@Peter Cavey: I have a life. Troll…why? Because you don’t agree with me or something I have said is not true?

Why so negative paul? Let us have our moment of history & enjoy it to the full… We waited 111 years for this moment so let us have it please..

If we’d won the World Cup yesterday, he’d have said it’s meaningless because we’ve never beaten the All Black’s. Some people just wasn’t to be miserable.

*want*

When you consider the size of Ireland compared to other countries and then to top it of it it has to compete with so many other sports we do amazing job in every sport very proud of our Irish athletes. They always manage to lift our little country into the stratosphere against the odds

Just watch …it will happen ….. Believe.

It’s rugby for Gods sake. A minority sport with no more than 4 realistic contenders for World Cup

Irish ‘knobs’ from ‘knob’schools. Athletes ur ah!!

New Zealand is population wise around the same size as Ireland, so what’s the big deal?

Because it is their national sport. Rugby comes way behind GAA and soccer in Ireland. So their rugby playing population is far bigger.

If you have to ask there’s no point.

@Paraic McDonagh: Ha, I’m not at all miserable and I really enjoyed the game. The fact remains that Ireland and Italy are the only two countries out of the top ten rugby nations that have never reached the last four of a world cup. They reached the quarter-finals in 1987.

@Celtic_Horizon: What other sports are we amazing in? Serious question.

They teach English grammar and punctuation in those schools as well.

@Veroníca: I always get the sense that the Irish rugby team are over hyped by both the media and advertisers.

@Paul Kealy: They have only reached the quarter finals since 1987*

Punch way above our weight in lightweight rowing!

Most stories of success and achievement have guys like Paul who seem to go against the status quo and do down that success usually using the “what about ” argument .It a reflection of Paul’s inadequacy and immaturity ,”look at me I’m different so I’m cool”.It’s especially crass on this story which was about the tribute the team made to the recently deceased Axel Foley.

@Paul You seem to be a very negative person and most likely very high maintenance. But as I said in my post we do have amazing athletes. The biggest sport in our country is GAA amazing doesn’t even come close to describing these guys and ladies. But to give up so much of their free time to play for free in club and inter county every year no other sport can claim to have the same passion. Then our soccer team they get lot of stick but if all the miserable haters out there stopped dishing them and look at what they are achieving at the moment is pretty special how many players do we have in top flight soccer? Fifa has more members than the UN and to be even in that top 100 is an achievement and to top it of our highest ever ranking in was 5th at one point think about 5th best in the world. Then it’s probably the rugby realistically they probably have the smallest pool of players in rugby world but yet they are always up there with the best who can forget england in Croke Park legends. Now how about minority sports how many boxing champions has Ireland had since the 80′s seriously competing with the likes of the US and latin American countries where boxing is in there blood we have managed some pretty amazing moments in professional and amateur boxing. Who can remember Olympics in Barcelona 92 or London 2012? Or how about our athletes in athletics. At European, world or Olympics we always manage to get few medals. That’s not even looking at our sailors, rowers, ufc fighters (in case u didn’t know we have pretty big call there), our cricket team with some big upset results in recent years and just about every other sport I’m sure we would have someone in there so ya I believe we have some really AMAZING athletes.

Sorry edit it wasn’t 5th it was 6th

Don’t forget the golfers…….

Same as hurling then !!!! :-)

OMG forgot them Padraig Harrington and his AMAZING achievement in 2008 and we just seem to be getting better and better at the moment

@Bob Woodward: BOOM thats a smack down of a comment Bob Woodward. I love it sums up exactly what i was thinking , there is always a miserable git who wants to put a damper on things.

So Paul Wales have reached the WC semi finals twice ,1987 and 2011, they got beaten out the gate by Australia yesterday who in turn were well beaten by NZ twice in the last few months.So are Wales a better team than Ireland NOW because they reached a world cup semi in the Past ,

Don’t feed the troll!! It just keeps coming back like a stray cat….

