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Irish women's team let down by IRFU

  • 17-02-2012 10:19AM
    #1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,318 ✭✭✭Fishooks12


    From Irishtimes.com

    http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2012/0217/1224311917187.html

    THE IRFU have accepted “some responsibility” for the debacle that led to the Ireland women’s rugby squad’s 17-hour odyssey to Pau for last Saturday’s Six Nations match against France.

    On Friday the team flew to Paris only to miss the connection for the 800km TGV trip to Pau after being stranded in rush hour traffic. It meant an overnight train was boarded, with six women forced to share each berth. Despite three hours sleep in their hotel, on arrival in Pau at 7am, ahead of a 3.30pm kick-off, they bravely lost 8-7.

    Scott Walker, the IRFU’s newly appointed director of rugby development and the club game, was part of the entourage. At the post-match reception, Walker apologised to the players on behalf of the union.

    It is believed the women’s squad will be corporate guests of the IRFU at the Italy game on February 25th at the Aviva Stadium.

    Walker was unavailable to discuss future plans for women’s rugby yesterday but a new strategy regarding the development of Sevens and matches outside the Six Nations window, is to be “accelerated and announced in the coming weeks”.

    “The IRFU must take some responsibility in this,” said a union spokesman. “The IRFU will be reviewing the travel procedures and highlighting the problems the team experienced. The IRFU consider women’s rugby a key priority going forward in terms of investment and development and would reject that there is inequality in how the women’s team is treated.”

    When it was pointed out to a union spokesman the Irish men’s senior team went on an earlier chartered flight on Friday for a later kick-off in Paris on Saturday, it was claimed a direct comparison cannot be made.

    Why?

    Answer: The men are professional, the women amateur.

    The chartered flight, by the way, was full.

    When it was also highlighted that the Irish under-20 men’s team (there is no Irish under-20s women’s team) departed a day earlier for their match in Grenoble (by direct flight), it was again pointed out a direct comparison could not be made.

    Why?

    The under-20s are semi-professional and mostly students so they have more free time in comparison to the women, most of whom are in full-time employment.

    An IRFU statement continued: “In relation to this (the women’s) fixture, we felt it would be too great a time for them to take off from their daily lives by asking them to travel a day earlier and in fact the only possible flight option would see them having to travel on Wednesday, requiring three days off.”

    The squad, however, have managed to get time off work for several training camps this season.

    “The entire thing here is that whatever the IRFU are saying, the travel for the team was a massive cock-up,” said Alison Donnelly, former PR officer for the Irish women’s team and now head of communications at London Wasps.

    “There are loads of nearby airports (to Pau) and no international team should be negotiating rush hour Paris traffic to get to a game so far away the next day.”

    An online petition has been set up to hold the IRFU accountable for their treatment of women’s rugby. It will be submitted to the union at the end of March.

    Since former international winger Jeannette Feighery’s critical letter of the IRFU was printed in The Irish Times this week, the union have endeavoured to stress the annual budget “purely for the senior Ireland women’s team” is €230,000.

    “France and England are semi-professional, even Scotland and Wales have an under-20s team, Ireland don’t,” said Donnelly, editor of scrumqueens.com. “They play the Six Nations and that is it. They don’t get together again until November, so I don’t know what that money is being spent on. Five games a year. They don’t pay for World Cups because the IRB funds that.

    “They have invested in women officers in all the branches, which is good.”

    The Irish Women’s Rugby Football union was formally disbanded in 2008.

    “One of the key agreements in the process of integration was that there would be a separate women’s committee with a direct link to the IRFU domestic games committee,” Donnelly continued.

    “It existed for three seasons but appears to have been disbanded at the end of last season.”

    The union’s refusal to enter a women’s team in this summer’s European Sevens championship means they cannot qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. “The lack of Sevens investment or interest, however, is what really grates,” says Donnelly.

    “Ireland have no plan at all for women’s Sevens, and it is about to become a huge sport as the IRB are about to launch a world series, like in the men’s game”

    An absolute disgrace. It's a credit to the commitment of the team that they went on to only lose by a point.

    IRFU should hang their heads in shame for this. I was actually baffled reading it


Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 37,978 ✭✭✭✭irishbucsfan


    Not to mention a cancelled game because of cold weather the week before... Who are we, the FFR?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,335 ✭✭✭rugbug86


    Not to mention a cancelled game because of cold weather the week before... Who are we, the FFR?
    Era twas only half a game cancelled, we're only half as bad as the French ;-)




  • Met some of the women last year in Scotland after they beat the Scottish team in the 6N.

