IRFU heading to Seppo land

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Rooster
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IRFU heading to Seppo land

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The Irish Rugby Football Union and University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana have agreed a ground-breaking partnership to promote and develop rugby at Notre Dame and consequently across the United States.

Under the agreement they will share knowledge and expertise and develop joint projects in areas including player development, coaching and conditioning, sports medicine and psychology. The agreement will also be the building block to generate awareness of the Irish Rugby brand among the 33 million strong Irish-American community and create new commercial opportunities.

Nicknamed 'The Fighting Irish', the University of Notre Dame has one of the most successful and best-respected collegiate sports programmes in the world and has built a strong academic, sporting and commercial brand which resonates globally.

Rugby has been played at Notre Dame since the early 1960s and both the 15-a-side and Sevens variants of the sport are played by men and women. The men's and women's senior teams play at the highest level of collegiate rugby.

The IRFU/University of Notre Dame partnership covers men's and women's rugby and aims to further strengthen the rugby culture at the University and ensure sustained success on the field. In doing so, it will help fuel the appetite for the game throughout the collegiate system and beyond.

Details of specific partnership initiatives are still being developed but are likely to include collaboration with the Notre Dame's coaching and sports science programmes to help the IRFU enhance its own programmes, contributing significantly to the success of all its teams.

In addition, the partnership is likely to involve coach development courses, youth development camps, joint innovation and technology research, reciprocal internship programmes for IRFU and Notre Dame staff as well as reciprocal academic scholarships. In addition, Notre Dame will host training camps for Irish teams, while University of Notre Dame teams will train and play matches against University teams in Ireland.

Patrick Nally, widely regarded as a chief architect of modern sports marketing, has been appointed by the IRFU to develop a commercial programme.

Welcoming the agreement, Stephen Hilditch, president of the IRFU, said: "We are proud to partner with the University of Notre Dame which has been at the forefront of collegiate sport in the United States throughout its history and which has been among the trail-blazers in developing collegiate rugby.

"We look forward to playing a full part in helping develop the strength of Notre Dame rugby and the culture of the sport at the University. We are convinced that will, in turn, help drive the popularity of the sport throughout and beyond the collegiate system in a nation which continues to demonstrate its interest in rugby.

"Our association with 'The Fighting Irish' is hugely appropriate and we will do all we can to help Notre Dame's teams fulfil their potential and reach their ultimate ambition of becoming collegiate champions.

"The United States also represents a huge potential market for Irish Rugby and the partnership is a key element of a broader strategy to build awareness and create real engagement with existing and potential rugby fans among the 10.3 percent of the US population with Irish roots. They are first and foremost proud Americans but we will embrace and value their support."
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Re: IRFU heading to Seppo land

Post by mid ulster maestro »

Notter Dame Rooster. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em! :roll:
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Re: IRFU heading to Seppo land

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Interesting development, opportune timing as well.
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Re: IRFU heading to Seppo land

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FIRFU, the new Sorries.
NEVER MOVE ON. Years on, I cannot ever watch Ireland with anything but indifference, I continue to wish for the imminent death of Donal Spring, the FIRFUC's executioner of Wee Paddy & Wee Stu, and I hate the FIRFUCs with undiminished passion.
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Re: IRFU heading to Seppo land

Post by Rooster »

Well since the existing pro rugby franchise owner over there told the PRO12 to feck off out of his patch or I'll get my legal team on you then I suppose they had to try something to save face over there, it's prime Paddywackery territory
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Re: IRFU heading to Seppo land

Post by CIMANFOREVER »

Does the 33m Irish Communidae include the "Other Irish" (copyright Karen McCarthy)/ or Themmun's Born Fightin' as defined by Jim Webb ie the FIRST wave of Irish?..... I bet it's only countin' the second wave that missed the first boat.. >EW
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