The Lions Tour.....

d4 psyhophants imo

Huge interest in Rugby across the country.

When i lived in Dublin i could not believe how big rugby was it was on a par with Cardiff or close to it. Back home it's less so but compared to when i was growing up it's grown but a long way behind what it is in the east cost. It still gets mote coverage than it should but that's because of the Dublin media. I would say Soccer is the most played sport in Dublin, and probably Rugby is the number 2 if you count the tag rugby stuff.

Soccer is big in Dublin and Rugby in certain areas. But across the entire country Rugby is clearly the 2nd most popular sport and growing.

Tradition , quality , memorable moments / tours . A la Ryder Cup .

Not sure where Ireland rate in world terms in rugby at momemnt , but its a lot higher than we rate in soccer . And its been like that for quite a while . So interest is partly status related too .

Spurious argument Kelly as it is a far shallower pool. Rugby benefits from A) The international element, not a global game so small countries like Wales, New Zealand and Ireland can thrive and B) The fact that they play compete in a major tournament every spring with games against England and France for the chance to win something tangible(relating back to point A). C) The stars nearly all play at home.

Irish Rugby is extremely well managed and marketed, but it is more of a spectator sport than a participatory one for most. The game (and it is a fine game) also benefits from the support of the Upper echelons of our society that run the media.

I don't like it being compared to soccer because much as we're told the Soccer lads are overpaid/fall over too easily/ don't take any hits/behave disgracefully/ are typically uneducated therefore not as articulate in interview, they have to attain a much higher standard of excellence in their chosen sport to bring success than their Rugby counterparts.

Yes totally agree Neill, it's a bit like saying we're number 1 at hurling in the world or in the top 2 of gaelic football. If you add in the tag rugby part of the sport it may well be the 2nd most played sport in Ireland but i can't see it passing out soccer though.

Lions Tour is the biggest sporting event of the year 2013.

just u kid yourself into beleiving that....lol......good lad ozy........

8 Irish on starting line up today , including late replacement Rory Best . Only one notable Irish missing , Paul O'Connell .  But hey thats who Rory throws best to .....?

No Olympics, No World Cup, No European Championship, No Ryder Cup, No Rugby  World Cup.  Its not exactly a year of huge events.

In terms of non-annual sporting events it probably is the biggest really, although there isn't much competition to be fair.

Confederations Cup next best maybe.

I suppose you think the Ulster GAA Championship is bigger, Richters?

oz biggest event in sport in ireland for 2013 is the all ireland football final,followed closely by the hurling final.nothing comes close.except maybe the semi final involving dublin.

The anomaly about rugby interest (on here at least ) is that the amounts bet on it are paltry compared with other recognised international sports .  Only conclusion I can reach is that rugby followers dont need the money as much as other sports followers !

Rocketfingers , implications of your earlier post is that soccer is the most played sport in ireland , followed by rugby .  I assume you dont drive about the country much , everywhere I drive in Ireland I see superb GAA grounds , often in small hamlets . Can count the soccer grounds on the fingers of one hand .

And the GAA own all their grounds , they do not have the begging bowl out for subsidies etc , other than what they are entitled to for the community service rendered .

rocket has this illusion kelly.you wont change him.

Rocketfingers , implications of your earlier post is that soccer is the most played sport in ireland , followed by rugby .  I assume you dont drive about the country much

NAIL ON HEAD,KELLY......

Cian Healy looks like he wont be playing again this tour .  Hope his injury is not as bad as it looks .

Rugby wouldn't be in the top ten of participation sports in Ireland yet the hapless Rocketfingers thinks it is second to soccer.

The IRFU deserve great credit as their far thinking as made the Irish teams competitive in Europe( that's an understatement) but the game itself is in trouble,the bulk of the players and the injuries that follow are a problem.The referee is the most important person on the pitch and few are clear on the rules,the worst of these is Tony Ward who cannot seem to follow the basic rules.

what would be the 10 participation sports ahead of it Borneo?

Rugby obviously IS in the top 10 participation sports in the country .

Where it rates statistics wise is open to debate , no doubt some people will be able to answer that one .  But rugby punches above its playing membership weight , simple because we are good at it , province and national wise .  Plus there is no "split" island wise . 

The rugby lads are doing a good job , twas not always thus even in recent memory where the national organisation was second class .  Well organised now , particularly since professionalism came on board , sensible arrangements and playing structures .  The only caveat I have re the playing of rugby is the number of injuries inherent in the game , with 15 big guys physically involved on both sides .  Not much opportunity any longer for the wee will of the wisp players . And 18 stone multiplied by 10 mph meeting equivalent is a lot of momentum conversion .

Where would Ozymandius and Kelly place Rugby.

Do either agree with Rocketfingers that Rugby is second only to soccer.

