RP12 Semi-Final 1; Glasgow vs Munster, 16 May

First topic message reminder :

Glasgow Warriors v Munster Rugby

Friday 16 May 2014, KO: 19:35
Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow

Live on BBC ALBA/TG4/SC4

Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR, 29th competition game)
Assistant Referees: Giuseppe Vivarini, Stefano Penne (both FIR)
Citing Commissioner: Dennis Jones (WRU)
TMO: Carlo Damasco (FIR)

A. Teams:

I. Glasgow

15. Peter Murchie
14. Sean Maitland
13. Mark Bennett
12. Alex Dunbar
11. Tommy Seymour
10. Finn Russell
9. Chris Cusiter

1. Ryan Grant
2. Dougie Hall
3. Jon Welsh
4. Jonny Gray
5. Al Kellock (Captain)
6. Rob Harley
7. Chris Fusaro
8. Josh Strauss

16. Pat MacArthur
17. Gordon Reid
18. Geoff Cross
19. Tim Swinson
20. Leone Nakarawa
21. Niko Matawalu
22. Ruaridh Jackson
23. Sean Lamont

II. Munster

Felix Jones, Keith Earls, Casey Laulala, James Downey, Simon Zebo; Ian Keatley, Conor Murray; Dave Kilcoyne, Damien Varley - Capt, BJ Botha; Dave Foley, Paul O'Connell; CJ Stander, Sean Dougall, James Coughlan.

Replacements: Quentin MacDonald, James Cronin, John Ryan, Donncha O'Callaghan, Paddy Butler, Duncan Williams, JJ Hanrahan, Andrew Conway.

B. Previous Championships

I. Glasgow

None

Playoff Record - Played 3, Lost 3:
2010 Swansea: lost to Ospreys 5-20
2012 RDS: lost to Leinster 15-19.
2013 RDS: lost to Leinster 15-17.

II. Munster

Three (2002-2003; 2008-2009; 2010-2011)

Playoff Record - Played 3, Won 1, Lost 2:
2010 RDS: lost to Leinster 6-16.
2011 Thomond Park: beat Ospreys 18-11.
2012 Swansea: lost to Ospreys 10-45.

C. Form - head to head:

23 Played 23
8 Wins 14
14 Losses 8
1 Draws 1
44 Tries 57
31 Conversions 41
59 Penalties 51
1 Drop Goals 1
462 Points 523
26 Avg. Age 26

D. Form - this season & last:

Sat 1 December 2012, 19:45
Munster Rugby 31 - 3 Glasgow Warriors
Thomond Park

Fri 29 March 2013, 20:05
Glasgow Warriors 51 - 24 Munster Rugby
Scotstoun

Fri 25 October 2013, 19:35
Glasgow Warriors 6 - 13 Munster Rugby
Scotstoun

Sat 12 April 2014, 18:30
Munster Rugby 5 - 22 Glasgow Warriors
Thomond Park

MunsterMac wrote:Munster need to have a long, hard look at themselves in the mirror.

Despite all the waffling about fighting on 2 fronts and giving the league respect it seems we have not moved on one bit from the 'HC or bust' attitude which has pervaded everything in recent years.

Saturday evening was not just substandard but an insult to the thousands of fans who showed up in the wind and rain to support their team in their last home match of the season.

The performance was so bad indeed that the squad couldn't even come back out to acknowledge the fans at the end as many clubs do in their last home match.

It's about time that Munster realise that they can only win 2 tournament each year and the league deserves the same respect and degree of professionalism as the HC.

Disgusted.

Munstermac while I do agree with you everybody who supports Munster must share some of the blame. More people travelled to Toulon the previous weekend than turned up at Thomond. There is a huge inigma that Munster has built up around the HC and its difficult to see how thats going to change. Even the game against Leinster at the Aviva was a complete damp squib due 100% to the fact that the following week was HC week.

RDW_Scotland wrote:
Some words of wisdom - give them the quid and tell them there's 2 quid for them if the car is untouched when you get back!

This is one match where I'll be wearing my special 'south of the river' body armour...

It's not a sustainable PoV. There will come a time when Munster go through a drought in European competition. The league will be necessary to sustain interest. They can't depend on having a few big games every season in Europe whilst attendances in the Pro12 are low and performances are disinterested. It will hurt them commercially if nothing else.

