by James Griffin
For players and supporters, the rivalry between our provinces can represent rugby at its best and most enjoyable. The annual competition between our provinces and the history and tradition associated with them can drive individual players and their teams, inspiring them to even higher performance levels, and bring supporters together in shared enthusiasm like few other games can. This can be seen annually in Thomond, the RDS, Ravenhill, and the Sportsground.
Rugby rivalries are dynamic relationships with many participants - opposing coaches, opposing players, opposing supporters, sponsors, the media, and others. When the rivalry at provincial level is healthy, the intense competition can engender respect, passion, superior performances, and enjoyment. Whatever antagonism exists is balanced by a shared understanding that the two opposing coaches, the teams and their supporters need each other as integral halves in the game itself and longer term to act as a driver to push on to new and even higher performance levels.
However, when supporters lose perspective on the purpose and relative importance of a game of rugby, rivalries can turn ugly. That ugliness can manifest itself in ways that threaten to undermine our sport at every level. It can infect the overall climate of our game, creating an atmosphere where sportsmanship is replaced by oneupmanship and even more sinister outcomes. It can result in demonization, name-calling, and taunting; provide enjoyment but for all the wrong reasons; and ultimately undermine support at national team level - the pinnacle of our sport.
Have we reached rugby armageddon here? Not quite yet but a substantial minority have, I fear, migrated from healthy to unhealthy rivalry.
So if that is the case, what can be done to to rebuild a rivalry that has turned somewhat ugly? Other sports have developed Codes of Conduct setting out acceptable behaviours and punishments for infringements. I'm not sure that that is necessary here or even that such a Code could be applied. I would simply ask though - "what kind of culture do we want to have in our game?" And furthermore "what are we, as rugby supporters, going to do about it?"
Apologies about the length of my comment but this is something that has concerned me for some time.
James Griffin is originally from Tipperary, lives in Dublin where he is married to a Dubliner and Leinster supporter. He supports Ireland, then Munster and after that, other Irish teams when his own is not involved.
Editor’s note – this was left as a comment on the HoR Facebook page as part of a thread on a different topic, but I felt it warranted a post of its own as it is well worth discussing. Please share your views if you can.
