Plenty of people think an NI flag is close enough. Its white, red, and it has the red hand on it. I had a lecture from some boring cunt about this in the beer tent at the '99 final. You have to consider that a lot of decent rugby people in Ulster will basically refuse to have an argument about tedious shite like flags. I agree they should encourage the proper Ulster Rugby flags, I think they had a couple of thousand made for the semi.

No tricolours at Lansdowne so.

This.

Leinster rugby hand them out like smarties at every home match, hence everyone has at least one, and it's the flag of choice.

He's U18 this year and might have got injured.

The clubs and schools should be run side by side with some clubs twinned with some schools and crossover training sessions etc so there's a seamless transition when leaving school. Schools in general makes the most sense IMO but then that is the traditional Leinster way that I'm most familiar with.

It follows on from the earlier article about catholics taking up rugby in the name of cross-community link-building while making passing mention of the fact that protestants taking up GAA just isn't happening.

Reading some of the posts here from certain forumers, I can see exactly where that comes from.

And right underneath this post what do we have?

you couldn't do it if you tried.

Rugby has a much more welcoming atmosphere to Catholics than the GAA up here has for Protestants, even southern GAA fans on here will tell you that.

Leinster have tried this with designating schools to clubs. It doesn't work as the 'big' schools pull their kids from the club teams come 5th year.

Ive no issue with whatever Norn Ireland /Ulster flag that Ulster fans bring with them..

What i do object is the South African flags waving ...FFS

Must yee!??!?!?

That would be ideal,but some prick has it in his head that schools are the saviour of Munster rugby and he has alienated a lot of clubs by cutting the acces to players that we had before,so a lot of guys that don't make the schools teams play no rugby at all and drift away from the game altogether.

In fairness they haven't started waving NZ flags,yet.

It's just too goddam easy.
Earl "I'm not sectarian but I just can't help jumping into every single discussion on same" the Bigot can't help himself.

Ehhh, come secondary school, we basically weren't allowed play for clubs if we were playing for the school team.

Yep this is the big problem. It doesn't happen that way in GAA as the underrage football comps are genrally played over the summer, and don't clash with the McCrory.

Also thanks to the county minor set up there is an opportunity for those from Football schools and those who purely play club football to play and train together at an early age.

Yes because thats me biting and not trying to get something going when I'm bored?

And I'm not remotely sectarian, so do one.

That's exactly what's being tried down here and it's pissing a lot of people off,we don't have the tradition of schools rugby being the pinnacle of playing days,and I hope we never do as we can't afford to lose 1 player that could make the grade just because he wasn't great when he was 16 years old.

Pretty sure I saw a silver fern one.

Of course your not sectarian Earl. You love us really

Does anyone know roughly what proportion of schools players continue to play at (any) club level?

Hmmmmm tell that to the likes of Jimmy Smyth and Peter Withnell

Lads anyone start a thread about the T Mcg interview in yesterdays Indo...?

As a matter of interest when did the Ulster rugby team last visit Donegal?

Dunno. Jeremy Davidson was at our official opening though.
http://www.ulsterrugby.com/branch/development/118.php

Check out the link. The guys standing on the far left in the pink shirt and the guy on the far right sitting down in purple are 2 of our locks. HAHA.

I apreciate you're trolling, but its a sport. You start playing or supporting a team because you enjoy the sport. The idea of Prods playing GAA because they want to be down with the Catholics is just as silly as the idea of Catholics playing rugby so they can build links with the Protestant community.

Rugby in Ulster has always been apolitical, more Catholics are taking up the game, hopefully it will continue to grow because people who haven't much knowledge or experience of the game are introduced to it and want to participate. If they do want to participate the overwhelming likelihood is that they will be welcomed with open arms wherever they go. There are always a few cunts in any game. I would be fascinated to know more about this institutionally-bigoted rugby club is that Ether is alluding to, because in my experience they are totally unlike anything I have experienced. Maybe that because I'm too middle class and I only hang around with gentlemen, who knows?!

By the way I am just back from lunch and was reading about Futzy and Ruan Pienaar participating in a cross-community scheme up in Ballymurphy. We're even flying in the second best hooker ever, so that he can meet the best hooker ever, and help some kids from West Belfast fall in love with the game.

The reality is that most people in Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan have no allegiance to the Ulster team. Unlike Leinster where they now have a policy of visiting "country" clubs and spreading the game to areas where it hasn't been promoted previously this idea does not appear to have been embraced by Ulster.
It is possible that the All Blacks have paid more visits to Donegal than Ulster Rugby have.

I would suggest that means that ulster are doing more to reach out across communities than the gaa up here. Let's not forget that the ulster counties (at least the NI ones within ulster) all voted against opening up Croker too. Both gaa and football are well behind ulster in this regard.

Afoa and payne were up in Derry the other week coaching. Ulster are doing all they can. They came a tad late to the game in this regard I agree but they are doing their damnedest now.

The guy in black beside Davidson...





Also, Leinster have made great strides in moving into previously GAA territory in recent years. It's obviously different in the North but making big efforts in the three counties outside of NI would be a great move.

Well your Goalie played rugby for us last season so maybe he had a small influence

Should it not have been the job of the Ulster Branch President to open a new club?

Just asking.

Sweet thread

Officials from Ulster Rugby are down here fairly often. The ABs visit happened before my club was even formed. And they only visited to the area where Dave Gallagher was from. They opened letterkennys new ground then fucked off again. They come from Ulster on scouting trips to the schools. My brother was brought with the Donegal development squad up to train with the team.

Paul Durcan really?
Big cunt isn't he?

Yep not the season just gone but the one before he played a good bit - threw him in at number 8 he was a bit lost at times as only learing the game. Great placekicker though could easily slot it over from the halfway.
He is friends of a few Donegal lads in the club. Gave up around Jan/Feb when GAA training started as we don't pay as well- good mileage Dublin to Ballyshannon a couple of times a week

I'll bet he was lost. The image of him playing 8 is hilarious

He was pretty good ball in hand and struggled fitness wise as a big lad but there would be times their backrow would be halfway down the pitch and he would still be bound onto the scrum- good hands though so lots of potential if played a bit more.

Papa wouldn't be known for his mobility, or his place kicking either !

He plays full forward alot for his GAA Club. The launch it up to him all the time and he stands there as he is tall enough to get most with out jumping and heavy enough to stand still and not be pushed off it.

Just read it,some good points in it and I hope he has handed in a report on what he feels wold help improve things,
This part should be a priority to get right,now not next year