Whiff of Cordite have more to say about it;

http://whiffofcordite.com/2014/05/12/summer-summer-summer-time/

The Munster fans online who are shrugging their shoulders and saying 'Sure, it's only the Pro12' are part of the problem.

This is a genuine question - if Munster win the league (which they might), would Munster fans still not regard this as a successful season because they didn't also win the HC? Have Leinster just redefined what a successful year should be in recent times (and ruined it for the rest of us)?

Penney won coach of the year at the Rabo awards last night, I noticed.

Munstermac while I do agree with you everybody who supports Munster must share some of the blame. More people travelled to Toulon the previous weekend than turned up at Thomond. There is a huge inigma that Munster has built up around the HC and its difficult to see how thats going to change. Even the game against Leinster at the Aviva was a complete damp squib due 100% to the fact that the following week was HC week.

True but I don't agree that the fans are in any way to blame. Fans don't have bottomless pockets and have to choose for themselves how they spend their money. Saturday's was a nothing match and over 16,000 still showed up on a terrible night.

The club however are supposed to be a professional sports organisation and as such I would expect them to give the lead in showing that each competition is as important as the other.

The last 3 performances at home to Ulster, Glasgow and Treviso have been shockingly bad and this at a time when they are trying to attract more fans to league matches.

Should Glasgow earn a home final, the Club desperately wants to keep the final in Glasgow, I for one have no problem with that. Celtic Park and Hampden are not available, so why would anyone seriously have any issue with the game being played at Ibrox? It’s a stone’s throw from our home ground, is a top class stadium and will allow more fans to see the game (should the demand be there).

If people don’t want to go to watch the final because it’s held at Ibrox then to be honest they are the exactly the kind of people I would not want anywhere near the game.

if Munster win the league (which they might), would Munster fans still not regard this as a successful season because they didn't also win the HC?

A season where we get to the semi of one competition and knock the juggernaut that is Toulon back on it's heals AND win the League??

Oh I'd consider that a very successful season.

However it seems that I am not a typical Munster fan.  

George Carlin wrote:This is a genuine question - if Munster win the league (which they might), would Munster fans still not regard this as a successful season because they didn't also win the HC?

No, I really don't think so. Well some would but a lot wouldn't as well. They didn't care about it before Leinster won any of their titles either. Success is winning the European Cup. Failure is anything else. Impossible to forget 2009, the year they won the league and Leinster won the Heineken Cup. The players did the bare minimum at the trophy presentation for the League title and got back into the dressing room as quickly as possible. Not a single player cracked a smile. You would have thought they were being presented with a urn full of a dear friends ashes not a trophy.

But their minds were exclusively on losing to Leinster in the semi-final that year, they still hadn't got over it and they weren't going to be happy with what they see as a meaningless consolation prize.

When you get right down to it... Munster are just obsessive about the European Cup to the point of distraction.

Dorothy_Mantooth wrote:If people don’t want to go to watch the final because it’s held at Ibrox then to be honest they are the exactly the kind of people I would not want anywhere near the game.

Seconded.   

I was getting a taxi home from a wedding on Saturday night, and the driver told how she had to eject her previous fare for singing 'orange songs' and calling her a 'Fenian' for no apparent reason. Frankly I'm surprised these morons are allowed to handle cutlery sharper than a wooden spoon, and I certainly don't want that attitude at Glasgow games.

IanBru wrote:

Dorothy_Mantooth wrote:If people don’t want to go to watch the final because it’s held at Ibrox then to be honest they are the exactly the kind of people I would not want anywhere near the game.

Seconded.   

I was getting a taxi home from a wedding on Saturday night, and the driver told how she had to eject his previous fare for singing 'orange songs' and calling her a 'Fenian' for no apparent reason. Frankly I'm surprised these morons are allowed to handle cutlery sharper than a wooden spoon, and I certainly don't want that attitude at Glasgow games.

Its precisely for that reason that I have strong reservations about the use of Ibrox (or Parkhead or whatever its called these days btw) as potential venues for rugby matches - what they both encapsulate to me has nothing to do with rugby

Yeah, I don't understand tbh. You say thats what you want to avoid at Glasgow games, but my desire to avoid that is the exact reason I would have reservations about attending a final at Ibrox.