@Celtic_Horizon: Negative, not at all, high maintenance…lol if only. The thing is I don’t buy into media and advertising hype or that we are so amazing. There are millions of sports people in amateur sports throughout the world who give their free time week in and week out to play at amateur level. Passion in sport is universal, it is certainly not unique to Irish participants. As for rugby and the small country argument etc if you take the amount of people playing rugby as a proportion of the general population as well, we emerge as a very keen rugby playing nation. Take a look at the proportion of the general population of the most successful rugby nations who actually actively take part in playing rugby:

England – 4.9%

Ireland – 3.35%

New Zealand – 3.1%

Wales – 1.65%

South Africa – 1.25%

Scotland – 0.72%

France – 0.48%

Australia – 0.39%

Italy – 0.1%

Rugby union is a game played by a very small proportion of the population in any country, but in England, Ireland and New Zealand is disproportionately popular.

The Irish football team were ranked 6th in 1993, 23 yrs ago. Wales were ranked 8th last year, a country with a population of 3 million.

I would have thought boxing was in Irish blood also no?

@Bob Woodward: Bob I enjoyed the New Zealand game. I thought it was a thoroughly well deserved victory and hugely enjoyable. If it is different or cool not to be a realist and not buy into media advertising spin or the usual Irish hype, so be it. Although I would suggest you ask again who is more immature or inadequate (and insecure), someone stating that a sports team has never reached a world cup final in or a grown adult, getting offended and taking personal insult with that? I am not sure what the late great Axel Foley has to do with my comment about world cup semi finals or did you just throw that in there to add effect?

@Brian Hackett:

I don’t know if wales are better than Ireland at rugby, what difference does it make and why compare Ireland to Wales…because of population?

‘Git’ You are so upset and angry with a stranger on a screen who said Ireland have never reached a rugby world cup semi final…man, think about that, how old are you.

@Paul Kealy: what media advertising??? do you want the media to ignore the match,You are whataboutery merchant , look at your comment above for evidence. Ireland haven’t reached a world cup semi , yes that is a fact , i dont dispute that . What i do dispute is using it the play down a great victory yesterday. This could be a step along the way to a world cup semi or final in 2019, so cheer up things the future is bright , dont dwell in the past

@Bob Woodward:

Inadequacy:

The state or quality of being inadequate; lack of the quantity or quality required.
inability to deal with a situation or with life.

Bob. You copy and paste every link of every post you comment on here into your Facebook…It seems you spend hours every day congratulating yourself on your sharp wit and keen observational skills yet not one person ever seems to agree. Why on earth would you do that? Very mature of you. Are you sure you dont think you are cool and different Bob?

@Bob Woodward: Bob rugby seems to get a disproportionate amount of air time from the media and it is overwhelmingly positive when not always deservedly so. The furore over this Irish team is nauseating and there seems to be a never ending reverence applied to the Irish rugby team, no matter what, win lose or draw. They’re infallible in the eyes of the media.The terminology used to describe them (this is in no way a slight on the players, or the game, rather my gripe is with the media’s treatment of the sport) is frequently along the lines of “heroes, legends etc” . I remember someone even suggested POC getting injured was the sporting equivalent of Mick Collins being shot….and you say I want to be cool and different, you’re a gas man Bob ;)

I said it was a great victory Bob, I also said they have never reached the semi finals of a world cup.

I am very cheerful :)

@Brian Hackett:

“Boom”…”Smackdown” WWF??

Easy fella. How old are you…and why are you so upset over a game, a sport.

