America Samoa

[Cave Dweller]

If the 6N can give Georgia more games - similar to Argentina playing Uruguay, Chile and Brazil then things could really be shaken up. Georgia are a heck of a lot better than the three mentioned South American teams. 15-6 vs Scotland in the World Cup is pretty clear that things have to to change. Georgia are the new Argentina - i.e. a team with no competition.

A Euro competition could work and I think Northern Ireland would get the green light surely. 10 teams in two pools with the top two advancing to the final and the second and third playing Semi Finals. Have it every four years. USA IRB World Rankings to distribute the pools. The top three from the ENC Qualify.

Pool A - England, Northern Ireland, Rep. of Ireland, Russia, Italy
Pool B - France, Georgia, Romania, Scotland, Wales

Do those teams deserve to be in the 6 Nations? I know Argentina deserve to be in the 4 Nations. Argentina use those games to play their development players. They got the Pampas in the Vodacom Cup now to help with that.

 

[big ginger 8]

Northern Ireland will never have their own team and it's something I'm proud of that we play together putting aside any differences (less of them now though) that we have when no other big sport can do that.

 

[psychic duck]

Do those teams deserve to be in the 6 Nations? I know Argentina deserve to be in the 4 Nations. Argentina use those games to play their development players. They got the Pampas in the Vodacom Cup now to help with that.

Georgia have dominated the second division of European rugby since 2007, and are now as good as Italy

I would say they deserve to be in it

 

[Cave Dweller]

Northern Ireland will never have their own team and it's something I'm proud of that we play together putting aside any differences (less of them now though) that we have when no other big sport can do that.

Totally agree. Keeping people apart create more problems. In the end they are Irish. They just were taught a different religion by their parents when they grew up.

 

[Cave Dweller]

Georgia have dominated the second division of European rugby since 2007, and are now as good as Italy

I would say they deserve to be in it

Argentina got a 3rd place in a WC and have lots of victories over big nations. We and NZ are soon to be added to that lists sometime in the future. Closest Georgia has come was a 15 - 6 lost to Scotland. Can not really base them on 1 match against Scotland.

 

[psychic duck]

Argentina got a 3rd place in a WC and have lots of victories over big nations. We and NZ are soon to be added to that lists sometime in the future. Closest Georgia has come was a 15 - 6 lost to Scotland. Can not really base them on 1 match against Scotland.

how is Georgia supposed to get any victories over tier 1 if they don't ever play them?

since narrowly losing to Ireland 14-10 in 2007, Georgia didn't get a single match against a tier 1 side until the next RWC and instead have been easily the best team in the ENC (very often without their best players)

whilst the June matches for Georgia never gets a proper side to turn up (I don't remember Gorgodze ever playing in June over the past years), when they have had a full side in November they've beaten USA and Canada too

if Georgia did play Italy (with a full side), I believe that would be a very close match and home advantage would swing it each way

also Georgia have played crap teams like Ukraine, Czech Republic and Germany in the ENC, there is a lot smaller gap between Georgia and Scotland than Georgia and Ukraine

anyway, if you want to use that "you need to beat a tier 1 side" to be entered, then teams like Scotland, Italy and some other lower tier 1 nations need to stop playing two of Tri nations teams every single November and play Georgia instead

of course they won't because Georgia obviously wouldn't make as much money for Scotland as losing by 30 points every year to the All Blacks

 

[London_Italian]

Georgia should almost certainly be included into an expanded 6 nations. Their two recent world cup performances are proof to their continued improvement and i do agree that they are now as good as Scotland.... not quite Italy yet though . Furthermore i cant actually see any 6 nation team having an easy ride away in Georgia with their home crowd behind them!

 

[powerfulduck]

Northern Ireland will never have their own team and it's something I'm proud of that we play together putting aside any differences (less of them now though) that we have when no other big sport can do that.

In Cricket they also play as a united Ireland (Georgia of international cricket, atm) and i think i'm correct in saying the debate as to whether an all Ireland football team surfaces every few years. I therefore think we will never see a NI national team, which in my opinion is a good thing.

 

[Peat]

Actually i kind of take back what i said. There are probably plenty of Northern Irishmen who would like a Northern Ireland rugby team. Perhaps in 10 years time when/if rugby continues to grow.

As an outsider who came to take a deep interest in this, I can say with a fair degree of confidence that you're wrong on this. And am somewhat bemused as to what the hell this has to do with American Samoa.

 

[welshglory]

As an outsider who came to take a deep interest in this, I can say with a fair degree of confidence that you're wrong on this. And am somewhat bemused as to what the hell this has to do with American Samoa.

