"Soccer feeling like unloved child in tale of two sports"

K4t

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

How is soccer "obviously the more skilful sport"?
International soccer tournaments will always attract most attention as soccer is so much bigger...

There's a reason it is so much bigger. To play soccer at the highest level internationally requires far more skill and conditioning than rugby respectively. That's simply true regardless of your allegiance. The competition is massive, and also controlling a ball with only your feet is always going to require more skill than using your hands.

Bridge93

TINA1984 wrote: »

Pretty sure the ESRI report mentioned in Ken Early's article has Football as having higher participation, attendance & club membership than Rugby. Feel free to search the publication mentioned to contradict me.

Football? That is literally exactly what I said.

K4t

RedemptionZ wrote: »

2: The kids growing up today are seeing Ireland win 6 nation tournaments and finger crossed a good World Cup campaign in rugby while they're seeing the Irish soccer team struggle to qualify for their World Cup. It's not like this is a once off either. Kids'll always follow success, particularly if it's televised.

They're also still supporting and watching week in week out Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Barca, Real etc. Kids aren't stupid either and aren't always as easily lead by success as many adults are. They are able to realise themselves what is the global game and what is the most popular and skilful team sport in the world i.e. soccer. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but look around school playgrounds at lunch break and you won't see the many kids throwing a rugby ball or fist passing a gaelic football; they'll be playing a game of soccer. At least the was the case in my youth in the West of Ireland in most schools.

Bridge93

K4t wrote: »

There's a reason it is so much bigger. To play soccer at the highest level internationally requires far more skill and conditioning than rugby respectively. That's simply true regardless of your allegiance. The competition is massive, and also controlling a ball with only your feet is always going to require more skill than using your hands.

Did you actually just say football requires more conditioning?
These are all your opinions not facts, which is kind of the point made at the start. Everyone is not going to agree on everything, it's preferences.

Zzippy

K4t wrote: »

There's a reason it is so much bigger. To play soccer at the highest level internationally requires far more skill and conditioning than rugby respectively. That's simply true regardless of your allegiance. The competition is massive, and also controlling a ball with only your feet is always going to require more skill than using your hands.

That's a fairly sweeping statement without producing any data or facts to back it up. In other words, it's your opinion. Have you any links to the conditioning stats of international soccer players and rugby players to compare?

K4t

Zzippy wrote: »

As for the "my sport is more skilful than yours" posts...lol. Neither are a patch on hurling but who cares, some people like apples, some prefer oranges, it doesn't mean one is better than the other. Silly stuff...

And NBA fans would say basketball requires superior skill than hurling; such is life. What is undeniable is that soccer requires incredible skill and training to play at the very highest level, and that the ball must be controlled with your feet, which is not even comparable to hand to ball sports imo when discussing in terms of skill.

NIMAN

Soccer is easy to go out and play with your siblings in your garden or your friends in the school playground, rugby isn't.

As far as youngsters playing a sport casually in Ireland, rugby will never overtake soccer. Never.

Zzippy

K4t wrote: »

And NBA fans would say basketball requires superior skill than hurling; such is life. What is undeniable is that soccer requires incredible skill and training to play at the very highest level, and that the ball must be controlled with your feet, which is not even comparable to hand to ball sports imo when discussing in terms of skill.

Exactly - in your opinion

Having played GAA, hurling and soccer growing up, I found soccer easiest to master as it only involved using your feet - a more limited skill set than having to master fielding, soloing, handpassing, ball striking left and right, controlling the ball in the air with a hurley to bring it down, hooking, blocking, etc.

But then, that's just my opinion too...

NIMAN

I remember watching rugby when I was young, and iirc players used to try to run past the defenders. Now they appear to just run into them, head on.

Is rugby becoming less skillful?

Diabhal Beag

In fairness now Ken is very biased in that article as much as some people may not want to acknowledge it. Saying there's very few scenarios where players were as maligned as Glen Whelan is nonsense. Tomas O'Leary, who represented the Lions and won a grand slam got dogs abuse after.

dreamers75

Zzippy wrote: »

Exactly - in your opinion

Having played GAA, hurling and soccer growing up, I found soccer easiest to master as it only involved using your feet - a more limited skill set than having to master fielding, soloing, handpassing, ball striking left and right, controlling the ball in the air with a hurley to bring it down, hooking, blocking, etc.