MunsterMac wrote:

Munstermac while I do agree with you everybody who supports Munster must share some of the blame. More people travelled to Toulon the previous weekend than turned up at Thomond. There is a huge inigma that Munster has built up around the HC and its difficult to see how thats going to change. Even the game against Leinster at the Aviva was a complete damp squib due 100% to the fact that the following week was HC week.

True but I don't agree that the fans are in any way to blame. Fans don't have bottomless pockets and have to choose for themselves how they spend their money. Saturday's was a nothing match and over 16,000 still showed up on a terrible night.

The club however are supposed to be a professional sports organisation and as such I would expect them to give the lead in showing that each competition is as important as the other.

The last 3 performances at home to Ulster, Glasgow and Treviso have been shockingly bad and this at a time when they are trying to attract more fans to league matches.

Like I say Munstermac I do agree. Those 3 perfoamces are seriously damaging Munster and will drive supporters away with long term consequences.

To the question of would it be a successful season if we won the Rabo - without a doubt. I would have taken the hand off you if had this choice at start of season.

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:

IanBru wrote:

Dorothy_Mantooth wrote:If people don’t want to go to watch the final because it’s held at Ibrox then to be honest they are the exactly the kind of people I would not want anywhere near the game.

Seconded.   

I was getting a taxi home from a wedding on Saturday night, and the driver told how she had to eject his previous fare for singing 'orange songs' and calling her a 'Fenian' for no apparent reason. Frankly I'm surprised these morons are allowed to handle cutlery sharper than a wooden spoon, and I certainly don't want that attitude at Glasgow games.

Its precisely for that reason that I have strong reservations about the use of Ibrox (or Parkhead or whatever its called these days btw) as potential venues for rugby matches - what they both encapsulate to me has nothing to do with rugby

For me, the real question is whether the sectarian attitude is inherent to the building. I think not. If Ibrox is filled with rugby supporters, there would surely be no hint of sectarianism.

For me, venue aside, we have to acknowledge the danger that in attempting to quickly broaden the support for rugby in order to fill a stadium (whether it's Ibrox or not) with home ersatz-supporters, without having time to instil rugby's values, we will end up inviting some of the disreputable element to the game. Clearly this has to be managed.

However, I'm going to be optimistic about demand from the rugby community for final tickets. It's looking like there will be no need for a public sale of tickets for the Scotstoun semi-final, as the season ticket holders and Scottish Rugby members (I guess this means previous customers?) are likely to buy up all of the home ticket allocation. If Scotland can fill a 68,000 seat stadium for regular international matches, I would hope that we can fill a 51,000 seat stadium for an unprecedented club match.

The 7s is being held at Ibrox and nobody seems to have an issue with that, so why should the Pro 12 final be any different?

I do agree its not an ideal situation. Ideally we could have played at home or at least at Hampden. But unfortunately we can't so for me Ibrox (or had it been available Parkhead) is fine.

BlueMuff wrote:

MunsterMac wrote:

Munstermac while I do agree with you everybody who supports Munster must share some of the blame. More people travelled to Toulon the previous weekend than turned up at Thomond. There is a huge inigma that Munster has built up around the HC and its difficult to see how thats going to change. Even the game against Leinster at the Aviva was a complete damp squib due 100% to the fact that the following week was HC week.

True but I don't agree that the fans are in any way to blame. Fans don't have bottomless pockets and have to choose for themselves how they spend their money. Saturday's was a nothing match and over 16,000 still showed up on a terrible night.

The club however are supposed to be a professional sports organisation and as such I would expect them to give the lead in showing that each competition is as important as the other.

The last 3 performances at home to Ulster, Glasgow and Treviso have been shockingly bad and this at a time when they are trying to attract more fans to league matches.

Like I say Munstermac I do agree. Those 3 perfoamces are seriously damaging Munster and will drive supporters away with long term consequences.

To the question of would it be a successful season if we won the Rabo - without a doubt. I would have taken the hand off you if had this choice at start of season.

Unless they get a rocket up their arses this week they could be on the end of a hiding. They are supposed to be professional rugby players. Not a bunch of incompetents. Unfortunately there seems to be some malaise after setting in for the Rabo starting around the Leinster game (maybe the scarlets one) up to then we were motoring. Its not even a HC/Rabo thing its about minimum standards.....          

