruchhashem49]

Doesn't help that Cork is now soy central and is no longer a feeder

[@ctf1537]

yeap that's where its at

[@crowleyclan3004]

@@baruchhashem49 "soy" ?

[@crowleyclan3004]

Yep massively underfunded right from the very start of youth development, and then forcing academy guys to go to UL hasn't been well received either.

[@mikeahern3999]

This is exactly what Leinster did last year, dominate the URC until the Investec Cup comes along while Munster had a poor start last year but came back to lead the URC,at present they have 16 on the injured list ,no team can cope with that.Leinster second half performances are /have been their undoing .

[@alanredmondvideos]

As a Leinster fan who was at Croker on Saturday I am hoping we can finally add some silverware this season. I think Leinster have a bucketload of 10s. Frawley, Prendergast, R.Byrne, H.Byrne, Charlie Tector, Jamie Osbourne and now an Austrian 10 Casper Gabriel from Terenure College and Leinster U19s.

[@harryocallaghan8082]

Jamie Osborne is a centre not outhalf

[@alanredmondvideos]

In the pod the guys said that he can play centre, fullback or out half.

[@harryocallaghan8082]

@@alanredmondvideos He’s never played outhalf before. Just 12,13 & 15. He could probably do a job on the wing if called upon he’s that good!

[@marnoux]

Hey guys, love the pod. Question, is it not possible to have the video version of the pod on Spotify?

[@jmo8934]

Leinster signed Snyman on a 1 year contract (who had been with Munster for 3 years) and Barrett on a 6 month deal. Great short term signings but not exactly a reincarnation of Toulon in their big spending pomp. Almost all of the players come through the Leinster academy. Charlie Tector is another fly half coming through at Leinster.

[@MrFuzzydumplings]

Is he still there? Heard his name a lot a couple of years ago but seemed to fade away the last couple seasons

[@martyodoherty4236]

We don’t dominate, we’re competitive and hope to build on that. There are areas we need to massively improve. This is a bit click baity Jim

[@galinor7]

Dominate. Trust me on that.

[@loughrey101]

They're the most decorated club in Europe and reach the final of the Champions Cup every single year. That's dominating

[@jimbo1706]

It might help to understand that most of everything in Irish society happens in Dublin. A third of the population live there. The rest is Cork and Limerick which are the Munster bases. Historically there is disdain for Dublin, similar to that in England for London. To achieve provincial balance, you would need a similar balancing of our society

[@PaddleWithPaddy]

Talking some shite there Jimbo

[@raphaelkavanagh6950]

We didn't hear that when Munster were winning everything and were rightfully the top club team in Ireland with a state of the art new modern stadium in Thomand Park.

[@barryryan14]

Hes not. Most outside Dublin. Hate the fucking place.​@PaddleWithPaddy

[@FR-je9bw]

​@@raphaelkavanagh6950 A stadium they can no longer fill!

[@jimbo1706]

@@PaddleWithPaddy which part is not correct or you just trolling

[@mow3186]

just to be clear, as there’s a little confusion about, there was 82,300 season & ticket sale, 80,209 turned up on the day. Croker has networked bar codes readers on the turnstiles so they know exactly how many people are actually in the stadium real time.

[@brendanmolloy572]

80,468

[@DM-rp9ik]

It was a sell-out, but some boxes were closed, so 81k or there, there abouts I'd imagine a few hundred stayed home for one reason or another.

[@daithipol]

Ireland were the Italy of the 5/6 N not long ago. I never dreamt of the idea of a WC win. Touring sides were regularly beaten well by clubs in NZ SA and OZ. We lost a series in Namibia 2-0!! Never could beat France rarely beat England! Wales away was our only banker! 😂 It's not like we've been an NZ not winning. It will come and hopefully for the likes of Italy Georgia too. Georgia had a national game where teams battered each other over a pigskin and recently someone said there is a similar sport called rugby that we could play internationly so they just switched. 😂 real potential to grow there.

[@thejacquoranda]

The decision by the IRFU to pursue a provincial and not a club structure in the mid-90s was, in hindsight, an absolutely amazing decision.