But then, that's just my opinion too...

I assume your having a laugh here? you mastered football.....i find that hilarious. Seeing as your the mod of rugby you realise any football player that is reasonably fit could be a very good rugby player.

The fact they choose not to play rugby is why rugby is scabbing for players. I am 40 and there are 37 possible football leagues I could play in, i dont even know if there is one rugby league i could play in.

K4t

Zzippy wrote: »

Exactly - in your opinion

Having played GAA, hurling and soccer growing up, I found soccer easiest to master as it only involved using your feet - a more limited skill set than having to master fielding, soloing, handpassing, ball striking left and right, controlling the ball in the air with a hurley to bring it down, hooking, blocking, etc.

But then, that's just my opinion too...

Obviously it's my opinion. And you didn't master soccer, or come even close to doing so, unless you can provide statistics? It's your opinion.

Bridge93

NIMAN wrote: »

I remember watching rugby when I was young, and iirc players used to try to run past the defenders. Now they appear to just run into them, head on.

Is rugby becoming less skillful?

I remember when you used to be able to tackle in football. Tackling is a skill. Is football becoming less skillful?

Bridge93

K4t wrote: »

Obviously it's my opinion. And you didn't master soccer, or come even close to doing so, unless you can provide statistics? It's your opinion.

Which is why he said his opinion unlike yourself stating skill levels and conditioning as facts when they're are not.

RedemptionZ

K4t wrote: »

They're also still supporting and watching week in week out Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Barca, Real etc. Kids aren't stupid either and aren't always as easily lead by success as many adults are. They are able to realise themselves what is the global game and what is the most popular and skilful team sport in the world i.e. soccer. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but look around school playgrounds at lunch break and you won't see the many kids throwing a rugby ball or fist passing a gaelic football; they'll be playing a game of soccer. At least the was the case in my youth in the West of Ireland in most schools.

Well in my primary school it was hurling, though we were a big GAA school. Soccer is easy to play so yes they probably will be playing it in the yard. But that doesn't mean they'll be playing for clubs. Kids don't give a flying feck about what's global and more skilful, they want to be famous and win trophies on tv and have all their mates say they're great. People aren't gonna just forget about soccer like that, just that the interest will gradually decrease as they lose numbers to rugby. Maybe it won't happen but looks that way.

P_1 wrote: »

True but we'd also need the Nordies Scots and Welsh to jump in at the same go. There's not a lot of appeal in seeing FCs Leinster/Munster/Connacht/Ulster play each other 6 times a season. Plus I can't see UEFA/FIFA allowing such a thing. The advent of professionalism in rugby basically presented the unions with a blank canvas. Some got it right on both the club and country fronts (Ireland, England, South Africa and New Zealand and maybe France come to mind) some got it right on the club front (France at a push), some on the country front (Wales, Australia, Argentina, maybe Italy) and others fouled up both fronts and built a bit of a white elephant of a stadium (Scotland I'm looking at you).

Wales in particular really fcuked up on the region front. For soccer I would've suggested, off the top of my head so bear with me, something like Dublin(maybe split in two) South Leinster, Connacht etc. Not ideal I know, but again that's one of the reasons rugby is doing better. Very tough to sustain a worth watching league with such a small population and much better quality on offer on the tv. Sad reality.

Zzippy

K4t wrote: »

Obviously it's my opinion. And you didn't master soccer, or come even close to doing so, unless you can provide statistics? It's your opinion.

You posted that soccer players had superior skill and conditioning. Now skill is a subjective thing - it can't me measured easily. So yes, our opinions on it will differ and I'm happy to accept that many many people consider soccer a more skilful sport. Conditioning, however, can be easily measured with a variety of metrics. You posted that soccer players have superior conditioning - can you back that up?

CSF

Bridge93 wrote: »

I remember when you used to be able to tackle in football. Tackling is a skill. Is football becoming less skillful?

You can still tackle in football.

Bridge93

CSF wrote: »

You can still tackle in football.

You still run around players in rugby.

Ferris_Bueller

Ferris_Bueller wrote: »

Article written by Ken Early in the Irish times today.





I've never been a fan of rugby, so my own view on this is probably skewed as well. But does anyone who follows both sports have anything to say about this article/topic?

