Ireland are the number one seeds and faced the number two seeds and reigning world champs. I'm not a huge rugby fan. I played it from age 11 to 19 at Bangor Grammar and then Bangor RFC, but I understand its flaws. Notably, that if the teams are mismatched then it is a walkover. And, if the weather is wet and/or windy then there will be so many handling errors as to make the game unwatchable. Hence why I gave up my Ulster Rugby season ticket. Where rugby excels is in the big heavy weight tests, like last Saturday, when two massively powerful teams met head to head for brutal combat.
20-odd years ago, Ireland decided to set up an academy system that is now the envy of the world. There is now an endless stream of recruits for the 4 provinces and then onto Ireland. This has driven Leinster to European success and Ireland to number one status in world rugby, ahead of the legendary All Blacks and S.A..
The game itself did not disappoint. Ireland won a brutal and thrilling game 13-8 and are now odds on to top the group, and should go far in a competition in which they have previously flattered to deceive.
20-odd years ago, Ireland decided to set up an academy system that is now the envy of the world. There is now an endless stream of recruits for the 4 provinces and then onto Ireland. This has driven Leinster to European success and Ireland to number one status in world rugby, ahead of the legendary All Blacks and S.A..
The game itself did not disappoint. Ireland won a brutal and thrilling game 13-8 and are now odds on to top the group, and should go far in a competition in which they have previously flattered to deceive.
But for all the sporting prowess on show it is the off the pitch ballix that has hit the headlines. Even before the game "loyalists" were taking to Twitter to say that they couldn't support Ireland because the 9 county Ulster banner was used along with the tricolour rather than the 6 county banner. "Republicans" were also ranting on Twitter that they couldn't support Ireland because, as it was an "away" match, they sang Ireland's Call rather than the Soldiers' Song. Ohhh purrrrlease, fuck off the lot'o ye. Ireland Rugby do not need loyalists who want an excuse to hate anything Irish, nor republicans who expect that all Irish sport is "blood and soil" like the GAA. The Twitter rage increased 100 fold after footage emerged of the Irish crowd singing The Cranberries' pro-peace classic "Zombie" after the game finished on Saturday night. The Shinnerbots were apopleptic that the west Brit, blueshirt, partitionist scum that support Ireland Rugby dare sing any song that attacks the Provies, while the Brysonettes revelled in the Shinnerbots rage, goading and retweeting like the idiots they are.
I've long been an advocate of limiting political involvement in sport and this is a classic example of why. Ireland Rugby is one of this island's true success stories. When Ulster play Leinster, home and away, we mix together in the stands and bars with zero problems. The rivalry is fierce but always friendly, and we stand together to support Ireland, the number one ranked country, in a sport previously dominated by the All Blacks and South Africa.
I've long been an advocate of limiting political involvement in sport and this is a classic example of why. Ireland Rugby is one of this island's true success stories. When Ulster play Leinster, home and away, we mix together in the stands and bars with zero problems. The rivalry is fierce but always friendly, and we stand together to support Ireland, the number one ranked country, in a sport previously dominated by the All Blacks and South Africa.
I dread Ireland getting further in the competition because the bigoted ballix will increase with it, and detract from it. Why can't the the zombies just STFU for once? Well, because they never do. Time for another of my Twitter holidays, I think.
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| Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports |
Not a rugby fan either but that was a brilliant game.
ReplyDeleteWhen ooh as up the Ra is sung it never annoys me so I can't see why anybody else that it doesn't annoy getting on their soap box to pontificate about Zombie. Perhaps it is a sign of how pampered everybody is that they have time to fritter away on such nonsense.
Ah fuck'em. Can't be an Ulsterman without being Irish even Paisley knew that. I think what really screws the divide with Rugby is that it's seen as a reserve of the upper middle class and above whereas football is of the masses. As such, tribal loyalties are more delineated and it becomes much easier to point a finger at "themuns".
ReplyDeleteI'll have my Ireland top on for the next game and sod the permanently offended.
Steve R
ReplyDeleteThe middle classness of rugby is interesting. When you go to Ravenhill there are loads of Malone Rd and Holywood types, but the mixing with away fans is so refreshing. As is the respect given to refs and the lack of rolling around the floor feigning injury by the players. At my school football was forbidden, so rugby was my boyhoood sport. But I'll never love it like the footy.