[@fawltyoldboybasil.2178]

As a Leinster fan, I thought that it was manifest that Leinster's performances in recent crucial games (Finals, semis) were clearly lacking, partly because of the failure of/refusal by the Coaching team to designate who the #1 out-half was. Sexton was the obvious choice when he was available - Ross Byrne was the back-up. It was also equally obvious that both players had different styles, with Sexton clearly better able to dictate the team's performances. Then Harry Byrne was touted as being even better than his brother - however, Harry has hardly been able to play because of injuries. You could sense that some Leinster fans were unconvinced of Ross Byrne's abilities to drive the squad like Sexton did. Ciaran Frawley's name was mentioned as a potential candidate for the spot a few seasons back but, if we are being honest, he was basically ignored by Leo Cullen & Stuart Lancaster seeing only time as the back-up in a few games each season. Essentially it took Andy Farrell choosing Frawley over Ross Byrne for the Ireland vs South Africa 2024 Test Series to shake matters up at Leinster.

[@BrendanDoherty-x8j]

spot on and WELL SAID

[@themin6153]

Watch out for Prendergast , excellent tour in SA with Emerging Ireland

[@willemwaldeck6887]

Ireland is definitely top 3 in the world. Not to be thrown away. The boks still have an edge due to experience, and depth and are probably better at the moment. But ireland is definitely in the conversation. Doesnt mean i dont hate it when they beat SA😂😂😂

[@baruchhashem49]

IRE beat SA at WRC and won the series. They're 1 and 2 in no particular order.

[@cathalsheehan9596]

They are number 1 in the world!

[@CaptainLongSmock]

Ireland are no.1 team in the world mate, and rightly so.

[@kevindevane6175]

Both Byrne's are good club players but are nowhere near Test level in my opinion.

[@BruceMacgregorCampbell]

As a South African we are long used to the Big Rugby Schools like Grey College, Paarl Gym, Paarl Boys, Affies, Maritzburg College, Sacs, etc (many private) producing the kernel of our rugby talent. But it was only with Rassie's leadership and genuine transformation that our depth of elite players really exploded - the talent of all schools started to be discovered and nurtured. I would imagine that Ireland's system of producing talent is actually quite limited (Leinster being dependent on a few Dublin Private Schools all within 30 minutes drive from each other, for example) when you compare them to South Africa and New Zealand. This talk of Leinster/Ireland dominance is shortsighted.

[@toma411]

Not everything's about South African mate.

[@Jeffrey-rm4rj]

It's such a tiny sport here though it's impossible to expect to change that culturally. Just wont happen down the country.

[@neilmontgomery3470]

Give Ireland some time mate, they are fairly new to the high level they currently are at. True the player numbers are small compared to SA. However, they are almost identical to New Zealand at 157,000 players at all levels. The standard of coaching is excellent from schools to club level right through to international. No one is claiming dominance but it is reasonable to believe that Ireland will continue to be highly competitive in the years ahead.

[@mainbattlerobot]

Has anyone seen Rob and Andrew Porter in the same place at the same time?

[@ASDan-123]

Yes!!😂 I was watching the start of the video and was literally like "why's Andrew Porter presenting rugby pod this week?!"😂😂

[@mitchellzimri8257]

I geniunely had the same thought right now! Holy hecker😂

[@BarryHawk]

Also Cullen needs a trophy this season or he must go.

[@FennessyMusic]

100%

[@extremesportsify]

It’s the systems! Every country needs something like what they have.. it’s like NZ

[@giddygiddy85]

95% of schools in Ireland don't play Rugby. 95% of schools in NZ play Rugby. Rugby is only played in private schools in Ireland

[@RazorMouth]

​​@@giddygiddy85 That used to be true not anymore. It is more true in Dublin but less so outside. The number of people playing Rugby has increased massively since we won the Grand slam in 2009, nearly 100% increase without increasing the number of clubs really. Hence many more schools now play rugby, public schools included obviously.

[@giddygiddy85]

@@RazorMouthYeah I was talking about Dublin school system compared to NZ school system.

