Ulster Bank League 2018-2019 Talk/Gossip/Rumours

The Lost Sheep

DelBoy Trotter wrote: »

Wesley won 20-17 after extra time. And UCC won yesterday 27-11

Hopefully UCC can win next week as better spread of clubs in top flight then as better not to have 6 Dublin sides in top flight.
5 Dublin, 2 Cork, 2 Limerick and Ballynahinch would be ok.

The Lost Sheep

Next seasons 5 divisions.
1A
Cork Con, Clontarf, Lansdowne, Trinity, Garryowen, UCD, Young Munster, Terenure, Old Wesley or UCC, Ballynahinch
1B
Shannon, Old Wesley or UCC, Naas, Malone, Banbridge, St Marys, Old Belvedere, Armagh, Highfield, Navan
2A
Buccaneers, Ballymena, Cashel, Queens, UL Bohemians, Old Crescent, Dolphin, Nenagh, MU Barnhall, Rainey Old Boys
2B
Blackrock, Galwegians, Greystones, Sligo, Dungannon, Corinthians, Wanderers, Belfast Harlequins, Ballina, Malahide
2C
Skerries, Sundays Well, Midleton, Bruff, Omagh, City of Derry, Tullamore, Bangor, Enniscorthy, Clonmel

Divided by county
1A
1 or 2 Cork, 5 or 6 Dublin, 2 Limerick, 1 Down
1B
1 Limerick, 2 or 3 Dublin, 1 or 2 Cork, 1 Kildare, 1 Meath, 1 Armagh, 1 Antrim, 1 Down
2A
1 Westmeath, 2 Tipperary, 2 Antrim, 1 Derry, 2 Limerick, 1 Kildare, 1 Cork
2B
2 Galway, 1 Sligo, 1 Mayo, 3 Dublin, 1 Wicklow, 1 Antrim, 1 Tyrone
2C
2 Cork, 1 Offaly, 1 Limerick, 1 Derry, 1 Wexford, 1 Dublin, 1 Offaly, 1 Tipperary, 1 Tyrone

Stainalert

1A Final Cork Con v Clontarf

Should be an excellent final this weekend. 2 really good teams with some excellent talent. Very hard to pick between them really.

1B UCC v Old Wesley

Big ask for Old Wesley playing away with only a 6 day turnaround and extra time in their last game. Both teams play some attractive rugby so great game for the neutral observer.

OldRio

The final is live on RTE2 at 2.45 Sunday.

DelBoy Trotter

UCC have won the play off against Old Wesley and will be in 1A next year

luke9311

DelBoy Trotter wrote: »

UCC have won the play off against Old Wesley and will be in 1A next year

Not surprised but also would have said either team could have gotten it impressed with Wesley’s style of play tbh. Score?

The Lost Sheep

luke9311 wrote: »

Not surprised but also would have said either team could have gotten it impressed with Wesley’s style of play tbh. Score?

41-19

The Lost Sheep

Game just kicked off
Anyone watching?

Squidgy Black

Fantastic try by Con there.

Been a tetchy start for both sides, we've been just trying to hold on to the ball as much as possible and not really going anywhere with it, up until the try Con hadn't seen much of the ball. Will be interesting to see if it opens up a bit more now.

The Lost Sheep

Try 2 for Con. 14-3. Great score by Jermyn. Clontarf just making silly mistake that Con capitalise on

Squidgy Black

2nd try for Con with a man in the bin, poor defending from Tarf and Power stood up at 15.

Squidgy Black

Jermyn will be making an appearance in Power's nightmares for the next couple of weeks, superb try saving tackle.

Paul Smeenus

Would yer woman ever give over about the Tarf lineout...

troyzer

Interesting interview with Joe Schmidt there.

Squidgy Black

Pass looked forward to me there

The Lost Sheep

Try awarded. 19-13 to Con. Conversion to come

Squidgy Black

Commentators repeating how it's a shame about the uncontested scrums is unneeded. It's obviously not an ideal scenario but the way they're conveying it is as if it's a flaw in the league and a regular occurrence.

