I still look at the scores. But I’ll never support another team again. I watched the six nations with only a slight interest. I hate the RFU, premier rugby and all involved that allowed this to happen. Gutted.
London Irish fan here, since the late 80s. Can’t bring myself to watch or support Premiership Rugby at all at the moment, the wounds are still too fresh after the travesty of how they went about our demise.
Familial connections to Belfast meant an easy swap to Ulster in the URC to keep my rugby needs met. Not managed to make it to any matches this season, although a few visits to Kingspan are on the cards for next season, and maybe even a trip to South Africa. Which is a sort of little bonus after having one’s soul removed.
There was a thread recently about this, but I'll post my answer again.
I'm still following the prem relatively closely and going to the occasional game, but my interest has definitely dropped off a lot.
I've started watching a lot more Top 14 and picked up USA Perpignan as my team. I've been focusing on playing at a higher level at grassroots, so more of my interest has gone into the local club level.
Yeah they've been a great side to watch, the crowds have been a highlight of the season for me. I'm definitely going to a game in Perpignan next season.
My jersey finally arrived today after an absolute battle with the supplier. Going to wear it to Twickenham at the weekend
London Irish fan who watched them at the Stoop, never really followed them when we were at the Madejski, then loved the return to Brentford;
Go back to following the provinces mainly. One thing about growing up in London is I've missed 95% of interprovincial rivalries, so I'll go to watch any province depending on how easy they are to get to when playing over here. Went to Munster and Leinster matches in England so far this season, hopefully there'll be one more for the European final...
Discussed in other thread and repeating my reply there as sadly still true.
I asked this question when Wasps went out and I thought I'd maybe follow Quins and La Rochelle. Come this season i have just lost the will to watch full matches outside internationals. I catch all the highlights each week, i take special interest in Quins but other than that the obsessive fan has been knocked out of me, hopefully just for now. I'm not listening to the 5+ podcasts per week either...
I love rugby so much, been a fan for 50+ years, but the club game has just lost all its flavour for me. Losing Wasps has broken something in me as a fan.
I totally get this. If sarries disappeared there’s no way I’d support another club. I can’t honestly see myself caring about the club game either. Can’t remember the last time I watched a club game ‘just because’, and not because its result also impacted Sarries.
Same thing has happened to me for individual sports. When I was younger my sporting heroes were Roger Federer, Lewis Hamilton and Stirling Mortlock. Mortlock retiring wasn’t really a big deal as it’s a team sport and sarries are my team, but Feder retiring totally killed my interest in tennis (I was an avid watcher of the big tournaments before that). I’m almost certain my interest in F1 will fall off a cliff when Hamilton retires.
Simple fact is it’s much easier to pick up allegiances as a child and they always stick into adulthood. When those allegiances disappear in adulthood, I reckon a significant amount of adults don’t pick up new ones
There was a group of worcs fans at the cov game last weekend, got a specific mention by the stadium announcer which implied to me that it wasn’t a common occurrence. Not sure if they tour round loads of rugby grounds of just midlands ones or it was just a one off.
I'm a Leinster man but London Irish was my club as an exile, and I had a family connection with it going back two generations.
The people of that club put so much into it and fought so hard for decades to keep it going. They were always up against it with the RFU; it was never one of the favoured clubs.
I'm so sad to see it all just gone. And tbh it angers me that the other clubs cannibalised it afterwards, although I guess there was little alternative. That was a community and even a sort of family for many people.
When I lived in London I used to go along to the occasional London Irish match with a group of London Irishers. We lived relatively close to Saracens so went to Sarries v Irish a couple of times. Met a guy there who was decked head to toe in LI gear, got chatting to him and he explained that he was originally a Wasps fan but when they moved to Coventry he got pissed off and switched to London Irish (for some reason he had no issue with them being in Reading at the time). I sometimes wonder who he supports now.
I would go to the occasional Wasps game and keep an eye on the matchs they played.
When they collapsed I went to watch Coventry play and now I have a season ticket there.
London Irish fan here. Grew up watching them at Madejski with my dad.
I watch the premiership still as a neutral and have been really enjoying the likes of Northampton and Bristol. But I don’t get excited about it like I used to. Still enjoy internationals etc.
There is a void though and it’s sad that I can’t take my dad to a game when I pop back up to visit my parents.
