Mods won't lock a thread unless there is something that is abusive or libellous in it, or if there is an argument that has descended into a farce (e.g. two people simply restating their views to one another).

I'm against the protest for numerous reasons most mentioned on the tread except this one. This is an experiment by the IRFU to see if more money can be raised by playing A games outside the capital. Numerous beds have been bought for people to go see the game and galway will make a bit of dosh off rugby fans coming to see the match. I don't know if the Connacht branch are getting money for hosting the game here but even f there not with the extra cash raised means more money in the coffers means more money spent on Irish Rugby. If we had a protest at the game and embarrassed the IRFU i can guarantee you that it would be the last A game played in Connacht for a lonnnnnnggg time to come.

P.S. Trying to lock this tread is ridiculous. If you don't like conman's opinion then censor it? Please :sick:

Amen to that Connman. I think we could sneak something tonight. Parks is very upbeat in his article in the Irish Times today!

It was just a suggestion, I admit I was very annoyed when I suggested it. Ok maybe its the wrong way to approach this...but it was just a suggestion of a simple show of displeasure towards the IRFU.
It was nice to see peoples views on the matter, And calls for the thread to be locked down is ridiculous. I love Connacht as much as the rest of yee and blocking a particular thread is wrong. This is a discussion board afyer all...Now heres to a big famous victory tonight

I believe Salmson is right that the current level of funding is equal, but that is a little misleading even beyond central contracts and the additional money the other provinces bring in on their own. It's misleading because Connacht are playing a serious game of catch-up with the other three and you can't expect a couple of years of equal funding to erase a decade plus of being treated as a second class entity. IMO a protest is a little extreme, but I'm all for Tom Sears using this opportunity to show there is still a long way to go for Connacht to receive equal treatment.

Really I think we need to improve our league position / consistency before getting too loud in looking for extra funding, more consistency in games like Cardiff, Edinburgh, Dragons etc. is whats important.

Its a bit of a chicken and egg situation as once we have a few injuries it puts us in trouble but imo the games I mention above we had enough quality to get more points. Right now with our squad looking a lot stronger than last season we are currently below even matching last season's points total.

Performances against Leinster, Biarritz etc. are great but until we show that we have consistently moved up a level in terms of getting results against other bottom half teams our argument falls flat imo.

Salmson if the thread bores you, you dont need to read it.
Asking for it to be locked seems ridiculous to me. People obviously want to discuss it, let them

Porterbelly wrote: We get 60% of what the other provinces get for our budget

That doesn't account for central contracts so when they're factored in it would probably stand at around 40%

Not the case anymore; all the provinces get the same base funding from the IRFU.

Of course when you factor in money Leinster raise themselves (through having buckets more supporters and all that brings) and central contracts, their wage bill is (according to the hacks in the papers) far higher than ours.

Whatever about the IRFU and the centtal contracts, you can hardly slate Leinster for having lots of fans.

We all know the IRFU treat us like muck and for all their talk of 4 strong provinces it's just what goes in Lyons tea, but this thread is starting to bore me too.

We have one of the biggest matches in our history in a bit over 4 hours and we're talking about accounting, effectively. While not wanting to stop people having their say on an important matter, <strong>could the mods maybe lock the thread until tomorrow morning?</strong>

Porterbelly wrote: We get 60% of what the other provinces get for our budget

That doesn't account for central contracts so when they're factored in it would probably stand at around 40%

in interests of accuracy who is right here? salmson or porterbelly?

We get 60% of what the other provinces get for our budget

That doesn't account for central contracts so when they're factored in it would probably stand at around 40%

Lets just stfu and hammer leinster at xmas.......

ronan i think we will find that that is the underlying theme of sears aguement. maccas pending move has given him the opportunity to use the media cleverly to force the opening of dialogue on funding and recognition issues with the irfu.

salmson wrote:

RonanL wrote: My understanding is (and I could be way off) that the IRFU pay the wages of centrally contracted players, which means the provinces who they play for essentially get them for free. Is this correct?