Jump_In_Jack

Con 25-13 Tarf, 3 mins left.
Final score 28-13

troyzer

Game over.

Squidgy Black

Our attack just couldn't get any momentum together inside Con's 22, and their defence was outstanding. They made some great breaks and took advantage of some really poor defensive positioning in our line.

Well deserved win.

MrMusician18

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Game just kicked off
Anyone watching?

Doesn't look like there's many there

So much for this being rugby country :rolleyes:

Squidgy Black

MrMusician18 wrote: »

Doesn't look like there's many there

So much for this being rugby country :rolleyes:

It's an amateur club game. On a bank holiday Sunday.

troyzer

MrMusician18 wrote: »

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Game just kicked off
Anyone watching?

Doesn't look like there's many there

So much for this being rugby country :rolleyes:

*Sigh*

It's club rugby. They're hardly going to sell out Lansdowne.

The Lost Sheep

MrMusician18 wrote: »

Doesn't look like there's many there

So much for this being rugby country :rolleyes:

:rolleyes:
You only post here to have a go at rugby...
Was few thousand there. Decent enough crowd. What kind of crowd did you expect to be there for a club final?

MrMusician18

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

:rolleyes:
You only post here to have a go at rugby...
Was few thousand there. Decent enough crowd. What kind of crowd did you expect to be there for a club final?

I'm not having a go.

What I'm just saying is that you'd actually have to wonder about the health of the game when the national club showpiece is getting a similar attendance to a mid table winter's league of Ireland game.

troyzer

MrMusician18 wrote: »

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

:rolleyes:
You only post here to have a go at rugby...
Was few thousand there. Decent enough crowd. What kind of crowd did you expect to be there for a club final?

I'm not having a go.

What I'm just saying is that you'd actually have to wonder about the health of the game when the national club showpiece is getting a similar attendance to a mid table winter's league of Ireland game.

The game is fine. Club rugby just isn't fundamentally a mass spectator sport. I went to Trinity and I'd support Trinity but I wouldn't be arsed heading into town to watch Con and Clontarf. I would have gone had Trinity made it though.

The catchment areas for these clubs is really small, it's hardly surprising.

MrMusician18

troyzer wrote: »

The game is fine. Club rugby just isn't fundamentally a mass spectator sport. I went to Trinity and I'd support Trinity but I wouldn't be arsed heading into town to watch Con and Clontarf. I would have gone had Trinity made it though.

The catchment areas for these clubs is really small, it's hardly surprising.

There's 8 clubs in cork city, 9 including Douglas. The catchments aren't that small. 30k, (ok, 4 clubs involved there) turn up for the GAA club finals and they actually have much smaller catchments

The Lost Sheep

MrMusician18 wrote: »

There's 8 clubs in cork city, 9 including Douglas. The catchments aren't that small. 30k, (ok, 4 clubs involved there) turn up for the GAA club finals and they actually have much smaller catchments

You cant compare the GAA club finals considering everything at play. You have all the best inter county players playing club hurling/football all the time. That isnt the case with AIL/club rugby.

troyzer

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

MrMusician18 wrote: »

There's 8 clubs in cork city, 9 including Douglas. The catchments aren't that small. 30k, (ok, 4 clubs involved there) turn up for the GAA club finals and they actually have much smaller catchments

You cant compare the GAA club finals considering everything at play. You have all the best inter county players playing club hurling/football all the time. That isnt the case with AIL/club rugby.

Exactly. Corofin and Dr. Crokes is much closer to Galway and Kerry than Cork Con and Clontarf would be to Munster Vs Leinster.

It's decent enough to watch on telly but realistically it's nowhere near the same standard as professional rugby.

The Lost Sheep

troyzer wrote: »

Exactly. Corofin and Dr. Crokes is much closer to Galway and Kerry than Cork Con and Clontarf would be to Munster Vs Leinster.

It's decent enough to watch on telly but realistically it's nowhere near the same standard as professional rugby.

