View Full Version : Who to choose
MingMong
19-10-2007, 00:04
I have a small dilema.
I have decided that instead of wasting my money going to watch overpaid prima-donna footballers, I am going to start taking my 10 year old daughter to watch Rugby Union instead. The problem is, who do I take her to watch?
So what I am looking for is a club, not too far from Lyneham, who are fairly good (having spent my whole life as an Ipswich supporter it would be nice to celebrate a win now and again) and who have a decent ground with a roof, there's nothing to put a kid of going to watch sport than standing in the cold and rain.
In the past I used to watch Sale Sharks, although very infrequently, so I don't have any real alegience to any team at all and am more than happy to adopt a new team to start supporting, so over to you guys, who should I start taking my daughter to watch?
I am guessing the obvious choice is between Bath and Gloucester, but there may be others that I haven't thought about who may be worth a go.
Jim_P_Pulfrew
19-10-2007, 00:42
Its a slightly longer drive than Bath or Glaws or Brizzle is from Lyneham, but I would highly commend the team which has had my allegiance for a long time, London Irish.
The facilities are probably the best anywhere in the country and the atmosphere is phenominal even when we are getting beat!
If you are taking your daughter a few things to bear in mind too:
If you get there early there is no problem parking at the ground or excellent park and ride.
There is never a huge crush getting out of the ground even when we broke the record for attendance at a Premiership match last year.
In common with all grounds she may hear the odd profanity but it is very much frowned upon as there are always a lot of young kids attending.
Theres an excellent club for kids with loads of stuff both during and after match days This link should take you there:
http://www.london-irish.com/DiggerHub.ink
Jimps
http://users.bathspa.ac.uk/110408/Bath_Rugby_Logo.gifhttp://www.kitbag.com/product_images/large/276005m.jpg
http://www.businesswest.co.uk/pooled/LOGO/m22981.jpghttp://www.sim64.com/sports-cothing/rugby-shirts/rugby-club-shirts/bristol-h.jpg
http://www.guinnesspremiership.com/tools/images/teams/logos/130x130-ffffff/2.gifhttp://www.kitbag.com/product_images/large/31058.jpg
Note that the shirt above is the away colours for Gloucester are not to dissimilar to the goat rugby shirt
MingMong
19-10-2007, 05:10
Would it make me a bad person to base my choice purely on the fact that Bristol have a beer company as sponsors on their kit?
NO! If your worried you could make it a truly international affair...
http://www.jdsports.co.uk/uploads/products/std2/13394_54014A.jpg
or
http://www.reebokstore.co.uk/product_images/large/ACMR6011-Z22.jpg
MingMong, it all boils down to what sort of 'rugby experience' you want...
If you want to watch a match in a ground a 1/4 full, no atmosphere, loads of noise from drums and KKRRAAZZZYYY DeeJays - you watch Not London No Oirish..
If you want to watch a match in a muddy field and be herded into a corner where you can't see much of the game by posh people who know c0ck all about rugby - you watch Barf
If you want to watch a match in a minor league football stadium and not be able to move around at all - You watch Brizzle
If you want to watch the league champions, current league leaders, lots of facilities, Very close to some of the best rugby pubs in the land, most knowledgeable supporters in the land, free flowing running rugby - You watch Glaws.
Saying that - Glaws are thrashing Not London No Oirish this weekend at the Mad-Jet-Ski (souless plastic dustbin) - so the choice is yours.
JAFAD666
19-10-2007, 09:17
Saracens is a little further away but your daughter does get to wear a funny hat !
Actually ! ... 10 year old girl ? ... she might even get a game :0
Jim_P_Pulfrew
19-10-2007, 10:18
MingMong, it all boils down to what sort of 'rugby experience' you want...
If you want to watch a match in a ground a 1/4 full, no atmosphere, loads of noise from drums and KKRRAAZZZYYY DeeJays - you watch Not London No Oirish..
If you want to watch a match in a muddy field and be herded into a corner where you can't see much of the game by posh people who know c0ck all about rugby - you watch Barf
If you want to watch a match in a minor league football stadium and not be able to move around at all - You watch Brizzle
If you want to watch the league champions, current league leaders, lots of facilities, Very close to some of the best rugby pubs in the land, most knowledgeable supporters in the land, free flowing running rugby - You watch Glaws.
Saying that - Glaws are thrashing Not London No Oirish this weekend at the Mad-Jet-Ski (souless plastic dustbin) - so the choice is yours.
I wondered who who would start the jingoistic tribal b0llock chopsing. The man asked for some advice and I gave it from my perspective, without resorting to a knob waving contest.