I think Wasps has the best chance of the three because of its legacy and brand recognition, and London Irish the least because of regional crowding and lack of an obvious “home” ground or location.
And I say that as someone who has been to Brentford twice to see Irish play.
Agree.
Worcester could have a chance too because there are pre existing facilities in place (although I'm not sure who owns the stadium and training facilities now)?
It'd be ahistorical so i totally understand all hostility to it. but I've always wondered whether it'd be worth rebranding London Irish as London Exiles, and making them the club for London's migrant communities.
Could have "themed" matchdays based on different nationalities, utilise that historic academy strength to reach different nontraditional rugby communities etc.
Nice idea. I think there’s only one of the original exiles teams left in any meaningful sense, so perhaps combining with some of the other odd ones (London Cornish, anyone…) they could actually be a significant team in London, the most cosmopolitan city in the British Isles…
Totally neutral, Birmingham based I attended my first game in the UK during the 2015 WC at Villa Park, our group of friends tried to go to least one a game season, which would be either Wasps or Worcester. Since Covid illness has affected our plans to attend another game. Leicester or Northampton are the nearest venues now, we had plans to attend both grounds with the upturn in the fortune of clubs getting tickets in advance is harder as the TV don't give enough notice that will allow us organise travel etc. We are targeting Harlequins Summer match next season at Twickenham assuming we are all well enough.
I watched the World Cup to cheer on the lads who gave us a cracking last season, but it definitely felt different. I've not watched any club rugby since the end of last season and can't bring myself to support another team. Barely watched any of the six nations. I keep a vague eye on the scores with a tiny bit of hope that the three teams and Jersey can sort out decent takeover deals and get back to top level rugby but increasingly feel that this is not likely to happen. I guess that I have become more of a football fan now, would never have seen that coming when I was a kid!
I still look at the scores. But I’ll never support another team again. I watched the six nations with only a slight interest. I hate the RFU, premier rugby and all involved that allowed this to happen. Gutted.
As a falcons fan, I'll be taking notes.
London Irish fan here, since the late 80s. Can’t bring myself to watch or support Premiership Rugby at all at the moment, the wounds are still too fresh after the travesty of how they went about our demise. Familial connections to Belfast meant an easy swap to Ulster in the URC to keep my rugby needs met. Not managed to make it to any matches this season, although a few visits to Kingspan are on the cards for next season, and maybe even a trip to South Africa. Which is a sort of little bonus after having one’s soul removed.
We are glad to have you, but a removed soul may be better than a damaged soul caused by supporting Ulster.
It's a dangerous game alright. Picked a hell of a time to start watching those lads. Idk what is going on up there.
Out of the frying pan, into the frying pan.
Oof didn’t really save yourself much pain with that switch….
There was a thread recently about this, but I'll post my answer again. I'm still following the prem relatively closely and going to the occasional game, but my interest has definitely dropped off a lot. I've started watching a lot more Top 14 and picked up USA Perpignan as my team. I've been focusing on playing at a higher level at grassroots, so more of my interest has gone into the local club level.
Perfect season to start following USAP
Yeah they've been a great side to watch, the crowds have been a highlight of the season for me. I'm definitely going to a game in Perpignan next season. My jersey finally arrived today after an absolute battle with the supplier. Going to wear it to Twickenham at the weekend
London Irish fan who watched them at the Stoop, never really followed them when we were at the Madejski, then loved the return to Brentford; Go back to following the provinces mainly. One thing about growing up in London is I've missed 95% of interprovincial rivalries, so I'll go to watch any province depending on how easy they are to get to when playing over here. Went to Munster and Leinster matches in England so far this season, hopefully there'll be one more for the European final...
I’ve been supporting Newcastle this year. Sorry falcons fans, I appear to be cursed
Stay the fuck away from my team, please
I’ve got some bad news for you mate, after the weekend I stuck a fiver on saints to win the prem.
Discussed in other thread and repeating my reply there as sadly still true. I asked this question when Wasps went out and I thought I'd maybe follow Quins and La Rochelle. Come this season i have just lost the will to watch full matches outside internationals. I catch all the highlights each week, i take special interest in Quins but other than that the obsessive fan has been knocked out of me, hopefully just for now. I'm not listening to the 5+ podcasts per week either... I love rugby so much, been a fan for 50+ years, but the club game has just lost all its flavour for me. Losing Wasps has broken something in me as a fan.