    They had a flight home at 5am in the morning (before the men's game) because they weren't given tickets for the game, nor had place booked nor had a flight chartered etc.

    They were serious craic though! Even without all the cushiness.


  • Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 35,930 Mod ✭✭✭✭pickarooney


    Is Biarritz airport not open at the moment or what?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,320 ✭✭✭Teferi


    Met some of the women last year in Scotland after they beat the Scottish team in the 6N.

    They had a flight home at 5am in the morning (before the men's game) because they weren't given tickets for the game, nor had place booked nor had a flight chartered etc.

    They were serious craic though! Even without all the cushiness.

    I was just about to relay this story...I remember one of them said "ah we're not important enough to stay around for the game".

    Was quite telling.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,976 ✭✭✭profitius


    Since former international winger Jeannette Feighery’s critical letter of the IRFU was printed in The Irish Times this week, the union have endeavoured to stress the annual budget “purely for the senior Ireland women’s team” is €230,000.

    “France and England are semi-professional, even Scotland and Wales have an under-20s team, Ireland don’t,” said Donnelly, editor of scrumqueens.com. “They play the Six Nations and that is it. They don’t get together again until November, so I don’t know what that money is being spent on. Five games a year. They don’t pay for World Cups because the IRB funds that.

    “They have invested in women officers in all the branches, which is good.”

    The Irish Women’s Rugby Football union was formally disbanded in 2008.

    “One of the key agreements in the process of integration was that there would be a separate women’s committee with a direct link to the IRFU domestic games committee,” Donnelly continued.

    “It existed for three seasons but appears to have been disbanded at the end of last season.”

    The union’s refusal to enter a women’s team in this summer’s European Sevens championship means they cannot qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. “The lack of Sevens investment or interest, however, is what really grates,” says Donnelly.

    “Ireland have no plan at all for women’s Sevens, and it is about to become a huge sport as the IRB are about to launch a world series, like in the men’s game”

    I presume the womens game is not exactly making a profit for the IRFU? If theres no market for womens rugby in this country then they can't complain. It says that the Irish womens rugby union was disbanded in 2008.

    There isn't even a mens 7's team and Connacht has to make do with limited resources.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,407 ✭✭✭✭justsomebloke


    Off topic posts have been removed, please keep thread on topic.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 25,662 ✭✭✭✭phog


    Met some of the women last year in Scotland after they beat the Scottish team in the 6N.

    They had a flight home at 5am in the morning (before the men's game) because they weren't given tickets for the game, nor had place booked nor had a flight chartered etc.

    They were serious craic though! Even without all the cushiness.

    I remember a game in the old Lansdowne Rd a few years back, it was being staged before a Senior game possible a 6Ns game and they and their supporters had to leave before the senior game, again no tickets were made available and that was a home game.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,930 ✭✭✭Jimoslimos


    profitius wrote: »
    I presume the womens game is not exactly making a profit for the IRFU? If theres no market for womens rugby in this country then they can't complain. It says that the Irish womens rugby union was disbanded in 2008.

    There isn't even a mens 7's team and Connacht has to make do with limited resources.
    I know as a professional sport money will always come into the reckoning, but I just feel it's a little cynical to determine a team's worth solely on a cost-benefit analysis.


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 756 ✭✭✭4PP


    Teferi wrote: »
    I was just about to relay this story...I remember one of them said "ah we're not important enough to stay around for the game".

    Was quite telling.

    Thats disgracefull carry on. I was in edinburgh for a Scotland v France 6N game & the ladies played afterwards.
    The entire French squad & staff came out onto the sidelines to cheer the girls on. True most of the public had left & they played in front of just a few thousand people but at least their male peers showed them some respect. Even formed a guard of honnour to applaud them off the field (they won). Thouroughly enjoyable match too btw, I'd even go so far as to say they had far better ball handling skills in difficult conditions than their male counterparts!


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,632 ✭✭✭ormond lad


    Please sign this very important petition in support of the girl's
    http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/televising-womans-rugby/


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,263 ✭✭✭✭Losty Dublin


    A friend of mine is involved with the women's committee and it's sad at times the treatment that they get most of the time from HQ.