[@eoin-odubhlaoich1826]

@@giddygiddy85 not as true as you think. There are numerous public schools now that entertain rugby (The English Sport as its referred to)... this harkens back to the colonial days to a large degree where the interest in the sport was quite poor. Rugby was historically held on a Saturday and this excluded the majority of men through working and family commitments not to mention the class divide with private and public schools competing for new meat. This is changing. Irish sports are all amateur sports and they have the support of every parish community on the island, this will never change but might with the gradual influx of migrants that we are experiencing... time will tell. The Irish are a Gaelic race, we enjoy our own sporting culture, we have had serious investment into community club grounds, facilities etc for years now and its only getting stronger... "Where we all belong" is the mantra they use... however this is not the case, just clever marketing. Sport is an essential component of life here for many but not for the most. I feel that the professional sporting culture is making the human race less compassionate and more competitive. Rugby is like war... its a war of attrition and ultimately can be devastating to those that don't meet the high standards it requires. All in all its just another huge distraction. Where grown men chase bags of wind around a field as opposed to doing something that ultimate benefits their life in a wholesome way. Theres nothing spiritual to trying to cut a man in half... And for the record I played rugby for a number of years and quit as it was just too dangerous. All said and done I do enjoy a good game and was in Paris for the Ireland v SA win. There is a lot of alcohol consumed that weekend... Rugby = Pints of lager and plenty of boyish craic... Womens rugby i think is a disgrace and its a travesty to watch young girls acting like young boys, they will most likely not become mothers until later in their lives where it might be too late and where their physical bodies have been abused and disfigured through the pursuit of the glory of the oval ball. Thanks

[@jesseferguson4269]

​@@giddygiddy85true but rugby at school boy level in NZ has declined in huge numbers in the past 15 - 20 years and it shows now.

[@kickstartedwards6916]

The Irish school system sounds fantastic - unless you can afford private school in the UK you are reliant upon clubs which do their best with generally v limited funding but there is limited opportunity for training

[@seamusryan2320]

There are more schoolboys playing rugby in Ulster than Leinster. They under achieve in the way Leinster over achieve.

[@ciaranandrew8905]

Nearly all the feeder schools in Leinster are posh schools, either fee paying jesuit or protestant schools.

[@strataseo6840]

Seeing them get knocked out in the semis was a hard blow indeed.

[@patrickchilds2987]

I don't get a lot of the salty comments about Irish Rugby and their clubs. So what if they haven't won a rwc yet but when you consider how Irish Rugby is organised amd financed to support theor national team. Clubs like Munster and Leinster with their history and success especially im europe. How Ireland have developed their national team from inconsistent and also rans into the highest ranked team in the game. Also their fans are from my experience some of the best company after a game. Irish rugby is something to celebrate ffs

[@taintabird23]

I think a lot of people see Ireland as upstarts, and just want Irish rugby to back to losing more than they win. This is why the world cup keeps being brought up - its the one area that has not changed from the old days. However, success at the RWC is only a matter of time and some people don't like that either.

[@22grena]

It’s ridiculous that the money from an 80,000 gate game all went to Leinster.

[@FR-je9bw]

Why? Feck all Munster supporters turned up!

[@kiliancarroll4562]

As if Munster would share anything with Leinster

[@FR-je9bw]

@@22grena Any chance JP could buy Leinster a few sets of jerseys? For the PR, like.

[@paulmdevenney]

I think that selecting "solely from Leinster" is a tactic that can bring short term benefits to Ireland, but long term, I think you want to see competitive inter-province games to drive up the quality further, and players from all provinces capable of making the squad, otherwise you risk a more insular or "comfortable" squad, that aren't really fighting for their spots.

[@Michael-f7i9b]

Lienster school's system is the key.

[@kenrehill8775]

One of those schools spent 250,000€ just on medical facilities for their rugby team. There’s some D2 daddies spending some serious cash.