If Munster are not be interested in whole-heartedly competing in the Rabo then they're in trouble, because they're simply not good enough to win the HEC (or its equivalent next year). That's my honest opinion, and my concern is that from next year, Ulster won't be good enough to compete at the very top in Euroean rugby either.

I'd concur with IanBru - Ibrox is just a venue - are Glasgow supporters really going to start singing the Sash because they're watching their team play there?

Certainly not when Glasgow are losing there to Ulster in the final, anyway...

It reminds me of the end of McGahan where Opsreys trounced us away in the semi. It could be a repeat of that the way Glasgow are playing.

Don Alfonso wrote:Certainly not when Glasgow are losing there to Ulster in the final, anyway...

  

BlueMuff wrote:It reminds me of the end of McGahan where Opsreys trounced us away in the semi. It could be a repeat of that the way Glasgow are playing.

Its just not good enough though...I know people who shelled out about €100 to go to the game on Saturday from Cork. The supporters club and season ticket renewals are opened up and that wasnt exactly a good advertisement....come and support us...guaranteed dross at home, but we will put a big effort into the European cup so you can shell out up to €500 travelling around to see us lose gloriously.....  

If Munster players (and apparently a lot of their fans) have a HC or bust attitude and dismiss the Rabo as a bit of an eggcup tournament then they need a dose of reality.

Munster haven't won the HC for six years now and while a couple of SF appearances are worthy achievements the reality is that they haven't looked like going the whole way in any of those years. With the balance of financial power tilting heavily towards thew French and English teams under the new structure, it's hard to see any of the Irish teams winning the new ECC in the next few years - worthy appearances in the SF maybe depending on the draw but beating the moneybags teams from France and England unlikely.

If Munster players (and apparently a lot of their fans) have a HC or bust attitude and dismiss the Rabo as a bit of an eggcup tournament then they need a dose of reality.

Munster haven't won the HC for six years now and while a couple of SF appearances are worthy achievements the reality is that they haven't looked like going the whole way in any of those years. With the balance of financial power tilting heavily towards thew French and English teams under the new structure, it's hard to see any of the Irish teams winning the new ECC in the next few years - worthy appearances in the SF maybe depending on the draw but beating the moneybags teams from France and England unlikely.

Well said ME.

I wonder do the players or management have any idea of the discontent amongst some of the fans?

Penney does...a mate of mine went over to him on Sat evening after the game just to shake his hand and wish him well...Penney couldnt even speak he was so embarrassed....

At this stage unless we win the Rabo the whole season is another damp squib. And this is down to the players not the management. With all the bleating about the national team and only three players being picked by holy Joe etc its about time they put their money where their mouths are...beaten by the Ravens ffs....they should be put in an open top lorry and paraded up and down Patrick Street and O'Connell Street and have rotten tomatoes thrown at them...

Dorothy_Mantooth wrote:The 7s is being held at Ibrox and nobody seems to have an issue with that, so why should the Pro 12 final be any different?

I do agree its not an ideal situation.  Ideally we could have played at home or at least at Hampden.  But unfortunately we can't so for me Ibrox (or had it been available Parkhead) is fine.

the fact that Glasgow (if they get to the final) will play an Irish team has a bearing on the Ibrox situation.  It may well only be a minority, but there will be a section of people from the area who will want to noise up the travelling fans in some shape or form!

And another thing...I dont want to see or hear any of the players in the papers this week bleating on about how much they owe it to the supporters etc....just shut the f... up and get on the field and play for the jersey...otherwise feic off for the summer and let us enjoy the Hurling.

Munster haven't won the HC for six years now and while a couple of SF appearances are worthy achievements the reality is that they haven't looked like going the whole way in any of those years.

That's a bit disingenuous brennomac.

Had Munster had the luck of the draw and either or both of the last 2 semis had been in Ireland it could have been a very different story.

I think a final at Ibrox would be awesome. It's just a stadium and a very good one at that. I'd certainly come over for that one.

There will always be idiots who may a nuisance of themselves, but I can't see a rugby crowd tolerating it and they'd be easy to identify as a result.

tigertattie wrote:

Dorothy_Mantooth wrote:The 7s is being held at Ibrox and nobody seems to have an issue with that, so why should the Pro 12 final be any different?