Rugby wouldn't be in the top ten of participation sports in Ireland

Kindly list the top 10 sports ahead of it in terms of participation.  Or retract the statement and admit to trademark bluff and bluster for dramatic effect.

an event that means little or nothing to most irish people. Thats not a criticism, nothing against it, but its just a fact

Ball park 4th , wildman .

Gaelic football , soccer , golf , all would be ahead of rugby in participant terms .  Hurling unfortunately restricted essentially to about 8 counties out of 32  , most of us live in counties not up to the mark in skill terms to play hurling . Thats not hurlings fault , too difficult for most kids unless they live in a country parish , space and time to be able to puck a ball about , no good for conurbations where increasingly most of us live .

correct and right freddiek

You are a typical non betting nervous ninny which makes you a perfect partner for Rocketfingers who similarly doesn't bet and is afraid of his shadow.

Gaelic Football
Hurling
Soccer
Golf
Horse riding
Fishing
Cycling
Swimming
Athletics
Walking


Cricket doesn't make it but it deserves to

Ross O'Carroll-Kelly types, im sure they re very excited about it

Kelly at least you have the courage of your convictions but can't agree with you,no way is it fourth or anywhere near that.

Guarantee you more people play golf than hurling , wildman .  There are more than 400 clubs in Ireland , each with up to ( and beyond) 1000 playing members , not to mention the casual non members and the kids not old enough for membership .

10% at least of the population play golf , hurling nowhere near that ( unfortunately) .

Ozymandius stumped yet again.

My list is not supposed to be in order its just ten sports that have more participants than Rugby

Its too pathetic a list to even bother responding to...

Just to nail my colours to the mast , in terms of spectating my list of enjoyable sports available to most of us in order of spectating preference is

Hurling --the best field game anywhere in the world.
Golf -- skilful , world wide , and exciting  , TV based obviously .
Horse racing --grew up on it , particularly National Hunt  , and we Irish are among the best in the world at it .
Gaelic football --used to be higher rated with me , but hand pass ruining it ( still , but not so bad this year so far ).
Rugby --again because we are good at it , relatively speaking , but poor playing conditions sometimes ruin it as a game .
Cricket --brilliant game , well run , now with variety instead of 5 day game interest  , suffers in Ireland largely based on historical connotations and weather .

Soccer , athletics also are of interest , but only the top echelon worth watching . Occasional .

Not a big fan of boxing or basketball  , and all swimmers look the same do they not ?

Fishing is a pastime , not a sport .

Oh I forgot Wimbledon , ( as against tennis ) . Wimbledon , because it is played on a proper surface , makes great viewing . And it is great for betting .

Soccer the most participated sport "by far" in Ireland 100% correct according to the sports council of Ireland report.

Ooops

http://www.irishsportscouncil.ie/Research/The_Irish_Sports_Monitor/Irish_Sports_Monitor_2007.pdf

It will be interesting to read the come backs i welcome all comments

That wasn't questioned but your placing of Rugby second was.

Do you still maintain Rugby is second in participation terms?

Soccer first Rugby 2nd if you include tag rugby. OZy what do you think? If you included tag rugby yes 100% 2nd if not then maybe one of the other minority sports would be 2nd, Hurling is more popular in Dublin among the young lads in GAA clubs so i would say hurling if not now will be soon 2nd.

i liked this qoute on the gaa fred....

! I love hurling and i will defend to the core.........

HAHAHA.......

unbelievable stuff......

rocket will you stop making a fool of urself.hurling is greatest game in the world but its not widely played.now stop digging.go for a walk.its lovely and sunny out there..

tag rugby??? you re a gas man RF

Even the man of breeding who admires Rocketfingers virility is steering clear of this one.

Ok to settle this, it was an educated guess on my behalf to put rugby as 2nd most played sport in Ireland, but i was taking account of the tag element and to my fault as a nationalist i was looking at the 32 counties as well. I suppose we have to go with the report and say Soccer is the most popular with 11.4% of the male population of this country playing it, then golf and swimming. I still think Rugby is higher, GAA football has only 3.9% i think this is wrong and i would say fair chance it's lower or that figure also includes hurling but for fairness we'll go with that too.

Is everybody happy now?

The one thing it wasn't was an educated guess.

Tag rugby is certainly growing significantly.

Anyone who thinks, for example, that more people participate in Athletics (just one example) in this country, than rugby, does deserve to be engaged with in 'intelligent' debate.

* doesn't

70% of the sports report on  RTE radio this morning was taken up by Rugby (The Lions Tour and The Irish Under 21s) with only a fleeting mention of the Irish boxers, 5 of whom are in with a chance of medals, at the European Championship.

I find it hard to believe that Rugby is in the top ten sports (by participation) in Ireland. Even in Australia it doesn't make it to the top 10.