[@DanCasey810]

I'm a Munster fan and I have no issue with RG. He was ridiculously unlucky with injury, something we might need to have a look at ourselves, but he wanted to stay in Ireland and Munster went with Klyne so fair enough. The issue I have is with the IRFU. RG, Slimani, Barrett signed this summer in a squad that is already loaded. Those players would have done wonders in other provinces (not just Munster). The fact that they banned provinces from buying in NIQ front rows the week after they announced the signing was a particular kick in the stones.

[@ciaranfortune4192]

There’s been talks of Ross Byrne heading to Montpellier next season in the top14

[@greenplasticgun]

3rd most popular sport in Ireland.

[@eughrologh]

There's a lot of players now at Munster, Connacht and Ulster who came up through Leinster. Not so many the other way.

[@KewKew-do3kq]

Leinster took Connacht's greatest player henshaw. Leinster have never had to pay henshaw the Irfu does. Connacht were the only province to pay him in his career

[@eughrologh]

@@KewKew-do3kq You are correct but that's about the only example. There's well over half a dozen, could be up to 10 lads now on the Connacht squad who were involved with Leinster at some point in their development.

[@seanneas4528]

@@KewKew-do3kqyeah you’ve literally picked the only one. Let’s also ignore Henshaw wanted to move for personal and professional reasons. Look at the amount of Connacht players from the Leinster academy it’s quite staggering over the last 20 years. The constant whining of the other 3 provinces about Leinster when their own squads are stacked with Leinster lads is quite comical. Munster fans booing Synman when their captain is a Leinster man 😂😂😂

[@barryryan14]

​@seanneas4528 that's fair but you can't ignore the personal reasons players leave Leinster. They have to stay to be in contention with Ireland.

[@seanneas4528]

@@barryryan14 there’s a couple of reasons for that. Leinster have been the best team in Ireland for 15 years and it’s not even remotely close. If you are starting for Leinster who are in h cup finals every year you’re one of the best players in Europe. Can you name me a player in the other provinces who should be starting for Ireland that doesn’t “because they aren’t at Leinster”? While I think the above. I disagree with the lack of rotation. I think farrel picks his best team at all times with almost zero eye on the future or building depth which is what the South Africans do, who are the gold standard for international rugby

[@seanhorgan5380]

Playing GAA when these lads are younger is definitely a massive help especially under the high ball and just handling of the ball in general

[@danielnugent9848]

Appreciate the point of the MC though in terms of the fact it is the fourth biggest sport in Ireland. Fair enough at the world cups we haven’t gone deep but we are competing with global powerhouses who have rugby as the main and other subsidiary sports👌

[@domhnalljoyce7089]

Leinster have a big team of scouts who spot talent and channel them to a path if not directly to academy panel but better coached teams. They also run good grassroots coaching programs for coaches in clubs and schools so that the basics are there from a young age.

[@domhnalljoyce7089]

I forgot to mention that the scouts are also developing the game by organizing games and competitions for schools not traditionally associated with rugby and helping clubs with underage team coaching.

[@neilmontgomery3470]

Ireland and New Zealand have almost exactly the same amount of registered players 157,000 to 141,000. The same goes for professional players, 200 for each country. New Zealand has shown in the past and present what can be achieved with small player numbers but with an integrated high quality training and development set up. Ireland is newer to the level of development that New Zealand built up but it is reasonable to assume that the Irish system will continue to produce good players as their system has only really started to bear fruit in the last ten years or so and the players coming through the pathways will be at least as good as whats gone before.

[@TheBigJimShow]

We love talking Irish rugby.

[@bedtimewithben5802]

It’s the quality of age grade coaching for sure

[@peterroycroft]

It's probably already been pointed out in the comments, but Munster were forced by the IRFU to let one South African international go after Rassie brought Klein back into the fold. One can see why they chose Klein (injury profile for sure, salary probably) but as the guys said RG had made it clear he and his family wanted to stay in Ireland, so Leinster would have been mugs to let the opportunity go. When Leinster have had great non-Irish players (Rockie Elsom, Isa Nasewa) the native players learned so much from them. I truly hope that they learn from Snyman and Barret. Crowley still absolutely the no. 1 for 10 for Ireland, but great to see Frawley being given a real run-out at 10. Harry Byrne did seem like the next big thing, but he has suffered badly from injury. Prendergast looks special but needs time and some bulking up.