Ask Melhor lol

 

[smartcooky]

In Cricket they also play as a united Ireland (Georgia of international cricket, atm) and i think i'm correct in saying the debate as to whether an all Ireland football team surfaces every few years. I therefore think we will never see a NI national team, which in my opinion is a good thing.

Question

How is the eligibility going to work when Great Britain fields a side in the Sevens for the 2016 Olympic Games?

It will be tricky I imagine, given that GB and Eire field seperate teams for all other sports and that Northern Ireland is part of Great Britain, but Eire isn't.

 

[Feicarsinn]

Question

How is the eligibility going to work when Great Britain fields a side in the Sevens for the 2016 Olympic Games?

It will be tricky I imagine, given that GB and Eire field seperate teams for all other sports and that Northern Ireland is part of Great Britain, but Eire isn't.

Ugh, please don't call it Eire, bloody horrible name.


Anyway, I can see one of three of four things happening with regard to 7's at the Olympics:

1) Our neglect of 7's leads to us not qualifying and the argument is rendered redundant.
2) The IRFU tries to get everyone to play for Ireland. Having played for the combined team for god knows how long, the NI boys are okay with this and play.
3)The IRFU tries to get everyone to play for Ireland. The NI lads aren't okay with this and tell the IRFU to shove off. tension ensues.
4) The IRFU stays out of the whole mess and lets the respective Olympic associations try to sort it out, more than likely leading to a Republic of Ireland team and a GB team.

At the moment I'd say situation 1 is the most likely. In any case, should any of the Nordies want to play for us, they're more than welcome and eligibly won't be a problem. All NI citizens are entitled to Irish passports should they seek them.

 

[rusty_lock]

I'm more confused than ever. Why are we talking about the Irish sevens team. LOL

 

[osullie6]

Ugh, please don't call it Eire, bloody horrible name.


Anyway, I can see one of three of four things happening with regard to 7's at the Olympics:

1) Our neglect of 7's leads to us not qualifying and the argument is rendered redundant.
2) The IRFU tries to get everyone to play for Ireland. Having played for the combined team for god knows how long, the NI boys are okay with this and play.
3)The IRFU tries to get everyone to play for Ireland. The NI lads aren't okay with this and tell the IRFU to shove off. tension ensues.
4) The IRFU stays out of the whole mess and lets the respective Olympic associations try to sort it out, more than likely leading to a Republic of Ireland team and a GB team.

At the moment I'd say situation 1 is the most likely. In any case, should any of the Nordies want to play for us, they're more than welcome and eligibly won't be a problem. All NI citizens are entitled to Irish passports should they seek them.

I think I read somewhere that one of the reasons why the IRFU has neglected sevens so much is because of the Olympic qualification issue, they don't know what to do about it and don't want to create tension or ill will, so their solution is to ignore it. Wonderful example of what they consider to be forward planning.

Hope that whatever happens it doesn't turn out like the situation with the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland soccer teams, with serious bad feeling between the two football associations.

 

[Irishflanker]

Question

How is the eligibility going to work when Great Britain fields a side in the Sevens for the 2016 Olympic Games?

It will be tricky I imagine, given that GB and Eire field seperate teams for all other sports and that Northern Ireland is part of Great Britain, but Eire isn't.

I'd imagine it would be a matter of choice, NI is part of the United Kingdom but everyone born their is entitled to an Irish passport. If you look at football a fair few lads from NI have recently declared for the Republic, James McClean for example is on record as saying that he never really enjoyed playing for NI at underage level as he didn't feel comfortable playing for a British team.

 

[welshglory]

Flanker,

I've read up on it and the IRFU said that no player affiliated with them can play for the GB team. Wether that means Irish fellas playing in England who haven't played for Ireland can play, i don't know.

http://www.insidethegames.biz/sport...resenting-team-gb-in-rugby-sevens-at-rio-2016

 

[Scan]

I'd imagine it would be a matter of choice, NI is part of the United Kingdom but everyone born their is entitled to an Irish passport. If you look at football a fair few lads from NI have recently declared for the Republic, James McClean for example is on record as saying that he never really enjoyed playing for NI at underage level as he didn't feel comfortable playing for a British team.

Completely agree, boxer Paddy Barnes represented Ireland at the Beijing Olympics, even though he's from Antrim, Northern Ireland and won a bronze medal. He was aloud to choose.

 

[BZHopenside]

Considering Ireland's lack of a 7's program, I'm not sure that this will really end up being a huge issue just yet. Maybe down the road a few years, after Olympic rugby becomes a bigger deal.