And no person should ever be going expecting it but far more people(including many here on the forum in general) should at least try next season to attend some more club rugby be it junior or senior club rugby

The Lost Sheep

troyzer wrote: »

Exactly. Corofin and Dr. Crokes is much closer to Galway and Kerry than Cork Con and Clontarf would be to Munster Vs Leinster.

It's decent enough to watch on telly but realistically it's nowhere near the same standard as professional rugby.

And no person should ever be going expecting it but far more people(including many here on the forum in general) should at least try next season to attend some more club rugby be it junior or senior club rugby

troyzer

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

troyzer wrote: »

Exactly. Corofin and Dr. Crokes is much closer to Galway and Kerry than Cork Con and Clontarf would be to Munster Vs Leinster.

It's decent enough to watch on telly but realistically it's nowhere near the same standard as professional rugby.

And no person should ever be going expecting it but far more people(including many here on the forum in general) should at least try next season to attend some more club rugby be it junior or senior club rugby

Yeah, I've been pretty **** at this to be fair. I think I only went to two Trinity games.

sliabh 1956

Noticed Duncan Willams came on near the end what is the rule with Provincal players playing AIL games

The Lost Sheep

troyzer wrote: »

Yeah, I've been pretty **** at this to be fair. I think I only went to two Trinity games.

Only went to 12 or 13 games this season. Normally would go to closer to if not more than 20 games a season so cant say too much

Squidgy Black

sliabh 1956 wrote: »

Noticed Duncan Willams came on near the end what is the rule with Provincal players playing AIL games

Angus Lloyd started for Clontarf and Conor O'Brien and Vakh Abdaladze came on off the bench.

The Lost Sheep

sliabh 1956 wrote: »

Noticed Duncan Willams came on near the end what is the rule with Provincal players playing AIL games

Professionally contracted players can play division 1. Max of 6 Fully contracted players could play for any division1 team in any game but to play in final rounds as well as knockout games you had to have been in match day squad for 3 games in earlier rounds

Squidgy Black

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Only went to 12 or 13 games this season. Normally would go to closer to if not more than 20 games a season so cant say too much

Only got out to 4 home games in Castle Avenue this year. Noticed attendances were fairly poor. Weather and shelter unfortunately plays a part though at Castle Avenue.

sliabh 1956

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Professionally contracted players can play division 1. Max of 6 Fully contracted players could play for any division1 team in any game but to play in final rounds as well as knockout games you had to have been in match day squad for 3 games in earlier rounds

Thanks for that

GavMan

Is it time to consider playing this game at a smaller venue?

I do appreciate it is huge for players who might otherwise never get to play at HQ. But at the same time, that crowd in Donnybrook would have made for a better spectacle and atmosphere. Particularly on TV.

It's a tough call. I'm 50/50 on the question personally.

The Lost Sheep

GavMan wrote: »

Is it time to consider playing this game at a smaller venue?

I do appreciate it is huge for players who might otherwise never get to play at HQ. But at the same time, that crowd in Donnybrook would have made for a better spectacle and atmosphere. Particularly on TV.

It's a tough call. I'm 50/50 on the question personally.

Never for me. The premier club rugby game in the country should be played in the national stadium. We have few enough games played there beyond senior internationals. Play under 16/18 club all ireland finals as curtain raisers. IRFU assist clubs competing in those games bring as many fans as possible with help paying for buses etc and get them to stay for senior AIL final.

Squidgy Black

Playing in the Aviva is a spectacle not only for the players, but also for the fans seeing their home club in the national stadium, as well as the minis and other underage teams who get to have a runout at half time. I think taking that away from them and playing it in the likes of the RDS or Donnybrook would take a lot away from the event.

troyzer

The All Ireland in GAA is played in Croke Park and the LOI cup is in Lansdowne.

You always play your national club championship in your national stadium. The Welsh and the English do this as well, I'm sure there are other countries.