For the record. I was in the same position when I got to the secret wilts airbase and went to all the surrounding clubs. From experience I wholly concur with the comments about Bath and Brizzle.
Gloucs was an 'interesting' afternoon. The ref made an absolutely pants offside call and was soundly berated in my scouse accent. At which point I was stared at by the section of crowd where I was sitting as if I had landed from another universe and cliched though it may sound, one bloke actually said to me 'you aint from round 'ere are you?' Hardly a great welcome from the most knowledgeable supporters in the land to a prospective Glaws fan eh?
One of the main criteria MingMong set was a stadium with a roof on to stop his daughter from getting cold and wet. While Kingsholm has got rooves etc it can get a bit draughty for a youngster, whereas the souless stadium has excellent stands and the pitch is fully surrounded by them. Oh and your pies are sh!te too!!!
So if you want a hearty welcome to rugby loving exiles with a good set up for the younger fan, I should steer clear of the Man Utd of Rugby Football Union and get along the M4 to the Madejski!
Jimps
rugby then work
19-10-2007, 10:43
I'm a season ticket holder at Kingsholm, and I've taken my daughter (13) and nephew (12) on several occasions and can whole heartedly recommend the place for children. I usually stand in the middle of the Shed, but when I've got the kids I either stand down the front with them (people will move back if you get in a bit late to let the kids get a view) or get tickets in the South or East stands where I can sit with them.
Parking around the ground can be difficult if you're not there a couple of hours before kick off but the multi storey carparks in Gloucester are only a 5 minute walk from the ground.
As for the pies being rubbish, pork and stuffing rolls are the way forward.
Whoever you choose to take your daughter to see I'm sure she'll enjoy it.
I should steer clear of the Man Utd of Rugby Football Union
Jimps
Well he won't be watching Not London No Oirish then, will he Jimps? :PDT_Xtremez_14:
Stick to your drums and fake Irish sentimentalism and I'll stick to the rugby.
Saying that, Glaws are going to give them a thumping this weekend - so go watch the game MM and I'll see you at Kingholm in a few weeks! :PDT_Xtremez_28:
auchtermuchty
19-10-2007, 12:05
In an attempt to break away from the tribalism of supporters of club sides and I stand to be ridiculed for this.......
Why not take her to watch the RFUW Premiership and give her something to aspire to. For all we know your daughter could be the next rugby superstar.
If you insist on taking her to male rugby, I'd avoid both Bath and Bristol. Havent been to Kingsholm or Madejski so couldnt comment about facilities there, I'd be inclined towards Glaws though due to their reputation as a family club.
I shall now retire somewhere to await the incoming:PDT_Xtremez_42:
Or Wasps at High Wycombe
(standing by for incoming):PDT_Xtremez_15:
Or Wasps at High Wycombe
(standing by for incoming):PDT_Xtremez_15:
Who??? ???????????????
Who??? ???????????????
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
European Champions again
and possibly for 1 more season (then it will all fall apart as the team retires on mass due to old age:PDT_Xtremez_14: )
rugby then work
19-10-2007, 17:29
In an attempt to break away from the tribalism of supporters of club sides and I stand to be ridiculed for this.......
Why not take her to watch the RFUW Premiership and give her something to aspire to. For all we know your daughter could be the next rugby superstar.
Not a bad idea but the games are not all that regular, link below to fixtures, the other option is to go watch some local rugby as well as the odd trip to watch the premiership games.
RFUW Fixtures (http://www.rfu.com/fixtures/MatchByDivision.aspx?DivID=9207629)
South West 1 (http://www.rfu.com/fixtures/MatchByDivision.aspx?DivID=8251517)
Devon & Wiltshire 1 (North) (http://www.rfu.com/fixtures/MatchByDivision.aspx?DivID=8251556)
Ex-Stacker
19-10-2007, 19:43
I have a small dilema.
Ipswich supporter
In the past I used to watch Sale Sharks, although very infrequently, so I don't have any real alegience to any team at all and am more than happy to adopt a new team to start supporting, so over to you guys, who should I start taking my daughter to watch?
I am guessing the obvious choice is between Bath and Gloucester, but there may be others that I haven't thought about who may be worth a go.
MM, did you used to serve at BZN on 10, get posted to ISK and in 2001 did you see Sale beat Pontypridd at Oxford, with a damn good stacker?
Having seen Sale at both Barrffff & Glaws this season, I'd say that Glaws would be more entertaining. Have you thought about travelling up the M4 to watch the not-nots? The Madstad is a good arena but the atmosphere is a bit lacking.