Yes. Sears specifically referred to this in one of his media appearances in the last few days.

RonanL wrote: Secondly, is it true, that the IRFU give Connacht less funding than the other provinces?

This is a red herring: when we were a developmernt province our funding was less than the others (I don't know the exact figure; ~60-70% of the others depending on which hack you listen too.) but now we get the same base pot of cash (again I don't know the figure, sorry). The IRFU were very clear on this when they made us into a real [strike]boy[/strike] province. Of course the caveat to this is we have 0/21 central contracts.

RonanL wrote: Or is it the case that Connacht have less money because we attract less sponsorship money and smaller crowds => less revenue?

Last season Leinster had 375997 through the gates, including HEC and playoffs. Last time I went to the RDS - maybe 3 years ago - I paid 50 shekels for a stand ticket.

We had 70834.

So 5 times the supporter numbers times about twice the average ticket price..... ouch.

Thanks for the reply Salmson. Before I continue, I disagree with the call to have this thread locked - it's only a suggestion, and one people should be allowed debate.

To me, it seems the central contract thing is the only aspect we have grounds to complain about. It effectively means we are funded less than the others. At the end of the day, the international team generates the majority of the money for Irish Rugby, so the IRFU are right to do everything they can to drive the international team forward. They clearly want the best Irish players playing for Irish provinces, but I'm sure that can be achieved without creating a situation where one province (Connacht) is funded by far less than others. That should be the basis of Sears' argument in my opinion.

Revenue from sponsorship and attendances will come in time, as we continue to improve. We can't expect to challenging the likes of Leinster overnight.

Creedence wrote:
Very bad idea.

...our job is to support the team.

Exactly. The team needs our support more than anything. Take for instance the booing and protests of the anti rafa benitez heads at Chelsea. It did them no favours for the 1st few games, then when they started supporting the team the team did better.

Negativity from the support leads to negativity on the pitch. Now can a mod lock this joke of a thread please?

Connman wrote: Hey folks,
So we have lost another Quality player to Leinster, Im sickened, Tom Sears has been a Great ambassodor for the Club so far in standing up for the club and province. We have been the hot topic on Radio talk shows all week, but its all a bit patronising to be fair.
The Sportgrounds is hosting Ireland A this January, I think it would be a great platform for Connacht Supporters to stage a powerful protest for equality among the provinces. If we(Connacht Fans) Could occupy key areas in the Ground and possibly display some banners.....stage some Chants...etc. Other ideas welcome.... Sick of being walked over by the IRFU.

Very bad idea.

There is some sympathy for us on this matter at the moment. We need to keep the lid on things or that will disappear and be replaced by something far more negative, from both the general public and rugby people around the country. Let Tom Sears fight the fight in the boardrooms and meetings, our job is to support the team.

RonanL wrote: My understanding is (and I could be way off) that the IRFU pay the wages of centrally contracted players, which means the provinces who they play for essentially get them for free. Is this correct?

Yes. Sears specifically referred to this in one of his media appearances in the last few days.

RonanL wrote: Secondly, is it true, that the IRFU give Connacht less funding than the other provinces?

This is a red herring: when we were a developmernt province our funding was less than the others (I don't know the exact figure; ~60-70% of the others depending on which hack you listen too.) but now we get the same base pot of cash (again I don't know the figure, sorry). The IRFU were very clear on this when they made us into a real [strike]boy[/strike] province. Of course the caveat to this is we have 0/21 central contracts.

RonanL wrote: Or is it the case that Connacht have less money because we attract less sponsorship money and smaller crowds => less revenue?

Last season Leinster had 375997 through the gates, including HEC and playoffs. Last time I went to the RDS - maybe 3 years ago - I paid 50 shekels for a stand ticket.

We had 70834.

So 5 times the supporter numbers times about twice the average ticket price..... ouch.