I was at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday to see Ireland defeat Italy 36-0. The talk of the atmosphere needs to be brought up again. I know as I have seen in recent years the talk of the poor atmosphere generated at Irish rugby internationals as even with the performances of recent times of the Republic of Ireland the atmosphere generated is still very good.
I saw first-hand the issues again that a number of ex Irish internationals speak of and it needs to be urgently addressed. Of course it won’t be but something needs to be done. The constant in and out is a pain to get “refreshments” needs to be stopped and this is not just because this author is a non-drinker but I spent a share of my time moving to allow people who of course are full of apologises to come in and out.
It is clear in the emails to remind you to have your phone fully charged for access to match tickets etc in the days leading to the game that you are advised to “please remain seated until a break in play” now I understand that people will get caught short and you are also allowed to do as you please as you paid for the ticket.
This is the crux of the problem, rugby supporters are allowed alcohol unlike football fans for example who are not allowed alcohol in there seat but this needs to seriously considered by the IRFU or at least tell people drink to your hearts content on the concourse outside but once you are in, you are in and barring a toilet break no constant in and out…
It causes friction as I saw on Sunday and have seen previously, people get annoyed and then things can get heated. It won’t take much to come to some sort of compromise which will really need to be looked at.
I know it is a sport event with many people paying good money to attend and they should be allowed do as they see fit but people need to use some sort of cop on and I know too that a certain section are trying to impress clients they may have invited to the game but there are still genuine fans that would like to watch the actual game at not spend periods having to duck and weave to see the pitch or in most cases the screen.
The atmosphere was poor on Sunday and that is down to the above and also large sections of so called “fans” could not really care what is actually happening on the field of play. It isn’t just an alcohol related problem. I know these things won’t be looked into but the IRFU would do well to look into certain aspects of the overall match day experience inside the ground as the experience outside is enjoyable….