To: marketing@ulsterrugby.com
From: BallparkSent: 22 December 2010 13:54:50
Dear Sirs,
I wish to register my disappointment, that despite the inflationary price of an extra £3 per head on the terraces for the inter pros, the supporters are robbed off the chance of seeing a full on game between full strength teams. I note once again there will be no Irish internationals on show for the post Boxing day game with Leinster.
Whilst UR may well state it is the IRFU pulling the strings in these matters, the fact is, it is your ticketing policy in charging above the normal rate of Magners games that leads one to believe supporters are being short changed.
Not that I was expecting a reply but hey, it’s off my little hairy chest. How long can UR and the IRFU carry on at this game and expect the punters to dutifully turn up in droves as they did on Monday whilst the Irish internationals, remain wrapped for the most part in leg warmers and beanie hats.
My mood was not improved when I arrived at Ravenhill to find a limited number of portaloos outnumbered by yellow fluorescent staff. Being asked to show my ticket there and back from the toilets is adding to the apprehension about where the whole spectator experience is going at Ravenhill.
On Sunday I joined about 100 plus other hardy souls to clear snow from the pitch.
How is it that without anyone being told what to do, the pitch can be cleared of snow with tractor and trailers, wheel barrows and shovels, not to mention the odd brush, without any one as much as issuing an order. Whilst on Monday people with the same sensibilities and common sense found themselves herded like goats to market.
I did not enjoy the Monday Ravenhill experience. The atmosphere was flatter than a crepe from the continental market and the deflation continued apace as Ulster took the field and proceeded to play as if still on the dessert course of their Christmas dinner.
I left the ground feeling a bit sore from shovelling snow for 2 and half hours the previous day and feeling as though I had been treated to a second rate experience the next.
UR may well cite health and safety for the apparent corralling and shepherding of people at Ravenhill but unless they control the crowd control they will find no crowd to control anymore.
Media Type
I didn’t bother to read much of the media comment on the game. By and large the Irish Times and Independent rattled on about Leinster’s strength in depth and how with umpteen missing first teamers, stuffed Ulster.
That was about the height of it and you couldn’t argue, although they conspicuously failed to mention any of Ulster’s missing first teamers. I don’t agree with the UAFC regulars that the Times and Indie spout drivel but there is a trend which runs through it as follows:
Ulster do well against, for example Bath and the Irish papers post complimentary notices but usually endorse the victory with some sub text on Ulster’s Saffie contingent. They imply that they’re expensive imports who have been brought in to assist Ulster in their Heiny quest and have just completed what they have been paid to do in helping Ulster winning the game.
A loss such as last Monday’s and it’s much along the lines of there you go, Ulster fail to achieve, Leinster quite the fantastic. Analysis of Ulster’s game is pretty much nil. That’s about it, lip service when required and ignorance when necessary.
I’m not arguing the Irish media ought to do more, I’m entirely thankful for some meaningful analysis which tends to be missing from our own media outlets, chiefly the Belfast Telegraph and the News Letter. Of the two the NL tends to be slightly more critical but really you get the feeling that the local journos really don’t want to ask too many pertinent questions for fear of knocking the status quo.
The Belfast Telegraph’s rugby site for Ulster and rugby has headlines relating to Sale Sharks new coach, the innermost thoughts of Rob Moffat and what the IRB did next according to Peter Bills. Scratch around amongst this news debris and you’ll find articles on Ulster.
We unfortunately lie in a no man’s land betwixt English dominated media outlets and the southern press whose priorities lie not unnaturally elsewhere but who are obliged to cover Ulster from an IRFU perspective.
What it means is that McLoughlin and Ulster are unlikely to come under harsh scrutiny and tough questions on performance. They are as likely to be dismissed as irrelevant as be dammed with faint praise. That is our lot, a backwater of professional rugby who occasionally make waves.
Munster New Year
If Leinster’s visit caused me unease, then Ulster’s visit to Munster causes further disquiet. The team selection appears to be of the non serious type with youngsters and fringe players sent to do battle with the league leaders and no real conviction apparent in the squad announced that they are determined to get back on track.
It really was naive of me to imagine that the inter pro’s would be full on games between respective provinces and not the watered down contests that have been a feature so far.
Long term this is poor for the game as the prolonged devaluation of the competition will lead to a certain contempt amongst the supporters who will ultimately vote these contests as one might cast a ballot against a politician who has had one benefit of the doubt too many.
Anyone who thinks Ulster will turn up and beat Munster, aka the 38pt. scoreline of a few years ago are not being realistic. That is one of those waves I mentioned earlier and we’re unlikely to leave the backwater this time. A beating is in the offing on Saturday.
Wherefore Art Thou Leaders?
In a week when I went to work in a place with no running water, no operational toilets and some fire exits closed I have begun to wonder where this country is headed. The head of the Water Service unintentionally appeared to have enjoyed his Christmas turkey rather too well whilst trying to explain where his organisation is getting it wrong.
Our politicians continue to huff and puff, as if producing volumes of cant will disguise the fact they are no longer taken seriously by anyone other than themselves.
We don’t have a strong leader who can be perceptibly relied upon to give real leadership in a time of crisis. Instead what we get is meetings called, press conferences given, where strong views are voiced but little real action happens as a result.
It’s somewhat reminiscent of Ulster rugby and its coaches. There is little confidence that the wrongs evident on Monday will be put to right on Saturday coming. A lack of perceptible strong arm leadership gives the impression of a boat at the wiles of the prevailing winds. We’re either on the rocks or riding a wave.
On that note – just time to wish my one reader a Happy New Year.
Corrections, comments or questions?