I do agree its not an ideal situation.  Ideally we could have played at home or at least at Hampden.  But unfortunately we can't so for me Ibrox (or had it been available Parkhead) is fine.

the fact that Glasgow (if they get to the final) will play an Irish team has a bearing on the Ibrox situation.  It may well only be a minority, but there will be a section of people from the area who will want to noise up the travelling fans in some shape or form!

I am really surprised by the fact that people honestly seem to believe the stadium the semi is played at will have a bearing on how fans choose to behave.

It's just a room. Rugby fans are rugby fans, not football fans. This might get me into trouble but as a sweeping generalisation I believe that this makes them a better quality of individual on average. There was a lovely press release earlier this week confirming that RWC fan seating will be mixed, as it always is, and that there was no plans to ever segregate fans. That's what I'm talking about. I don't believe that there will be any trouble of any kind and Ibrox is a beautiful cathedral for sport. That last point is the only thing that matters because if Hampden and Celtic Park are not available, then there is no other stadium on the west coast that would do the final justice.

Two more things on this and then I'll give up the soapbox.

First, whilst sectarianism always has to be taken seriously and a zero tolerance approach adopted, it should not be oversold as a current problem. When I first started going to Rangers matches in the mid-1990s, there was some terrible stuff coming from the terraces. The policy now is very different and I cheered as much as anyone else when life bans were dished out to some of the most reprehensible idiots out there. It's not gone, but I do believe that it's the product of a different generation and it is slowly but surely dying, which is as it should.

Secondly, if this match attracts fans of the wendyball variety, then this is a great opportunity to change minds about both the sport and the level of cameraderie that exists between different fans. The whole point of Glasgow progressing is to up interest in the sport in a football mad town. This is a great opportunity and for that reason alone, it's worth holding it at Ibrox.

Their pies are pish though, mind.

George Carlin wrote:

tigertattie wrote:

Dorothy_Mantooth wrote:The 7s is being held at Ibrox and nobody seems to have an issue with that, so why should the Pro 12 final be any different?

I do agree its not an ideal situation.  Ideally we could have played at home or at least at Hampden.  But unfortunately we can't so for me Ibrox (or had it been available Parkhead) is fine.

the fact that Glasgow (if they get to the final) will play an Irish team has a bearing on the Ibrox situation.  It may well only be a minority, but there will be a section of people from the area who will want to noise up the travelling fans in some shape or form!

I am really surprised by the fact that people honestly seem to believe the stadium the semi is played at will have a bearing on how fans choose to behave.

It's just a room. Rugby fans are rugby fans, not football fans. This might get me into trouble but as a sweeping generalisation I believe that this makes them a better quality of individual on average. There was a lovely press release earlier this week confirming that RWC fan seating will be mixed, as it always is, and that there was no plans to ever segregate fans. That's what I'm talking about. I don't believe that there will be any trouble of any kind and Ibrox is a beautiful cathedral for sport. That last point is the only thing that matters because if Hampden and Celtic Park are not available, then there is no other stadium on the west coast that would do the final justice.

Two more things on this and then I'll give up the soapbox.

First, whilst sectarianism always has to be taken seriously and a zero tolerance approach adopted, it should not be oversold as a current problem. When I first started going to Rangers matches in the mid-1990s, there was some terrible stuff coming from the terraces. The policy now is very different and I cheered as much as anyone else when life bans were dished out to some of the most reprehensible idiots out there. It's not gone, but I do believe that it's the product of a different generation and it is slowly but surely dying, which is as it should.

Secondly, if this match attracts fans of the wendyball variety, then this is a great opportunity to change minds about both the sport and the level of cameraderie that exists between different fans. The whole point of Glasgow progressing is to up interest in the sport in a football mad town. This is a great opportunity and for that reason alone, it's worth holding it at Ibrox.

Their pies are pish though, mind.

I agree with this. I went to a few matches in the 90s - used to come down from Inverness with a couple of mates - and some of the stuff coming from fans my own age and younger was pretty shocking. They were signing things they clearly didn't understand half the time, just following the older fans on a monkey-see monkey-do basis.

I haven't been for a couple of years, but I've heard things are much better, and the club itself has taken huge steps to remove the more troublesome elements of the crowd.