Go for Glaws, just not in the Shed!!!:0
Ex-Stacker
19-10-2007, 19:50
In an attempt to break away from the tribalism of supporters of club sides and I stand to be ridiculed for this.......
Why not take her to watch the RFUW Premiership and give her something to aspire to. For all we know your daughter could be the next rugby superstar.
If you insist on taking her to male rugby, I'd avoid both Bath and Bristol. Havent been to Kingsholm or Madejski so couldnt comment about facilities there, I'd be inclined towards Glaws though due to their reputation as a family club.
I shall now retire somewhere to await the incoming:PDT_Xtremez_42:
Glaws fans may be passionate, but being asked "What the fcuk are you fcuking cheering for? Look at the scoreboard" last week was a first at a rugby ground. The "knowledgable" Glaws supporter obviously knew what's what.....Charlie had just converted to make it 12-12, which was a minor miracle for us.
Still a good place to watch entertaining rugby, just watch out for some of their supporters.
Get a big brush and just tar every one with it hey? Thats what The Gent of the north tried doing when he accused all Glaws fans of being racist a few years ago - fell flat on his arse with that though.
Everyone has a tale of from every ground. I remember being spat on outside the littleBee in Sale a few years ago by a sale fan - see. Doesn't stop me travelling there to watch games.
Get her over to Bassett for a couple of games mate, if she likes it then feel free to join me and my lad on one of our trips to Bath.
Biggest problem with Glaws and the shed is that no one understands a word those sh1t kicking yokels say, and I'm a yokel as well:PDT_Xtremez_17: .
MingMong
20-10-2007, 01:23
MM, did you used to serve at BZN on 10, get posted to ISK and in 2001 did you see Sale beat Pontypridd at Oxford, with a damn good stacker?
Having seen Sale at both Barrffff & Glaws this season, I'd say that Glaws would be more entertaining. Have you thought about travelling up the M4 to watch the not-nots? The Madstad is a good arena but the atmosphere is a bit lacking.
Go for Glaws, just not in the Shed!!!:0
I certainly was that ex 10 Sqn guy who moved to ISK and I certainly did go to watch Sale beat Ponty at Oxford in 2001 in the Parker Pens final, but I don't reacal there being a damn good stacker there. I did go with some dodgy old supplier though :)
Good to hear from you mate!
To wgaf and Fomz, Maybe I will have to join up with both of you for a game some time and make a choice from there. The problem I see with taking a 10 year old to see a small team such as Bassett is that at her age, and with her limited rugby knowledge, I think she would be better going to somewhere with a good atmosphere to add to the excitement of her day out. It's the way I got hooked on going to live footie (yes Ipswich did have a good atmosphere once upon a time)
Thanks for all the advice folks, i'll be sure to let you all know how we get on after I have taken her to a game.
I certainly was that ex 10 Sqn guy who moved to ISK and I certainly did go to watch Sale beat Ponty at Oxford in 2001 in the Parker Pens final, but I don't reacal there being a damn good stacker there. I did go with some dodgy old supplier though :)
Good to hear from you mate!
To wgaf and Fomz, Maybe I will have to join up with both of you for a game some time and make a choice from there. The problem I see with taking a 10 year old to see a small team such as Bassett is that at her age, and with her limited rugby knowledge, I think she would be better going to somewhere with a good atmosphere to add to the excitement of her day out. It's the way I got hooked on going to live footie (yes Ipswich did have a good atmosphere once upon a time)
Thanks for all the advice folks, i'll be sure to let you all know how we get on after I have taken her to a game.
If you took her to a small place like Bassett, she'd have plenty of people who could tell her about rugby and she'd also have plenty of kids her age who would be more than willing to show her the ropes. Oh and they've got a decent cheap bar for parents as well:PDT_Xtremez_14:
Ex-Stacker
20-10-2007, 18:22
Get a big brush and just tar every one with it hey? Thats what The Gent of the north tried doing when he accused all Glaws fans of being racist a few years ago - fell flat on his arse with that though.
Everyone has a tale of from every ground. I remember being spat on outside the littleBee in Sale a few years ago by a sale fan - see. Doesn't stop me travelling there to watch games.
No,no,no. I wasn't tarring everyone with the same brush, which is why I put some in Italics. I've been all over watching Sale, England,Newport,Spain & France and as I said, being abused for celebrating my team equalising was a first for me, and I wasn't pi55ed or being unruly, just one nob decided he'd try to be the big man. The pub I drink in is full of Glaws fans and apart from their dodgy dress sense we have no problems, just loads of banter.