    One year they had a home international in the 6N and up until 2 hours before the kick off, they had not been supplied with the national anthems for the game! That same season, she got a call at 11AM the day before another 6N home game to be told to pick up flags and goalposts before midday otherwise "they could do without them". When she asked why were they not sent to the ground she was told that the money wasn't there to send them the 2 miles nor had they the time to organise a courier :rolleyes:

    It's frankly disgraceful how they get treated; the girls know they are not the main show but they expect and deserve as much respect and planning as the other international squads get for their games.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 25,662 ✭✭✭✭phog


    A friend of mine is involved with the women's committee and it's sad at times the treatment that they get most of the time from HQ.

    One year they had a home international in the 6N and up until 2 hours before the kick off, they had not been supplied with the national anthems for the game! That same season, she got a call at 11AM the day before another 6N home game to be told to pick up flags and goalposts before midday otherwise "they could do without them". When she asked why were they not sent to the ground she was told that the money wasn't there to send them the 2 miles nor had they the time to organise a courier :rolleyes:

    It's frankly disgraceful how they get treated; the girls know they are not the main show but they expect and deserve as much respect and planning as the other international squads get for their games.

    TBH, I cant see why someone on the Ladies committee cant have flags and anthems ready way before the game, it's not like that the fixtures aren't know well in advance.

    BTW, for the IRFU to spend more on the ladies team then it may mean pulling some money back from the provinces or the senior side, there's only so much money in the purse.


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 756 ✭✭✭4PP


    phog wrote: »
    TBH, I cant see why someone on the Ladies committee cant have flags and anthems ready way before the game, it's not like that the fixtures aren't know well in advance.

    BTW, for the IRFU to spend more on the ladies team then it may mean pulling some money back from the provinces or the senior side, there's only so much money in the purse.

    Seriously phog, how much money can the ladies team cost? A few jerseys/shorts & socks? Of course a coaching/medical team, though they can double up with youth squads. No doubt they supply their own sports bra's. A few Flags on the end of a stick & a USB key with the anthems?.

    I'm sure if BOD,DK, POC & ROG amongst others were asked to give up a weeks wages they would do so without hesatation & it would go a long way towards covering the costs.

    Even suggesting that the ladies are a hindrance to the provinces or the male national team is laughable. Maybe we should pull out of the Special Olympics while we're at it?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,263 ✭✭✭✭Losty Dublin


    phog wrote: »
    TBH, I cant see why someone on the Ladies committee cant have flags and anthems ready way before the game, it's not like that the fixtures aren't know well in advance.

    That's my point; they were never given any of their own and had to beg, borrow and steal for what is basic match equipment. The apathy shown to them when they finally did get some to use was equally pathetic. If they are playing international rugby then the IRFU should ensure they have the correct gear; end of.
    phog wrote: »
    BTW, for the IRFU to spend more on the ladies team then it may mean pulling some money back from the provinces or the senior side, there's only so much money in the purse.

    I really don't think paying for or indeed making proper travel arrangement to games, basic game equipment, coaching sessions etc is asking much of an investment for the first XV women's squad nor is it a squeeze on the overall IRFU budgets.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,976 ✭✭✭profitius


    Are the IRFU sexist pigs? You'd think they were looking at this thread. Theres not even an Irish 7s team! How about those players who are missing out on that? What about UBL teams who have to make do with less?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,646 ✭✭✭washman3


    the women play for the love of the sport and have great craic, akin to players playing gaa club football and hurling. its amateur.
    we must not forget that modern day professional rugby and soccer is a business,not a sport,thus the large amount of boring/poor quality games.
    the result is paramonut.
    my point: the womens team will not make money for the IRFU who only feel obliged to even field a team because other unions do. which is all wrong by the way.!!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 25,662 ✭✭✭✭phog


    That's my point; they were never given any of their own and had to beg, borrow and steal for what is basic match equipment. The apathy shown to them when they finally did get some to use was equally pathetic. If they are playing international rugby then the IRFU should ensure they have the correct gear; end of.



    .

    My point was that the IRFU were making them available so why wait for matchday?
    I really don't think paying for or indeed making proper travel arrangement to games, basic game equipment, coaching sessions etc is asking much of an investment for the first XV women's squad nor is it a squeeze on the overall IRFU budgets

    Well obviously paying anything more and most of what you mention above will cost more than they're paying now is a squeeze. Last week someone was complaining about the jerseys the U20s were wearing. Some people need to realise that there isn't a bottomless pit of money out there for the IRFU to dip into.The IRFU have taken a hit on ticket sales so their budgets cant be as healthy as they envisaged when planning the revelopement of Lansdowne Road a couple of years back.

    BTW, I'm not defending the treatment that the ladies have received especially last week in France.


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