The Lost Sheep

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Playing in the Aviva is a spectacle not only for the players, but also for the fans seeing their home club in the national stadium, as well as the minis and other underage teams who get to have a runout at half time. I think taking that away from them and playing it in the likes of the RDS or Donnybrook would take a lot away from the event.

Spot on. Donnybrook should be used for provincial finals not senior all ireland finals

troyzer wrote: »

The All Ireland in GAA is played in Croke Park and the LOI cup is in Lansdowne.

You always play your national club championship in your national stadium. The Welsh and the English do this as well, I'm sure there are other countries.

Welsh do more and play many club finals in Millenium and i wish we did the same and played far more in Lansdowne road.

troyzer

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Playing in the Aviva is a spectacle not only for the players, but also for the fans seeing their home club in the national stadium, as well as the minis and other underage teams who get to have a runout at half time. I think taking that away from them and playing it in the likes of the RDS or Donnybrook would take a lot away from the event.

Spot on. Donnybrook should be used for provincial finals not senior all ireland finals

troyzer wrote: »

The All Ireland in GAA is played in Croke Park and the LOI cup is in Lansdowne.

You always play your national club championship in your national stadium. The Welsh and the English do this as well, I'm sure there are other countries.

Welsh do more and play many club finals in Millenium and i wish we did the same and played far more in Lansdowne road.

The Welsh club game to be fair is much better supported. And that's at the expense of their professional game.

RuPi

I totally agree with playing the final in Lansdowne Road, will Energia coming on as principal sponsor mean we could see a Finals day held in Energia Park or see play off finals between leagues moved to there? I hope not as clubs lose out on the home advantage but also bar takings but could be interesting to see if changes may happen. I know Ravenhill holds a good number of cup finals for teams the equivalent of J4 even and it is a big thing for clubs and players at all levels in Ulster. It would be a shame to deprive our best club players of the chance of playing at Lansdowne Road.

The Lost Sheep

troyzer wrote: »

The Welsh club game to be fair is much better supported. And that's at the expense of their professional game.

Im talking about the community game and the top welsh premiership sides are kind of different...

RuPi wrote: »

I totally agree with playing the final in Lansdowne Road, will Energia coming on as principal sponsor mean we could see a Finals day held in Energia Park or see play off finals between leagues moved to there? I hope not as clubs lose out on the home advantage but also bar takings but could be interesting to see if changes may happen. I know Ravenhill holds a good number of cup finals for teams the equivalent of J4 even and it is a big thing for clubs and players at all levels in Ulster. It would be a shame to deprive our best club players of the chance of playing at Lansdowne Road.

Hopefully we wont see finals moved to Donnybrook and certainly not playoff finals whih should be kept in the venue of the higher ranked club from season rankings.
Ulster are excellent at playing finals in Ravenhill as are Connacht in Sportsground. Thomond Park since the redevelopment hasnt had games played on main pitch bar schools cup final/munster senior cup final but finals have started to be played on the back pitch again which is something

ArmchairQB

Playing a few games on AIL Finals day would be great. Division promotion relagation earlier in the day perhaps

The Lost Sheep

ArmchairQB wrote: »

Playing a few games on AIL Finals day would be great. Division promotion relagation earlier in the day perhaps

Using back pitch as well. Not enough club games played in the Aviva main pitch

D14Rugby

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Using back pitch as well. Not enough club games played in the Aviva main pitch

Can't really have more as the events are pretty much split 50/50 football/rugby then extra events on top of that so for every rugby match you add you're adding another football match. And every event has to go towards the stadium board and if the FAI can't match it they'll probably try block it or get in on the revenue. The stadium is also pretty expensive to open and run.

The Lost Sheep

D14Rugby wrote: »

Can't really have more as the events are pretty much split 50/50 football/rugby then extra events on top of that so for every rugby match you add you're adding another football match. And every event has to go towards the stadium board and if the FAI can't match it they'll probably try block it or get in on the revenue. The stadium is also pretty expensive to open and run.

Thats a cop out and FAI can manage it with FAI junior, intermediate and senior cup finals. Its ridiculous we dont do same with all levels of rugby games