Name one other sporting amateur organisation in the world that is a well set up as GAA and has it’s OWN stadiums in more than one country

@Celtic_Horizon: Huh? Not sure what you are going on about the GAA for? All I said was that the Irish rugby team have never reached the semi finals of a world cup, what has the GAA got to do with anything?…But anyway, since you asked, ‘amateur’ is not entirely accurate in the true sense of the word. We can start with the managers and coaches who are attached to club teams up and down the country, the vast majority of whom get paid a fee for every training session and match day they have. The majority of inter county managers also get paid for their services. The figures can vary enormously but range from €40,000 to €100,000 when we throw in all those ‘material rewards and benefit in kind’ which cover a multitude. If we assume that between football and hurling there are 40 paid managers and they average about €50,000 a head all in it brings us to €2,000,000. Other straws in the wind regarding the abuse of finance for GAA activities are harder to prove but they certainly exist. Several players have been financially rewarded to transfer to different club teams for example. The likes of Dublin GAA have received millions in recent years, not to mention the millions more in sponsorship they rake in. So all in all it would be more accurate to state that the GAA is a slightly amateur organisation.

Do you work for the GAA or something, is that it? Do you want, a pat on the back from a stranger on a screen?…OK, well done, the GAA is a very well run organisation and you do a great job, it’s also brilliant that they have their own stadiums in more than one country. Fair play to ye, ye are only brilliant. There ya go :)

@Celtic_Horizon: “But to give up so much of their free time to play for free in club and inter county every year no other sport can claim to have the same passion.”

Thats not true also. Billions (Not thousands) of people of all ages give up their time every week to play football (soccer) throughout the globe for the love of the game also. 2.6 billion play amateur soccer world wide, in local leagues, school cups, pub leagues….the list is endless and they are hugely passionate about the game so it is not true that no other sport can claim to have such passion. By the way most of the league of Ireland lads train hard and dedicate their lives to football also even though most of them are on no more than they would get on the dole

@Celtic_Horizon: “no other sport can claim to have the same passion.”… What about the Olympics and all the amateur athletes there, are you suggesting they are not passionate? :)

Some ppl are just never happy. Hate bloody trolls

@Celtic_Horizon: Now you are resorting to the old ‘troll’ nugget because you cant retort or debate and you feel silly….yet you were all talk earlier, what happned? :) A troll would generally attempt to rise a stranger for a reaction, I am offering my genuine opinion because you asked me and I have answered your questions. That and I coulnd’t care less about you but as you went to the trouble of getting really upset and writing me a long post I thought it polite to reply to all your questions. Now you are angry again because you cant really debate anything unless you want to look like you are contradicting yourself so of course I am a troll :)

I’m fairly happy with my lot actually, though I suspect my definition of happiness differs to yours. If I was to measure my happiness by sporting results and get really really happy over a game in America or indeed really angry because someone wounded my pride or jingoistic sporting patriotisim…well I guess that would suggest I am unhappy and use sporting occasions to escape my otherwise deep unhappiness…..like you perhaps?

@John R: Let’s not spew bull crap here now,New Zealand’s rugby population is not far bigger than Irelands. 156893 registered rugby players in New zealand, to 153080 registered rugby players in Ireland. Very small difference.

@Celtic_Horizon: Oh and I hate ‘bloody’ idiots who run away shouting ‘troll!!!’ when they have nothing else to say and get owned on a screen….give it up, you are begging to embarrass yourself.

@Paul Kealy: Hi Paul do you want a bigger shovel?

@Veroníca: 111 years, to win a rugby match….thats all ye waited for, really?

@Kerry Blake: Hi Kerry, for what exactly. To help you with the big hole you’re about to fall into? :)

@Martin Quinn: Good man Martin…How did I lose and how am I a begrudger? … I’m Irish and said it was a well deserved win and I thoroughly enjoyed the game. Are you OK hun?

@Martin Quinn: @Martin Quinn: Martin, I could eat a bowl of alphabet soup and shit a better retort than that.

Martin, name calling in a debate is called Ad Hominem (Personal Attack) The first person to use it automatically forfeits the debate unless they can follow up with a cogent explanation for why they called someone else a troll. So since you are the one attacking my character and not my belief by definition you are the troll not I.

The Irish rugby team haven’t reached a world cup semi final, and being reminded of that is enough to upset you so much? Why on earth are you so angry? I pity you if you ever have to confront real problems :(

Get a life man

@Martin Quinn: Oh go away you fool

@John Considine: it was lovely to meet you last night!