[@ryanking8960]

How many URC champs have irish teams won?

[@josephfinnegan151]

Most Popular Sports in Ireland: Number 1: Gaelic Football Number 2: Hurling Number 3: Horse Racing Number 4: Rugby Union Football Number 5: Soccer Football.

[@djharto4917]

I remember when all the Leinster fans supported Munster. They were known as the lunster. In Munster now we support Toulouse and La Rochelle

[@kevindevane6175]

What you must remember here is that all the schools he is talking about around the Island are 95% private, if the Gov was to throw its weight behind this to include the public schools as well, the rest of the Rugby world might have a severe problem on their hands.😉

[@jpfowlds5921]

Sure buddy😂 no one fears ireland lol

[@garechmurphy6348]

​@@jpfowlds5921Go on you sad sack

[@nicobr00]

🤭

[@FR-je9bw]

​@jpfowlds5921 If we ever took the game seriously, no one else would bother turning up at World Cups

[@nicobr00]

@FR-je9bw 🤭

[@drew.silverotter]

Jim, why don't you talk up Scottish rugby? Who won the championship last year? GLASGOW WARRIORS

[@stevenwhite9408]

Sorry to burst your bubble,but the English, Welsh and Scottish have all had their good eras. The Irish are just in theirs at this moment in time. It's how rugby works

[@35GNeil]

Leinster school system feeds the academy but they also get picked up by the provinces. Murphy at 9 for Connacht is ex Leinster but showing he's the real deal this season. We're also producing some home grown talent, hopefully Leinster will stay away--Henshaw. Ulster look to have a long term plan and no one knows the young talent better than Murphy coaching at Ulster. The Leinster weighting will not change anytime soon.

[@swavgav31]

Leinster have to win The European cup this year. We've won Fcuk all in years. On snother note, I've followed Leinster for years...i wish there were working class boys on the team... They're aint one!

[@Johan-rg3vo]

There are plenty non private school boys on that team...Furlong, Osbourne, deeny, frawley

[@roboconnor8079]

It’s a tough one because the working class boys are at a huge disadvantage when it comes to the quality of coaching and conditioning the lads in private schools get vs what the working class kids get. It’d be hard for anyone except the cream of the crop and at that stage I’d say a lot of them aren’t interested in rugby

[@MelCawley]

Tadhg Furlong is the son of a farmer from Wexford, Josh VSF from Wicklow, Osbornes, Prendergast and Connors all Lily Whites from Kildare. Posh Southsiders from fee paying schools are a huge part but not all.

[@stephenonolan4298]

​@@MelCawley josh vdf went to Wesley college.

[@Johan-rg3vo]

@@MelCawley vdf and Connors and Prendergast are private school boys - Wesley and clongowes and I think prendo went to new bridge respectively. Not all southsiders in Leinster ...Healy and Bod Northside,plenty others too..

[@Conornugent2009]

Skehanerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! What a guest

[@matthewohegarty8810]

Jim does like to mention how unfair it is that Ireland has no salary cap. Well when you sell out 82k stadiums it shows your generating the money organically. Ireland has no salary cap because rugby generates huge money and is run very well in the country. England have salary caps so their clubs don’t go bust cause there’s no money + they are poorly run.

[@Joseph13163]

82k is a one off,next year or the year after they will be back to the AVIVA 51000

[@boru1982]

@@Joseph13163 It's the fact they were able to fill Croker for Round 4 of the URC.

[@DM-rp9ik]

Exactly, they spend what they can afford, and for all the talk about salary caps, most of the teams who have them still run at a loss so the whole point of the cap is flawed as in reality it needs to be lower for sustainability

[@24hr_rugby_jake]

@@boru1982and harlequins sold 75k for gloucester, doesn’t mean you bring that in every week. Leinster make a loss without the irfu funding them

[@boru1982]

​@@24hr_rugby_jake you mean the 'Big Game', an annual event at Christmas that has so much advertising and promotion involved it created its own name(terrible name at that)...in a city of 8 million? The only question is why couldn't you fill it? And what do you mean 'without' the IRFU. The provinces ARE the IRFU. Not private businesses like the English teams. It's like saying Harlequins would make a loss without its owners and investors.

