Ulster vs Munster - Are fans being shortchanged?

[Moiraman]

Belfast News Letter reports today that due to Irish Training Camp both Ulster and Munster will be without their internationals for their derby encounter on 30th. This game is almost a sell out yet we will more than likely see both sides well below full strength. Maybe I'm wrong here but I have a feeling that it's quite a while since we have seen a full strength Munster side at Ravenhill. Can anyone remember the last time Ronan O'Gara and Paul O'Connell turned out for their province here? Are fans being short changed or is this what we have to expect and live with in busy calendar when it is traditional to play Irish derbies during the festive period? Views on this appreciated.

[Jackie Brown]

I agree with you, Ulster Branch charge the same for HC tickets as they do for Irish Derbys. Therefore they should be held with the same prestige.

It should be important that the Provinces are full strength for the Heineken Cup but the Interpros should be scheduled to allow for the same. I understand it is not possible at present due to fixture congestion, however we seem to see big heated no holes barred Munster-Leinster games with everyone involved yet Ulster tend to be short changed. If this is true about an Ireland Camp I would LOVE to know how the UB can justify charging more for these games.

[Cap'n Grumpy]

Are fans being short changed or is this what we have to expect

We may be getting short changed (except if a ST holder ), but if you expect anything different, you're either a fool or an alien who hasn't been near a rugby match in the past decade and therefore doesn't know how these things work.

And yet, this topic keeps popping up each year and seems to surprise some people.

[Cap'n Grumpy]

I would LOVE to know how the UB can justify charging more for these games.

If you can sell out the ground at a high price, why would you sell it out at a low one?

Supply and demand - people will come out to these matches.

I still think we get our rugby on the cheap.

[Setanta]

Surprised at you Grumpy; bit of a smartass answer. The fact that the same comment comes up every year does not negate said comment. A fair question is a fair question no matter how often you have to repeat it.

[HwoodMike2umate]

I wont feel at all shortchanged if the Rockettes are out there in wee skimpy Santa outfits getting drenched in the rain.

[rumncoke]

Compared to the prices paid across the pond for football matches we get our entertainment on the cheap .

But there is an argument that one of the local matches in the festive season should be against Connaught , to have two big local derby matches in sucessive weeks is a big call and to then find that for one of those matches both sides will be with out key players is not really a sound piece of marketing.

Given that this is the first call of an Irish squad since the world cup there is every possiblity that it could be an enlarged squad as DK outlines his thinking for the next four years. ( yes I know he is only appointed for 2 years but the fact is he will be laying the foundations for a squad in four years . Two years to dismantle the current squad and two years to blend the next )

[fuzzylogic]

So . . . let me get this straight? Sorry JackieB but you are the man Im singling out here as an example . . .

Your on this thread agreeing that teams should be at full strength for the inter-pros . . . but yesterday you agreed with Rooster on another thread when he said that we should send a Ravens side down to Leinster.

Seems to be the general consensus on here that we should send a second XV down to Dublin, so why on earth should we expect other sides to send their full teams up to us

[cables]

Can anyone remember the last time Ronan O'Gara and Paul O'Connell turned out for their province here?

Probably 10 May 2002 both individually and together.

Both also played v Italy on 24 August 2007 after which PO'C stated his surprise at how much green was on show.

[lovesthehardground]

These fixtures should be rotated so that Ulster's "prize" home game at Christmas is Leinster one year, Munster next and Connacht the year after that. It wouldn't matter who the opposition is - it would probably be a sell out due to the festive time and families at home etc. In this way we would have the chance of seeing the big stars play at Ravenhill at other times of the season and not have to put up with second choice sides turning out.

Can't blame UR too much for ticket prices as they are a business looking to maximise their income opportunity. However if the fixtures were rotated each year at least we might see a full strength Munster team appearing at Ravenhill in October once every 3 years.

[Neil F]

Surprised at you Grumpy; bit of a smartass answer. The fact that the same comment comes up every year does not negate said comment. A fair question is a fair question no matter how often you have to repeat it.

I think the issue is that this question IS asked every year. At this point, it should be entirely EXPECTED that we won't see full strength sides. This is completely rational because it's happened year in year out. I think even before the IRFU player management programmes were fully dictating things, Munster still fairly rarely sent a full strength side to Ravenhill. I think we're talking about the last five years or more now. If, with the rugby supporting public fully expecting this to be the case (if they're not expecting it, they can only blame themselves at this point), they are still happy to pay the money at the gate, enjoy a few beers and watch non-full strength sides playing, is there really any right to complain?

As it stands, I think we'd be crying even more about the player management programmes if, for example, we had to drop our international players for home games against teams like Ospreys or Cardiff. At least when our internationals aren't available against fellow Irish provinces, the play surface is a little more level.

[BR]

From the IRFU's perspective, they want to impact the provinces in as fair a way as possible, therefore it is better to have their players missing from both sides of an irish derby (albeit the impact is greater on those with more central contracts) than pull some of our best players into camp while we play a welsh team packed with internationals.

Would you prefer to see PO'C playing well in red at Ravenhill or green at LR?

[BR]

.. Munster still fairly rarely sent a full strength side to Ravenhill.

And all-to-often didn't need to!

[Jackie Brown]

So . . . let me get this straight? Sorry JackieB but you are the man Im singling out here as an example . . .

Your on this thread agreeing that teams should be at full strength for the inter-pros . . . but yesterday you agreed with Rooster on another thread when he said that we should send a Ravens side down to Leinster.

Seems to be the general consensus on here that we should send a second XV down to Dublin, so why on earth should we expect other sides to send their full teams up to us

You my friend are an i.d.i.o.t! Of course we send half baked ravens sides to compete in these games. That's what I'm complaining about, it's due to the fixture list.

[Jackie Brown]

From the IRFU's perspective, they want to impact the provinces in as fair a way as possible, therefore it is better to have their players missing from both sides of an irish derby (albeit the impact is greater on those with more central contracts) than pull some of our best players into camp while we play a welsh team packed with internationals.

Would you prefer to see PO'C playing well in red at Ravenhill or green at LR?

They don't seem to have a problem with scheduling the Leinster Munster Interpros correctly so they can both send out full strength teams.