As you say, this would be a good way for rugby to announce itself in Glasgow, and I think playing the game at Ibrox would increase its profile. As an avid follower of both football and rugby, I can testify that it is perfectly possible to watch, follow and enjoy both sports, and I think for Scottish rugby to really succeed and expand its following, the whole "us and them" approach to football fans isn't going to work.

So long as I can go and enjoy the match if Ulster qualify for it without facing any hassle I'll be happy enough.

Having lived in the Central Belt of Scotland for a number of years the occassional demands to identify myself as being of one side or the other when my accent was heard are fresh in my memory. And that wasn't even the West Coast and Glasgow, which is even more attuned to these sorts of things- with Ibrox and Parkhead the apparent epicentres.

I would still prefer to go to Thomond Park were I have had great experiences before than Ibrox, also just because its more convenient to get to, but will go with an open mind.

Thats not anything against Glasgow either, were I spent many happy days in my youth.

So all need to do is to beat Munster and for Notch's boys to administer a complementary wedgie to the dingledodies of Dublin.
What could possibly go wrong?

George Carlin wrote:So all need to do is to beat Munster and for Notch's boys to administer a complementary wedgie to the dingledodies of Dublin.
What could possibly go wrong?

Nothing

Been AWOL for a while!

If the great unwashed get a home final I'll be through for it. Ibrox would be a pretty fitting venue!

Glasgow were scintilating at the weekend.

I'm not saying it is the brickwork at ibrox that turns folk into mindless neanderthalls (or celtic park for the sake of balance)

I'd quite like the final to be played at a large ground such as Ibrox and I'd really understand the glasgow fans disgust if they played the final at murrayfield for any reason.

I'm all for growing the sport and a final being played at ibrox would be great.  But, what if a group of Munster fans were wandering up to Ibrox with the Irish flag drapped over their shoulders (as would be their right) The local knuckle-draggers may take umbridge to this!

tigertattie wrote:I'm not saying it is the brickwork at ibrox that turns folk into mindless neanderthalls (or celtic park for the sake of balance)

I'd quite like the final to be played at a large ground such as Ibrox and I'd really understand the glasgow fans disgust if they played the final at murrayfield for any reason.

I'm all for growing the sport and a final being played at ibrox would be great.  But, what if a group of Munster fans were wandering up to Ibrox with the Irish flag drapped over their shoulders (as would be their right) The local knuckle-draggers may take umbridge to this!

Then arrest them, lock them up and throw away the key.

I say that as a Rangers fan.

tigertattie wrote:I'm not saying it is the brickwork at ibrox that turns folk into mindless neanderthalls (or celtic park for the sake of balance)

I'd quite like the final to be played at a large ground such as Ibrox and I'd really understand the glasgow fans disgust if they played the final at murrayfield for any reason.

I'm all for growing the sport and a final being played at ibrox would be great.  But, what if a group of Munster fans were wandering up to Ibrox with the Irish flag drapped over their shoulders (as would be their right) The local knuckle-draggers may take umbridge to this!

Then they'll get arrested and forced to watch endless re-runs of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Which is as it should be.
You'd think that fans of a team in the third division would want to see some quality sport for once.   

funnyExiledScot wrote:

tigertattie wrote:I'm not saying it is the brickwork at ibrox that turns folk into mindless neanderthalls (or celtic park for the sake of balance)

I'd quite like the final to be played at a large ground such as Ibrox and I'd really understand the glasgow fans disgust if they played the final at murrayfield for any reason.

I'm all for growing the sport and a final being played at ibrox would be great.  But, what if a group of Munster fans were wandering up to Ibrox with the Irish flag drapped over their shoulders (as would be their right) The local knuckle-draggers may take umbridge to this!

Then arrest them, lock them up and throw away the key.

I say that as a Rangers fan.

Great minds.  

If I saw a Munster supporter with an Irish flag I would lock them up too....that would be disgraceful and disloyal to Munster....

oh hang on you mean something else...

I can see it now, Glasgow Warriors managing director Nathan Bombrys speaking to the Ibrox stewards:

tigertattie wrote:what if a group of Munster fans were wandering up to Ibrox with the Irish flag drapped over their shoulders (as would be their right) The local knuckle-draggers may take umbridge to this!