[@vanzylventer9941]

Munster with only 2 wins in the last 15 meetings with Leinster, however, last I checked, Munster won the 2022/2023 URC season...

[@seanneas4528]

And one of those wins, was a fully stacked Munster squad vs Leinster C / academy team. Which lead to the URC win. Had the world rugby scheduling not been so kind to them with the champions cup final the following weekend there’s pretty much no chance they’d have beaten a fully fit Leinster first team.

[@neillscan]

And you forgot O'Mahoney and his one hand line out catch

[@loganwilliams7635]

Rugby is now the most popular sport in ireland, in terms of views and how many people consider it their "favourite sport"

[@huamiify]

Christ lads what a headline! We're going to get some stick for that! 😂🙈 New drinking game, take a shot every time someone mentions our record at the world cup.

[@pierce9128]

For Leinster they need a proper head coach. Cullen isn't a top coach. That's why they brought in Lancaster and since he left, Leinster always fade towards the end of important matches. They need to replace Cullen

[@DavidShort-q1d]

Currently my Lions squad has1 8 - 19 Irish players in a 45 man squad Which is the biggest national contingent followed by England ,Scotland with Wales only having a smatering of players

[@poo2764]

I am a Munster man and the qustion I have to ask, Snyman has played 3 times and scored tries playing for Leinster. But why did it not happen with Munster? So what is going on inside Munster camp, he played 13 times for Munster what is going on? he did not suddenly become a spectacular player ??????????????

[@BalrajTakhar-u7u]

Any union that follows the PLISS model can improve. IRFU laid the groundwork & are reaping the benefits two decades later. All aspiring unions should pay a visit to see how the structures, from schools onwards & the coaching operates.

[@paolozmm]

Lads its worth mentioning that the croke park sell outs is only because of the rare novelty that a big game is played there. If it was regular and not these one off scenarios they would not sellout prior recent Aviva stadium hosted games didnt sell out the 51k capacity Also - circa €500k to rent Croker . Then additional cost for traffic management etc etc,

[@SmcdMcd-d2k]

It wasn’t a big game in the sense that it was just an opening round of a tournament. But I beg to differ. Croke park will sell out

[@stiofain88]

Most Irish fans wanted the All Blacks game moved there as there's more capacity and it isn't even being used most of the year.

[@paolozmm]

@@SmcdMcd-d2k it wouldnt sell out if it was the consistent home ground for leinster games. Maybe at the business end of the season it might or when we play an english team and all the history is stirred up. otherwise its all down to the novely and that would fade if it was regular. Even Thomand has not sold out for some muster / leinster fixtures in the past. And also the same fixture at the aviva.

[@stiofain88]

​@@paolozmm Regarding Thomond Park it can depend on the weather. I had tickets for the Ospreys match in Musgrave Park but couldn't bring myself to go to it as I was saturated by the time I got to the end of my park.

[@brendanmolloy572]

I was at the aviva for this game last year aviva was packed might not have sold out but more people were at that game than some World Cup games

[@neillfotheringham211]

Frawley should be 1st choice 10 at Leinster,with Prendergast as back up. Ross Byrne gets more game time as not really involved with Ireland. Harry should head off and improve his options again

[@kevindevane6175]

But on the other hand, you have Combes and Tom Ahern can't get a look in both growing to wc level. We had better pray there is no Eng, Scot or Welsh ancestors there.

[@amantedellopera1681]

Coombes just not world class

[@seanneas4528]

Would help if either cemented themselves for a season at Munster tbf

[@ciaranandrew8905]

Coombes is a try machine, he is just missing something. Tom Ahern just can't keep fit. Some athlete though

[@seanneas4528]

@@ciaranandrew8905 yeah agreed on both. Hopefully ahern can stay fit for a season, think he’d be a great bench option for Ireland and then ideally push for a start. I think they both deserve Irish minutes though - I hate the lack of rotation so far out from a World Cup. Build the depth test then out

[@jacqueskotze9011]

"Always dominate" is the wrong heading. Since when have they always dominated lol.