Cricket is a fantastic game and it is a pity it is not more prevalent. If the GAA hadn't brought in the ban there is no doubt that we would have been world class at the game. Cricket almost became a GAA sport, losing out on the votes of two county Kerry representatives.

Anyone who thinks, for example, that more people participate in Athletics (just one example) in this country, than rugby, does deserve to be engaged with in 'intelligent' debate

40,000 participated in the flora mini marathon on monday and that is only one athletic event. I dont think Rugby could compete with those numbers?

Well to begin with there are 153,080 registered rugby players in Ireland..more than New Zealand in fact.

The contrast between Kelly and Ozymandius is both stark and revealing.

Rocketfingers stated Rugby was second in participation terms in Ireland,I said it wasn't in the top ten,Kelly disagreed but placed it fourth,Ozymandius sneered posted a smilie but was afraid to offer an opinion.

Kelly then reasonably argued that Fishing to him was a pastime rather than a sport,Ozymandius just it was pathetic.

His latest contribution " intelligent debate " is typical by intelligent debate he means his point of view but this is quickly debunked by The Gotchees contribution.

Ozymandius was however flushed out and finally came up with something concrete,the fact that he comes up with an absolute bogus figure is typical of this elitist wannabe.

Bar fishing what else is the difference between Ozy and Kelly? Kelly is clueless and if you read through what he said he said a sport that is a minority sport was the most participated sport in Ireland, clearly shown as false thanks to my post with the report from the Irish sports council. Once again you've been caught out waffling and once again it happens to be me doing the catching.

Can you put the report for the less computer literate

You are being unfair to Kelly as he clearly states his list is one of his spectating preference.

I agree with him about hurling as well as it is to me the best sport in the world.

the fact that he comes up with an absolute bogus figure is typical of this elitist wannabe.

My source is the official IRB report of 2011. 

If you would like some more FACTS (bogus figures to you) here are more up to date official figures from the IRB (you won't know who they are so I will explain; International Rugby Board.  They run the game of rugby):

Number Of Clubs:234
Registered+Unregistered Players:153823
Number of Referees:2411
Pre-teen Male Players:48315
Pre-teen Female Player:16105
Teen Male Player:57808
Teen Female Player:3000
Senior Male Player:25616
Senior Female Player:2979
Total Male Player:131739
Total Female Player:22084

The difference between me and your Borneo is that I deal in fact, you deal with waffle, then have the temerity to suggest that others do too.

Glad to see I have joined Rocketfingers "clueless " brigade .  Just cant figure out the logic in that assertion other than he must have been imbibing .  But it is a sort of an imprimatur .

Ozymandius are you sure those figures relate to Ireland.?

I gave Ozymandius a chance to reply but in fairness to him he was probably out with binoculars checking the Three Fat Women of Antibes.

Even the broken down figures are clearly wrong,allow for the fact that sports always exaggerate their participants but the figures quoted by Ozymandius are wrong in every department.

Quite sure Borneo.  What with you being a 32 county enthusiast, I trust that you won't be so desperate as to play that card in an attempt to salvage some dignity.

I think in this instance a forelock-pullig grovelling apology on bended knee is more than appropriate.

Sorry Borneo, for not replying within what you deem a appropriate time schedule.  Some of us have commitments above and beyond daytime television and shuffling to the Post Office to pick up the pension.

But of course!  The Official figures are WRONG! And your guesstimates are right.  As always.  There really is no pulling the wool over your eyes!

The figures you have given are plainly wrong I was just giving you a chance to check them out.

Even if we were to agree those bogus figures you would still fall well behind athletics the comparison you brought up.

Of course.  I should not have been so foolish as to present officially published statistics. Naturally they are bogus and have no value in this discussion.

We should instead proceed on the basis of your guesstimates instead.  After all they are far more rigorously compiled and we can all be confident that they are factual and non-bogus. After all you don't have a track record for inventing things on here.

The IRFU  claim 95,000 players and 205 clubs so the nicest way to put it is there is a discrepancy .

The figures are boosted by saying a school like Roscrea play Rugby therefore all those pupils are rugby players likewise all members of rugby clubs are not players.

Rugby players have a short career whereas golfers,cricketers and even athletes have long careers.

this Ozy fella has to be on a wind-up. Nobody could be that much of a tw@t

Not into figures as provided by various agencies myself , distrust anything coming from "government sources "  as they are prepared by civil servants with "agenda" .

Rainfall figures are a good example of the validity of that view .  For years we were fed 40 inches of rain per year , Kerry , Mayo and Donegal reached 55 betimes . 3 years ago we suffered huge  day long deluge , government subsequently "confirmed" we had 2 inches of rain , I had a horizontally seated bucket empty before the deluge , after the deluge , and with continuing rain it was overflowing . It was a 14 inch tall bucket , completely cylindrical , sheer vertical sides . No one in the various bodies I contacted has ever been able to explain that one .