They would be unlikely to be there and even less likely to have a tricolour as the only team than can possibly play in a final in Glasgow is Ulster.....

Many Ulster fans may have already been to Ibrox.......

Jenifer McLadyboy wrote:

tigertattie wrote:what if a group of Munster fans were wandering up to Ibrox with the Irish flag drapped over their shoulders (as would be their right) The local knuckle-draggers may take umbridge to this!

They would be unlikely to be there and even less likely to have a tricolour as the only team than can possibly play in a final in Glasgow is Ulster.....

Many Ulster fans may have already been to Ibrox.......

Union Jacks all round then...  

Just a pity we have these restrictions about ground size and that home final couldn't be played at home.

Wonder how they came up with the minimum capacity being 18,000?

Suppose its to make sure as many fans get to go as possible!

Why should teams with big crowds have to miss out because the other team in the final have a wee diddy stadium?

tigertattie wrote:Suppose its to make sure as many fans get to go as possible!

Why should teams with big crowds have to miss out because the other team in the final have a wee diddy stadium?

Why should a home team that has earned a home final, not get to play at home?

It's a balance of both worlds. You are perfectly entitled to play at home so long as your stadium is being enough.

I pointed out a few weeks ago that even though the highest ranked team nominates the venue the ticket split is 50/50. That means Scotstoun would have a maximum of 5000 Glasgow fans right? You can see the problem there- they should be aiming a lot higher than that.

Dorothy_Mantooth wrote:

tigertattie wrote:Suppose its to make sure as many fans get to go as possible!

Why should teams with big crowds have to miss out because the other team in the final have a wee diddy stadium?

Why should a home team that has earned a home final, not get to play at home?

touché mamm, touché

I think Ibrox would be a reasonable venue, would also be a good practice run for the Commomwealth Sevens for the infrastructure.

As others have said there might be inferred issues about "Ulstar" and Glasgow playing at Ibrox but the Ulster rugby fans are by and large a lot different from the football fans who go to both Glasgow clubs weekly.

A reasonable police presence in the area and an emphasis that Ulster represent the whole nine counties of Ireland in the local media to inform the locals from both sides that this is not some sort of Ulster/Scots love fest and we are there for the rugby not as a continuation of their real or imagined rivalries.

Assuming it happens count me in -      and hopefullly   later.

Irish Londoner wrote:I think Ibrox would be a reasonable venue, would also be a good practice run for the Commomwealth Sevens for the infrastructure.

As others have said there might be inferred issues about "Ulstar" and Glasgow playing at Ibrox but the Ulster rugby fans are by and large a lot different from the football fans who go to both Glasgow clubs weekly.

A reasonable police presence in the area and an emphasis that Ulster represent the whole nine counties of Ireland in the local media to inform the locals from both sides that this is not some sort of Ulster/Scots love fest and we are there for the rugby not as a continuation of their real or imagined rivalries.

Assuming it happens count me in -      and hopefullly   later.

oh, don't get me wrong! I dont think the ulster rugby fans who would turn up would be an issue in any way shape or form.  Nor to I think the Glasgow rugby fans would be an issue, even the odd ones like ASBO and Schitz!

It's the locals who stay in the surrounding area that could cause the issue!

Some very astute and mature contributions here. At the risk of sounding ridiculous I'll call the next witness: Walt Disney.
When he was trying to raise funds for Disneyland in California no one wanted to back him. The reason, or one of the main reasons, was that amusement parks were associated with seedy, unpleasant types and not wholesome family entertainment. Disney argued that if the park was kept clean spotless it would attract families and generate the type of atmosphere which would be crucial to its success.
"Ah," people cried," what about the litter and vandalism? "
"If we keep it clean enough people will treat it with respect." said the alcoholic racist.
AND HE WAS RIGHT.
People's behaviour is malleable and can be altered by imposing your expectations on them.
If we, the Warriors fans, welcome the Ulster fans to our city and behave as we always do then the final will be a day to remember. Regardless of where it is held.
It is time to say that we are not held in thrall by the bigots in our city.
We are Glasgow we fear no one, not even our embarrassing relatives who should know better.

My main issue with Ibrox as if Glasgow were to be perceived as being in favour of one side or another it could have negative repercussions in the future with regards to fans and Glasgow can't really afford that.