[@liamwilliams6651]

I mean Leinster have the second most European titles. Not domination but impressive. They have however dominated the URC with twice more titles than the next most successful team.

[@cateym]

Obviously click bait

[@barryk00da]

Surely the wider culture surrounding the sport plays a factor. England has a toxic masculine rugby culture at youth level with it's bizarre "initiations" and humiliation games, I presume a bullying issue too that will push a lot of players out. I'd wager that this doesn't pertain in irish youth rugby teams in the same way, but I don't know.

[@baruchhashem49]

"Toxic masculinity" 😂😂😂 Okay beeeeeertttttttaaaa

[@barryk00da]

@@baruchhashem49 Haha case and point

[@ilichapman5280]

Does the URC not have a salary cap type set up?

[@Nollaig81]

I love Porter as a player and character. But he lets both his teams down a lot in the scrum. Cannot understand why it hasn’t been coached out of him yet.

[@Natedawg38]

Those pings in the opening quarter against nz last year killed us. Buried us. It was a witless chase after that.

[@Nollaig81]

@@Natedawg38 To be fair, we gave NZ a 13 point head start straight out of the traps and not many teams recover from that. I wouldn’t be quick to blame an individual for that loss. A lot of people had written off NZ including plenty of their own. The start killed us. Similar to Munster’s start last week in Dublin. 2 tries down inside 10 mins. They ended up putting in a decent performance after but the start killed them too.

[@timhandley9382]

I wonder howcome they've not make it to a semifinal?

[@barryryan14]

Because they've only been good for 15 years. Blew one 1/4 final and the other 2 were against the ABs. The weird world cup draw worked against the best teams during the world cup.

[@stephendoherty981]

FFS!!!! Again, Ireland overachieved getting to QF's of the WC up until the last few tournaments. We've only been good enough to do better than a QF since about the 2015 WC. Give us a break.

[@José-j9y3b]

RG the Goat....

[@hannesbornman1045]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't Leinster been the favorite to win the URC every year?

[@supersimplegamer5786]

Back on the tools, he’s proud of that comment 😉

[@patrickcoote8441]

Winning environments also drive standards. It’s a nothing argument as Crusaders for NZ, Sharks for RSA and Toulouse for France provide the bulk of starters when they are dominating. The population and the money are hard to overcome.

[@Higgino97]

A point they're missing when talking about distribution of players is that in Ireland players will generally play for the province they're from. Unless they're let go from one province and picked up from another, such as Tadgh Beirne for example. I think redistributing national players to other provinces would take that away and it's part of what makes the game here special. Also from the players perspective why would they want to move away from their family to play for the rival of their home team, a strange reward for making the national team.

[@peterwomersley]

dont forget Nienaber is also at Leinster Natural home for RG to go to

[@FR-je9bw]

Plus he is a baller and wants to play with the best. Just like Barett.

[@patrickkavanagh3504]

Most of the kids 13-18 playing rugby in Dublin are from well off families. Most have dietary requirements looked after. All the physio they need on tap. Best equipment. Mummy and daddy making sure they are driven to each training session. No buses or walking for these lads. Almost professional from the age of 13 with the facilities they have available. Dublin players tend to toffs. I am 50 when I was 14 I tried out for a rugby club in Dublin. I wasn't allowed even try out. I was very fit, 6 ft tall and about 80kg but I was told I wasn't from the right area and I wouldn't fit in. Dublin seems to be like this still. But Limerick is a lot more inclusive.

[@stiofain88]

There's nothing actually wrong with Leinster's scrum which the second half gave a very inaccurate portrayal of. The ref had just made so many errors benefitting Leinster in the first half that he had to try and balance it out in the second. He did so by awarding every scrum to Munster which they couldn't take advantage of.