I am a casual follower of Irelands exploits in both sports. From what I can see in the pubs the rugby fanatics don't like soccer and visa versa. In my view I find rugby way more exciting to watch and I think the general public would too in the case of the two international teams. In soccer there is an attack which ends up with a shot or a player through on goal etc. and you might half get of the seat in anticipation of a goal and its exciting. In rugby there is an attack and there can be wave after wave of attacks on the line. Lines can hold out for 30 phases a few metres from the line for 10 mins. That's stand up and roar them on stuff. Way more prolonged excitement in my humble I never really post in soccer but am a tad tipsy opinion;)

CSF

Bridge93 wrote: »

You still run around players in rugby.

Nobody said you couldn't. Strawman argument.

Bridge93

CSF wrote: »

Nobody said you couldn't. Strawman argument.

'Now they appear to just run into them head on. Is rugby becoming less skillful?'

I know full well you can tackle in football. I am giving an untrue, lazy example of what might be unfairly held against football as a counterbalance to one used against rugby. But sure see what you want to see.

NIMAN

Deleted User wrote: »

In rugby there is an attack and there can be wave after wave of attacks on the line. Lines can hold out for 30 phases a few metres from the line for 10 mins. That's stand up and roar them on stuff. Way more prolonged excitement in my humble I never really post in soccer but am a tad tipsy opinion;)

And to the casual watcher, this sort of stuff looks like no skill and just brute force, with players getting the ball, thumping into the defender in front of him, repeat for 30 phases etc. Its muscle over brain. And we saw the perfect example of Ireland doing it in the last game when they banged and banged into defenders bodies when there were wingers standing out to the right waving like fools.;)

Footballers on the other hand have to do something skillful usually when in the business end of the oppenents half to try to craft a goal.

CSF

Bridge93 wrote: »

'Now they appear to just run into them head on. Is rugby becoming less skillful?'

I know full well you can tackle in football. I am giving an untrue, lazy example of what might be unfairly held against football as a counterbalance to one used against rugby. But sure see what you want to see.

So because someone made what you consider to be an inaccurate observation of rugby, so you came out with a complete falsehood? Solid contribution.

RedemptionZ

NIMAN wrote: »

And to the casual watcher, this sort of stuff looks like no skill and just brute force, with players getting the ball, thumping into the defender in front of him, repeat for 30 phases etc. Its muscle over brain. And we saw the perfect example of Ireland doing it in the last game when they banged and banged into defenders bodies when there were wingers standing out to the right waving like fools.;)

Footballers on the other hand have to do something skillful usually when in the business end of the oppenents half to try to craft a goal.

Your trolling aside, the guy has a point. Rugby is traditionally high scoring, football is not. This appeals to the average short attention span sports fan.

CSF wrote: »

So because someone made what you consider to be an inaccurate observation of rugby, so you came out with a complete falsehood? Solid contribution.

No need for the pettiness, it was NIMAN who started it.

Bridge93

CSF wrote: »

So because someone made what you consider to be an inaccurate observation of rugby, so you came out with a complete falsehood? Solid contribution.

What they contributed is a complete falsehood but we'll ignore that so. Never seen anyone make a nonsense statement as a show of how stupid another comment is? (go look at the last few pages on the united thread.)

The whole topic has been dragged away from what it was meant to be about by folk giving it the 'my sport is better than your sport' bull**** that was expected from this thread.

Some people seem completely unable to see points made by the other side and insist on pulling out unquantifiable rubbish and 'facts'. That lad who mentioned conditioning conveniently disappeared when asked to provide evidence.

I happen to like both sports and played both to a decent level so I get particularly annoyed when these comparison threads pop up when there is no need/way to do so fairly.

If this was on the rugby forum I would probably be defending football as the views I'm sure would be skewed the other way. There are a few comments amongst it which give good viewpoints on both sides of the coin. Most however is not.

Seems to be a few who don't like having football threatened by a different sport and are almost bitter of the successes trying to belittle them in any way they can. It's a ****ing team representing the same country the footballers do. Our country. Maybe we could all try and enjoy our country succeeding at something.

Dave_The_Sheep

dreamers75 wrote: »

Seeing as your the mod of rugby you realise any football player that is reasonably fit could be a very good rugby player.

Would people like Ronaldo or Messi go well in a sport that wasn't soccer, that they chose? Sure. Would O'Driscoll? Would Sheflin? Of course they would. It's not just innate physical ability. It takes a dedication and a will to succeed that most if not all sportspeople have. That's what separates us from them.