And I even recomended Glaws to MM , hardly going to do that if I thought all Glaws boys were like that nob. Just thought it as ironic to see them described as a family club after that experience.
As an aside, you won't get spat at outside the lilB if you go to watch Sale now (not that I'm defending that), you'll get abused by Stockport County supporters (just for being a rugby supporter) though!
Jim_P_Pulfrew
22-10-2007, 01:08
Saying that, Glaws are going to give them a thumping this weekend - so go watch the game MM and I'll see you at Kingholm in a few weeks! :PDT_Xtremez_28:
A Good thumping eh?
If you call losing to the exiles 15-10 A good thumping, feel free to come and give us one every week!
Seriously though a good game and with any luck it will be the boost needed to the side after a particularly lacklustre start to the season.
I was going to take issue with the lack of atmosphere at the Madj, but I will just reiterate that I found it best to visit each ground and take it from there.
Jimps
The Loan Ranger
22-10-2007, 21:27
Ming Mong you could always try your local team Bath, a friendly team, always packed and some lovely seating right behind the posts under the Hamptons Stand, the ground is always packed and you will always receive a family atmosphere where both you and your daughter would be made welcome.
I know a lot of people on here are saying Glaws and the Not so Oirsih down the M4, but all you've got to do is jump on a bus from the main gate ate Lyneham goto Chippenham and grab a train to Bath, nice and easy with the little one and no driving so you might be able to grab a pint or three.
Following this weekends fixtures Bath are upto 2nd in the league and taking on Leicester Tigers on Sat, so if you want a nice friendly day out with the family/daughter then go down the Rec, don't worry about being surrounded by Posh people who know nothing about Rugby as previously said on here...
docbombhead
23-10-2007, 09:51
MingMong, it all boils down to what sort of 'rugby experience' you want...
If you want to watch a match in a ground a 1/4 full, no atmosphere, loads of noise from drums and KKRRAAZZZYYY DeeJays - you watch Not London No Oirish..
If you want to watch a match in a muddy field and be herded into a corner where you can't see much of the game by posh people who know c0ck all about rugby - you watch Barf
If you want to watch a match in a minor league football stadium and not be able to move around at all - You watch Brizzle
If you want to watch the league champions, current league leaders, lots of facilities, Very close to some of the best rugby pubs in the land, most knowledgeable supporters in the land, free flowing running rugby - You watch Glaws.
Saying that - Glaws are thrashing Not London No Oirish this weekend at the Mad-Jet-Ski (souless plastic dustbin) - so the choice is yours.
London Irish 15-10 Gloucester ooops not much of a thrashing Fomz !!
Billy Whizz
23-10-2007, 16:59
MingMong - FFS, after watching the Town for soooo long, why you deserting the Ship when we're soooooo close to future glories!!!
C'mon the Tractor Boys!!! :PDT_Xtremez_28:
PS Stowmarket had a good rugby team (3rds) when I played for them in my youth! :PDT_Xtremez_42:
MingMong
23-10-2007, 17:54
MingMong - FFS, after watching the Town for soooo long, why you deserting the Ship when we're soooooo close to future glories!!!
C'mon the Tractor Boys!!! :PDT_Xtremez_28:
PS Stowmarket had a good rugby team (3rds) when I played for them in my youth! :PDT_Xtremez_42:
I'm not deserting the Tractor Boys and never will do mate, but it's a fooking long way to go from Lyneham for a home game in Ipswich.
December 4th, away at Bristol City, drop me a PM and we'll sort something out.
Thanks for all your replies, i'm gonna talk wgaf into taking me and my daughter to Bath and see how it goes from there.
Billy Whizz
23-10-2007, 17:57
Think you better re-phrase that last comment about Bath mate!!!!
Deffo the 4th Dec!!! :PDT_Xtremez_30:
Think you better re-phrase that last comment about Bath mate!!!!
Deffo the 4th Dec!!! :PDT_Xtremez_30:
FUKK RIGHT OFF YOU FREAK.
Billy Whizz
24-10-2007, 08:42
FUKK RIGHT OFF YOU FREAK.
Bit touchy aren't we wgaf!
Thanks for all your replies, i'm gonna talk wgaf into taking me and my daughter to Bath and see how it goes from there.
Path of least resistance eh MM? :PDT_Xtremez_28:
MingMong
24-10-2007, 14:17
Path of least resistance eh MM? :PDT_Xtremez_28:
You betcha mate!
I'll be sure to give you a shout some time to join you for a Glaws match, but if I believe what you tell me, you're always working.
Too right, just ask Wobbly about the response he got to his 3.30am ground runs last night.... wanker 's
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