The only figures I believe inherently are the golfing ones , simply because I know the golfing scene , and there are 427 golf courses approx in Ireland .  Nobody overstates their membership as they pay the GUI a levy based on membership , and no golf club treasurer I have ever known ( quite a few) would ever overstate membership . And most of the members are adult .

Reference GAA clubs and membership , when I was heavily involved for 10 years in my local club in an administrative capacity including 3 years as secretary , the most onerous and most important job , we had about 100  paying members  , mostly players .  We had no ground , we were Division one , and on one of the teams I managed in that time my players  historically and subsequently garnered 10 All Ireland medals between them . The same club now has superb ground facilities / pavilion , mostly funded locally and from GAA central funds , plus a few quid lottery grant .  Division 3 , about 1000 members ( good percentage female I am told by my extended family member who is the chairman ) , no one near county senior standard ( yet) despite the numbers game . I joke with committe members and those involved regarding the free "baby sitting " they perform for the community , the more sanguine among them sort of agree , the kids disappear largely when they discover other pursuits attractive to teenagers . And our neighbouring club also boasts those sort of membership numbers .

Dont know any soccer club with those sort of numbers , one of the extended family teenagers plays for our most financially viable local soccer club , development squad etc , trips to Spain et al . He also is in county GAA development squad  , recently the soccer club had to postpone a fixture because 7 of their 11 first picks were involved GAA wise , times change ! Once upon a time a friend of ours was front page headline because he transferred ( for a doubling of his salary) to that club from Belfast Celtic . Belfast Celtic were as tight as the proverbial ducks . They took the view that the players were priveleged to put on the hooped jersy .  Didn't pay bills though in those days .

Only valid "playing " membership should be based on "adult" playing membership  , all sports .  That lets out most of the soccer figures I suspect , if they are not good enough by age 15 to be going for trials in England or Scotland they finish up God knows where .  Thats the way it is up here in the North anyway , where soccer effectively "started" in Ireland . Dont know any soccer club set up with 10/15 teams playing each weekend , does any one ? And up here they nearly all play on council funded sports facilities , so where is the "club spirit " , you need a meeting place / social contact facility .

Thats where the GAA and the rugby clubs have a huge advantage , like the golf clubs  , social contact post match , largely absent in soccer circles this part of the world , partly for historical reasons . That said its not entirely the fault of local ( Irish ) soccer that the current situation prevails , it is a reflection of the top heavy concentration on the English premiership and its influence which partly bedevils Irish soccer . Money a big factor too . I have no doubt there are a huge number of soccer people involved worthily at all levels in Ireland , but they are largely hostage to our bigger neighbour for a variety of reasons over which they have no control , and the fans with surplus money tend to support "away" from home .

its very easy to "massage" numbers..biggest con ever was george bush being elected us president in 2000/2001..he received 540000 votes less than al gore and was still elected.i didnt take much notice of facts and figures after that episode..funny if it wasnt true.

Ozy making bits of Wildman and Kelly on here, great viewing

Rocketfingers , any semblance of logic you ever appeared to have seems to have deserted you .  Or maybe I just never noticed before !  You can claim  a temporary lapse if it suits you .

One of the factors in the perception of who plays what or is interested in what sport , is the part that the media plays .  Having lived south of the border for two years , I formed a very definite opinion of RTE's shortcomings as a "national "broadcaster . In those days the soccerites ran RTE reference sport , all other sports were considered minority sports , even though they were not .

Not sure where they sit nowadays , RTE is seldom on here given the variety elswhere .

Kelly, take no notice of the village idiot, best left ignored.

All rugby players in Ireand are registered with official photo ID cards, each has a unique number. 

Non playing club members are therefore not counted, barring those recently retired whose registration has not lapsed.  There is no dual counting between schools and clubs due to the unique number.  I am not sure if rugby playing schools blanket register every pupil or just those who choose play rugby, I assume the latter, as registration is quite a timely process.

Irish interest starting to ebb away a little from this series , largely due to injury count .  With Kearney , Healy , Bowe now all out due to injury ,( all legitimate potential Lions picks )  , thats 30% of "our" tour party sidelined , a week into the tour . And Gatlands not going to pick Best ( probably wouldn't myself ).

At least the Gotchee will be pleased that media coverage may decrease . Unbothered by the coverage myself .

Rugbys sudden rise has a lot to do with this country not treating the likes of Munster and Leinster as club teams in a club competition but representing the downtrodden and the nation as a whole, so basically they don't wear the red and blue jersey but the green.

Tommy Bowe a massive blow, IMHO..

ZEBOOOOOOOOOOO,!!!