So would rugby players do well in soccer? Would soccer players do well in rugby? Hell no. They'd do as well as you or I would, as normal human beings, but other than that? It's the dedication to the sport that matters. If you dedicate your life to a sport you change yourself to suit it. Ronaldo is a supreme athlete but put him on a rugby pitch and he'd be off crying within 5 minutes. Put BOD on a soccer pitch and he'd look like an under twelve playing against Ronaldinho.

Give them 20 years to prepare and they'd fit right in though.

I assume that's kind of what you meant?

Bridge93

dreamers75 wrote: »

I assume your having a laugh here? you mastered football.....i find that hilarious. Seeing as your the mod of rugby you realise any football player that is reasonably fit could be a very good rugby player.

The fact they choose not to play rugby is why rugby is scabbing for players. I am 40 and there are 37 possible football leagues I could play in, i dont even know if there is one rugby league i could play in.

Any footballer could be a very good rugby player. Yep it's this sort of argument that let's me know this is going to get nowhere.
I'm done

Fr Tod Umptious

Rugby is never going to overtake soccer in popularity, regardless of how you measure popularity.

As I said the very same debate was talking place in spring of 2007 on Off the Ball, a time when the soccer team had Stan in charge and the rugby team were hammering England in Croke Park.

But two or three years later soccer was back on top, with Ireland narrowly missing out on beating Italy in Dublin, beating France away in normal time and eventually qualifying for Euro 2012.

AllGunsBlazing

Just you wait until we get really good at the cricket. Then the shi_t will really hit the sheds!

dreamers75

Bridge93 wrote: »

Any footballer could be a very good rugby player. Yep it's this sort of argument that let's me know this is going to get nowhere.
I'm done

in fairness its not hard to play rugby, get ball run....pass ball.

Dont see any sort of skill in that whatsoever....

Now kicking the ball which in top level rugby is what wins games, thats a skill......

Arghus

It comes down to success really.

As a kid growing up in the nineties,for me, it felt like soccer was the only show in town. The stalwarts of a successful Irish football team were heroes and household names up and down the country. Rugby was a sport I was aware of but there was nowhere near the level of interest in the sport that the exploits of the Irish football team would generate. I remember the Rugby World Cup of 1995 being a relatively big deal, for rugby. But there was no comparison between that and the all pervasive mania of USA 94. Back in the day when Ireland had a national football team that was a match for anyone and qualifying for tournaments, they cast a big shadow, in which the rugby team had to reside, in the world of the Irish casual sports fan.

Nowadays the tables have turned, to a certain extent. Ireland have a competitive rugby team that have provided great days in recent times. Their current success is unprecedented and they don't have to compare themselves to heroes of yesteryear. The football team scrapes results, at best, and qualifies rarely for tournaments. They also have the bad luck of being the equivalent of a bad burp, after the wonderful plenty of the Charlton years came along after decades of success starvation..

Success breeds interest. Interest breeds media coverage. Bandwagons of any sort don't take long to get rolling in such a small country, with a smallish media market for everyone to take their sports coverage from. Amateur female boxing isn't a crowd puller in Ireland, but we all know who Katie Taylor is because she wins things. If the soccer team started pulverizing opponents and the rugby team became perennial wooden spoon contenders, I don't think it would take too long for The Boys in Green to find space for themselves in the hearts of the nation.

Regarding the article itself- I think he makes some good points. More people play and follow soccer than rugby. Media hypocrisy does exist. Rugby players do get cosier coverage generally than football players. He also is bang on about that being partly explainable by availability and proximity to the Irish media. He doesn't talk about how social class issues have, I think, an influence with how players from different codes are perceived, but that's probably a subject for another dissertation. He's also made a few clumsy points- Robbie Keane, the treatment of Declen Kidney versus the treatment of Steve Stauton .That's Ken though- you have to separate the wheat from the chaff with anything he has to say and I don't think he sees articles like that as anything like cast iron fact, just the readable ramblings of a biased spectator.

NIMAN

Trying not to troll here but rugby to me looks like a team of 15 players where maybe 5 or 6 are the skillful ones. The rest act like battering rams to help the 5 or 6 win games.

Of course I've never played rugby and I could be completely wrong! Its just how it looks to me.

