LLCOOLJ14
12th-April-2008, 10:52
As we have been saying for weeks.....again.........
Clubs sold short
Cup final should not have clashed with Leinster v Munster showdown
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Today in Athlone, courtesy of Buccaneers RFC, the final of the AIB Cup between Blackrock and Shannon will take place. The kick-off is scheduled for 3.30 and will be preceded by the national knock-out equivalent for junior clubs between Navan and Tullamore.
With everything going according to plan and with events wrapped up in the midlands by say 5.30, that leaves an hour to leg it to Dublin in time for what should be the clash of the Irish rugby season at the RDS as Munster take on Leinster in a Magners League showdown.
Hats off yet again to the IRFU! The organisation that purports to run its business in the best interests of the game has yet again sold its clubs another bummer. Through RTE the game in Athlone is guaranteed to get national coverage, but at what price?
Difficulty
Personally, I still have much difficulty with a knock-out concept that's some way short of a full blown event that embraces junior and senior clubs the length and breadth of the land and remains a half baked attempt by the national body to put in place a national knock-out competition.
But how highly it rates in the corridors of power can be deduced from the staging of the top of the bill professional event in Dublin within a couple of hours of the final whistle at the AIB Cup final in Athlone.
Certainly when it comes to loyalty, sponsors AIB stand tall. They continue their financial commitment despite the couldn't-care- less Union apathy that creates messes such as this. Just how many IRFU officers do you think will be in Athlone instead of the RDS?
Forgive me if I am missing something here, but why not hold one or other of the games on Friday evening or Sunday afternoon? But then that would take planning and the Union just doesn't do planning too cleverly.
The onset of professionalism has seen club and provincial rugby move in the reverse direction to Gaelic Games for example. The Magners League and Heineken Cup are now to rugby what the Railway Cups once were in terms of interest and support within the GAA. And whereas club rugby is dying a slow and unedifying death, the club competitions in GAA flourish each year.
The Leinster Branch could probably have sold the RDS out twice over for tonight's massive Leinster v Munster meeting, while there will be a push to break four figures in Athlone -though with four clubs involved it could be manageable. As a product of the system, club rugby has a part to play in the wider picture. Forget fast-tracking through academies by way of A inter-provincials - a competitive and fully supported club system is the only meaningful way of ensuring that Irish rugby can be competitive in the future. But unfortunately the message emanating from the Union this weekend is that they are content to continue running the game with a laissez faire attitude.
Today's clash of two high-profile matches should not be happening. But at least it has prompted the IRFU to take the appropriate action in switching the AIB League Division 1 final from Saturday, May 10 to the following day at Musgrave Park (kick off 1.15) given the final round of Magners League fixtures the same weekend.
Well why not the same rational planning in advance of today's Cup final? Certainly for Des Dillon (Blackrock), David Quinlan (Shannon), Bernard Smyth (Navan), Nigel Ravenhill (Tullamore) and their respective teams opportunity knocks on the national stage. It is a great chance, particularly with the senior match being televised live, for those with professional aspirations to lay down the relevant marker.
Both 'Rock and Shannon (despite a record eight AIB
Clubs sold short
Cup final should not have clashed with Leinster v Munster showdown
<DIV =" font-null" jQuery1208003682098="133">
Today in Athlone, courtesy of Buccaneers RFC, the final of the AIB Cup between Blackrock and Shannon will take place. The kick-off is scheduled for 3.30 and will be preceded by the national knock-out equivalent for junior clubs between Navan and Tullamore.
With everything going according to plan and with events wrapped up in the midlands by say 5.30, that leaves an hour to leg it to Dublin in time for what should be the clash of the Irish rugby season at the RDS as Munster take on Leinster in a Magners League showdown.
Hats off yet again to the IRFU! The organisation that purports to run its business in the best interests of the game has yet again sold its clubs another bummer. Through RTE the game in Athlone is guaranteed to get national coverage, but at what price?
Difficulty
Personally, I still have much difficulty with a knock-out concept that's some way short of a full blown event that embraces junior and senior clubs the length and breadth of the land and remains a half baked attempt by the national body to put in place a national knock-out competition.
But how highly it rates in the corridors of power can be deduced from the staging of the top of the bill professional event in Dublin within a couple of hours of the final whistle at the AIB Cup final in Athlone.
Certainly when it comes to loyalty, sponsors AIB stand tall. They continue their financial commitment despite the couldn't-care- less Union apathy that creates messes such as this. Just how many IRFU officers do you think will be in Athlone instead of the RDS?
Forgive me if I am missing something here, but why not hold one or other of the games on Friday evening or Sunday afternoon? But then that would take planning and the Union just doesn't do planning too cleverly.
The onset of professionalism has seen club and provincial rugby move in the reverse direction to Gaelic Games for example. The Magners League and Heineken Cup are now to rugby what the Railway Cups once were in terms of interest and support within the GAA. And whereas club rugby is dying a slow and unedifying death, the club competitions in GAA flourish each year.
The Leinster Branch could probably have sold the RDS out twice over for tonight's massive Leinster v Munster meeting, while there will be a push to break four figures in Athlone -though with four clubs involved it could be manageable. As a product of the system, club rugby has a part to play in the wider picture. Forget fast-tracking through academies by way of A inter-provincials - a competitive and fully supported club system is the only meaningful way of ensuring that Irish rugby can be competitive in the future. But unfortunately the message emanating from the Union this weekend is that they are content to continue running the game with a laissez faire attitude.
Today's clash of two high-profile matches should not be happening. But at least it has prompted the IRFU to take the appropriate action in switching the AIB League Division 1 final from Saturday, May 10 to the following day at Musgrave Park (kick off 1.15) given the final round of Magners League fixtures the same weekend.
Well why not the same rational planning in advance of today's Cup final? Certainly for Des Dillon (Blackrock), David Quinlan (Shannon), Bernard Smyth (Navan), Nigel Ravenhill (Tullamore) and their respective teams opportunity knocks on the national stage. It is a great chance, particularly with the senior match being televised live, for those with professional aspirations to lay down the relevant marker.
Both 'Rock and Shannon (despite a record eight AIB