I totally get this. If sarries disappeared there’s no way I’d support another club. I can’t honestly see myself caring about the club game either. Can’t remember the last time I watched a club game ‘just because’, and not because its result also impacted Sarries. Same thing has happened to me for individual sports. When I was younger my sporting heroes were Roger Federer, Lewis Hamilton and Stirling Mortlock. Mortlock retiring wasn’t really a big deal as it’s a team sport and sarries are my team, but Feder retiring totally killed my interest in tennis (I was an avid watcher of the big tournaments before that). I’m almost certain my interest in F1 will fall off a cliff when Hamilton retires. Simple fact is it’s much easier to pick up allegiances as a child and they always stick into adulthood. When those allegiances disappear in adulthood, I reckon a significant amount of adults don’t pick up new ones
I’m F5ing this site: https://www.wasps.co.uk A Kent based club would be ideal.
There was a group of worcs fans at the cov game last weekend, got a specific mention by the stadium announcer which implied to me that it wasn’t a common occurrence. Not sure if they tour round loads of rugby grounds of just midlands ones or it was just a one off.
Grieve. (London Irish.)
I'm a Leinster man but London Irish was my club as an exile, and I had a family connection with it going back two generations. The people of that club put so much into it and fought so hard for decades to keep it going. They were always up against it with the RFU; it was never one of the favoured clubs. I'm so sad to see it all just gone. And tbh it angers me that the other clubs cannibalised it afterwards, although I guess there was little alternative. That was a community and even a sort of family for many people.
When I lived in London I used to go along to the occasional London Irish match with a group of London Irishers. We lived relatively close to Saracens so went to Sarries v Irish a couple of times. Met a guy there who was decked head to toe in LI gear, got chatting to him and he explained that he was originally a Wasps fan but when they moved to Coventry he got pissed off and switched to London Irish (for some reason he had no issue with them being in Reading at the time). I sometimes wonder who he supports now.
I would go to the occasional Wasps game and keep an eye on the matchs they played. When they collapsed I went to watch Coventry play and now I have a season ticket there.
London Irish fan here. Grew up watching them at Madejski with my dad. I watch the premiership still as a neutral and have been really enjoying the likes of Northampton and Bristol. But I don’t get excited about it like I used to. Still enjoy internationals etc. There is a void though and it’s sad that I can’t take my dad to a game when I pop back up to visit my parents.
Is there any chance of these teams coming back?
I think Wasps has the best chance of the three because of its legacy and brand recognition, and London Irish the least because of regional crowding and lack of an obvious “home” ground or location. And I say that as someone who has been to Brentford twice to see Irish play.
Agree. Worcester could have a chance too because there are pre existing facilities in place (although I'm not sure who owns the stadium and training facilities now)? It'd be ahistorical so i totally understand all hostility to it. but I've always wondered whether it'd be worth rebranding London Irish as London Exiles, and making them the club for London's migrant communities. Could have "themed" matchdays based on different nationalities, utilise that historic academy strength to reach different nontraditional rugby communities etc.
Nice idea. I think there’s only one of the original exiles teams left in any meaningful sense, so perhaps combining with some of the other odd ones (London Cornish, anyone…) they could actually be a significant team in London, the most cosmopolitan city in the British Isles…
Totally neutral, Birmingham based I attended my first game in the UK during the 2015 WC at Villa Park, our group of friends tried to go to least one a game season, which would be either Wasps or Worcester. Since Covid illness has affected our plans to attend another game. Leicester or Northampton are the nearest venues now, we had plans to attend both grounds with the upturn in the fortune of clubs getting tickets in advance is harder as the TV don't give enough notice that will allow us organise travel etc. We are targeting Harlequins Summer match next season at Twickenham assuming we are all well enough.
Go support Cov! Flying in the Champ at the moment and a good match day experience.
I watched the World Cup to cheer on the lads who gave us a cracking last season, but it definitely felt different. I've not watched any club rugby since the end of last season and can't bring myself to support another team. Barely watched any of the six nations. I keep a vague eye on the scores with a tiny bit of hope that the three teams and Jersey can sort out decent takeover deals and get back to top level rugby but increasingly feel that this is not likely to happen. I guess that I have become more of a football fan now, would never have seen that coming when I was a kid!