Re: scoring. The thing I always liked about football is that due to the low scoring a goal is a BIG thing. There mighe be 90mins of dogged tactics to get that one goal. Thats why football fans celebrate a goal so much. Its also the reason given as to why the Yanks wouldn't take to it for so long, as they love scoring and high scoring.

Rugby, and both GAA codes are loaded with scores. I have been to both rugby and GAA live games, and scores are often celebrated with small rounds of applause. Every football match I have been at, ever, each goal was celebrated in a way you wouldn't normally see in other sports.

Kirby

dreamers75 wrote: »

in fairness its not hard to play rugby, get ball run....pass ball.

Dont see any sort of skill in that whatsoever....

In fairness its not hard to play football. Get ball, run, kick it......

In fairness it's not hard to perform quantum chromodynamics and string theory. Get particles, inflate exponentially using eternal inflation, apply supersymmetry theory....

:rolleyes:

You can apply that sort of caveman logic to anything. I hope you realise how ridiculous it is to reduce a complex skill and sport such as rugby to "get ball and run". You should feel embarrassed for even suggesting it.

Optimalprimerib

kfallon wrote: »

Rugby is shíte tbh! Wouldn't watch it if it was on out my back garden.

Id hate that. Its an awful lot of mowing.

Optimalprimerib

This argument is one of the most stupid arguments going. Every sport needs a massive amount of skill, commitment and hard work to compete at the higgest level in.

The saying, easy to play, difficult to master comes into play.

Soccer, gaa and rugby all need different skill sets and to claim one is more skillful than the other is childish nonsense.

RedemptionZ

Optimalprimerib wrote: »

This argument is one of the most stupid arguments going. Every sport needs a massive amount of skill, commitment and hard work to compete at the higgest level in.

The saying, easy to play, difficult to master comes into play.

Soccer, gaa and rugby all need different skill sets and to claim one is more skillful than the other is childish nonsense.

Surprised the thread came down it tbh, it's the kind of thing id expect to see in YouTube comments of some 'rugby vs football' vid that was made by a 13 year old.

Most people still haven't actually addressed that rugby is making serious strides at both local and international level, while the opposite could probably be said for soccer.

Godot.

Good article I think

One thing particularly true that I notice is the difference in attitude when the respective teams lose

Rugby team lose: "hard luck lads"
Soccer team lose: "useless t*ssers"

Although maybe because it's easier to visually isolate poor individual performances in soccer it lays the seeds for the greater blame culture

TINA1984

RedemptionZ wrote: »

Most people still haven't actually addressed that rugby is making serious strides at both local and international level, while the opposite could probably be said for soccer.

I don't doubt that Rugby Union has made serious strides over the past 2 decades, but even then I'm not sure that's an argument you can make.

Looking at the Munster rugby league, there appears to be approximately 40 clubs spread over 3 divisions across the province. Plus you have the teams from the province that play in the AIL. So about 50+teams all in all.

The number of football clubs in Munster easily surpasses that, hell even the inappropriately named Munster Senior League, a junior league covering Cork City & suburbs has nearly as many clubs as there are rugby clubs in the entirety of Munster.

Despite the FAI, footballs grassroots appears to be pretty strong. Isn't there some stat floating around about how the DDSL is the largest league of its type in Europe?

tastyt

Zzippy wrote: »

Exactly - in your opinion

Having played GAA, hurling and soccer growing up, I found soccer easiest to master as it only involved using your feet - a more limited skill set than having to master fielding, soloing, handpassing, ball striking left and right, controlling the ball in the air with a hurley to bring it down, hooking, blocking, etc.

But then, that's just my opinion too...

Ha you mastered soccer eh??

And there is an argument for hurling as it is extremely skillful but to say Gaelic football is a skillful game in comparison is a joke. Anybody who can catch a ball is fairly fit and kick it as far as they can can get away with playing competitive Gaelic football.

Sure even the best of the best in Gaelic looks terrible most of the time, pulling and dragging

Dirty Dingus McGee

tastyt wrote: »

Ha you mastered soccer eh??

And there is an argument for hurling as it is extremely skillful but to say Gaelic football is a skillful game in comparison is a joke. Anybody who can catch a ball is fairly fit and kick it as far as they can can get away with playing competitive Gaelic football.

Sure even the best of the best in Gaelic looks terrible most of the time, pulling and dragging

It's actually not that easy to catch a ball in Gaelic Football when you are being marked and it also very difficult to kick a score as well (a lot more difficult that it is to get a score in hurling).