[@amantedellopera1681]

And we shoved them back at least twice,busby is a disaster for both teams,way out of his depth

[@stiofain88]

@@amantedellopera1681 I'm from Munster so not part of this we. Your front row has Porter and Furlong. Even if Farrell would give other provinces players game time, Munster don't have anyone good enough to take their chance in the front row right now. Loughman isn't up to it yet and I don't know how Jager managed to get 50 games from the Crusaders unless their reputation is extremely exaggerated.

[@barryryan14]

He didn't do a great job at balancing it out. The referee association apologised to Munster today for mistakes made during the game.

[@EolasColas]

He screwed Munster in first 20 with knock ons missed, slapped balls in passing lanes x 3, wrongly awarded line outs and oh yeah officials not letting Munster replace HIA players and Munster being down to 14 for 4 mins while Leinster scored their 3 rd try. Totally fucked us. Tossed a few dubious penalties at scrum time our way in 2nd half but it was nothing as damage done from his shite reffing in first 20. Leinster better overall but I’m convinced with a small bit of luck the gap isn’t as big as people make out

[@stiofain88]

@@barryryan14 That's nice. Doesn't make much of a difference to the fans, the morale of the team or Farrell's potential decision to drop Crowley to the bench in favour of an entirely Leinster based team. The damage is done. Also how do you know that? It's hasn't been broken anywhere

[@jmo8934]

Soccer is way ahead of hurling in participation rates.

[@baruchhashem49]

That sport doesn't suit the Irish psyce

[@jmo8934]

@@baruchhashem49What sport? Soccer. Lol. It’s the most popular game in the world. It’s miles out in front in Dublin. Go into any pub during a big premier league game and it’s packed out the door.

[@jk-hz1ul]

Actually official numbers for organised sports in Ireland, Gaelic football is miles ahead, followed by soccer, hurling and then rugby.

[@dcs4880]

It’s crazy that rugby is the 4th most popular sport in Ireland when it’s the sport they are by far the best at. They are awful at every other international sport, they’re world number 1 in rugby (one of the biggest sports on earth)…how is it not the most popular?

[@taintabird23]

GAA games are the most popular sports in Ireland, and Ireland's best athletes are to be found in both hurling and Gaelic football. Here is an interesting stat to consider: there are more GAA clubs in County Cork than there are rugby clubs on the island of Ireland. There are more registered hurlers in Cork, Tipperary, Limerick, Galway, Kilkenny and Dublin combined than there are registered rugby players on the island of Ireland. GAA sports are the most popular because they are community based expressions of culture, as much as sporting outlets. Rugby can't compete with that no matter how successful the provinces or the national team are.

[@truecalling61]

Because our native field sports are wonderful. Horse sports especially racing are also hugely popular.

[@dcs4880]

@@taintabird23 Yes but they are still smaller sports than rugby, even in Ireland - they are less successful, as in they are amateur, there is no hurling player who makes anywhere near what Jonnie Sexton makes for example. So what exactly defines them as being more popular? If they were more popular then they would sell out the AVIVA…which would mean the players would earn a lot because there would be loads of money from fans. If you mean more people play it…I don’t think that means it’s more popular. More people play tennis than rugby in South Africa, because you can play tennis until you are 75…that doesn’t mean it is a more popular sport.

[@taintabird23]

@@dcs4880 GAA sports have more participants, more clubs and more spectators than any other sports in Ireland. They are the most popular, as they play a social, cultural and sporting role in every community. It is tribal and it defines local identities in Ireland in a way no other sport can. They don't play hurling in the 51,000 seater Aviva. The GAA play the finals of their sports at the 82,000 capacity Croke Park. Tennis does not do that anywhere. You've a lot of reading to do. You will never know or understand Ireland without understanding the central role GAA plays in the lives of Irish people.

[@dcs4880]

@@taintabird23 well that is why I am asking…My point is, it they’re playing in front of 81 000 people…then why aren’t the players being paid anywhere near what rugby players are paid? 81 000 tickets is a lot of money - if they are these huge sports with loads of fans then why don’t the clubs have more money than Leinster do?