If football was so esyh to play you'd think more counties would be in with a chance of wining something when currently there are no more than 5 or 6 at a push that have a hope in hell of winning the all ireland.

Every single sport has a degree of skill that has to be mastered and if they were easy to master then results in matches would just be a lottery and down to luck which is not the case with any sport.

AdamD

dreamers75 wrote: »

in fairness its not hard to play rugby, get ball run....pass ball.

Dont see any sort of skill in that whatsoever....

Now kicking the ball which in top level rugby is what wins games, thats a skill......

I do wonder whether people realise how ****ing idiotic they look when they post like this?

LuckyLloyd

dreamers75 wrote: »

in fairness its not hard to play rugby, get ball run....pass ball.

Dont see any sort of skill in that whatsoever....

Now kicking the ball which in top level rugby is what wins games, thats a skill......

That's an impressively poor post.

ThunbergsAreGo

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

That's an impressively poor post.

Its no darts!

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

I wish people would stop talking about GAA and Hurling as though they are separate things.

Corholio

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

I wish people would stop talking about GAA and Hurling as though they are separate things.

Bit pedantic no. I'm sure you know what people mean. People commonly call gaelic football 'gaa'.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

Corholio wrote: »

Bit pedantic no. I'm sure you know what people mean. People commonly call gaelic football 'gaa'.

I do, just strikes me as a daft distinction. I'd always call it football or gaelic.

Corholio

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

I do, just strikes me as a daft distinction. I'd always call it football or gaelic.

Gaa is just short for gaelic. Not really daft at all, just the distinction between football and gaelic football really. For example football to me isn't gaelic football.

MD1990

RedemptionZ wrote: »

Surprised the thread came down it tbh, it's the kind of thing id expect to see in YouTube comments of some 'rugby vs football' vid that was made by a 13 year old.

Most people still haven't actually addressed that rugby is making serious strides at both local and international level, while the opposite could probably be said for soccer.

Alot easier at International level as there is only about 6 good rugby teams.
Compared to Soccer the most popular spot in the world.

MD1990

Rugby is becoming less skillful. Obsessed with size & the games are very boring to watch compared to 10 years ago.

The Lost Sheep

K4t wrote: »

There's a reason it is so much bigger. To play soccer at the highest level internationally requires far more skill and conditioning than rugby respectively. That's simply true regardless of your allegiance. The competition is massive, and also controlling a ball with only your feet is always going to require more skill than using your hands.

Like others have asked how does Soccer require far more skill and conditioning?

NIMAN wrote: »

I remember watching rugby when I was young, and iirc players used to try to run past the defenders. Now they appear to just run into them, head on.

Is rugby becoming less skillful?

No the sport isn't. They don't appear to run into them not past them. Defences are better with advent of professionalism and its harder to score but no attackers don't just run head on into the opposition

dreamers75 wrote: »

in fairness its not hard to play rugby, get ball run....pass ball.

Dont see any sort of skill in that whatsoever....

Now kicking the ball which in top level rugby is what wins games, thats a skill......

:pac:
Soccer is the same. Run... pass ball. No skill in that :rolleyes:

NIMAN wrote: »

Trying not to troll here but rugby to me looks like a team of 15 players where maybe 5 or 6 are the skillful ones. The rest act like battering rams to help the 5 or 6 win games.
Of course I've never played rugby and I could be completely wrong! Its just how it looks to me.
Re: scoring. The thing I always liked about football is that due to the low scoring a goal is a BIG thing. There mighe be 90mins of dogged tactics to get that one goal. Thats why football fans celebrate a goal so much. Its also the reason given as to why the Yanks wouldn't take to it for so long, as they love scoring and high scoring.
Rugby, and both GAA codes are loaded with scores. I have been to both rugby and GAA live games, and scores are often celebrated with small rounds of applause. Every football match I have been at, ever, each goal was celebrated in a way you wouldn't normally see in other sports.

No. I would completely disagree with that. Who would you define as the only 5/6 skilful guys. What do you consider as being skilful?

MD1990 wrote: »

Alot easier at International level as there is only about 6 good rugby teams.
Compared to Soccer the most popular spot in the world.

6 good teams.:rolleyes: Never will be as many as soccer but its easier to compete in soccer to a large extent.