Hibs v Scotland

[NAE NOOKIE]

Why is it that Hibs don't request that our games that clash with Scotland playing at Murrayfield, especially in the 6 nations, don't get moved to the prior or following day of the weekend, or even the Friday night.

There can be no doubt that we lose fans to these games .... ok maybe not serious numbers, but maybe a couple of hundred that would otherwise go to ER that day. Maybe we could even attract a few of the English, French, Italian or Irish bufters to sample the delights of the Leith San Siro as part of their weekend, especially now that we have pods around the stadium selling walk up tickets.

It's obvious why Hearts are never at home when Scotland are, but it seems unfair that Hibs fans who might actually want to go to Murrayfield to watch Scotland are continually given an either / or decision every year. It just doesn't make sense to me why Hibs have never ( to my knowledge ) tried to address this issue even for a season to see if it makes a difference.

IMO it's hardly fair on Hibs that we are the only club in Scotland's top 2 divisions whose games are continually up against a massive international sporting event a minimum of 3 times every season.

[coldingham hibs]

We should definitely be looking at this, not only for the impact on the attendance but also the impact on those traveling to and from the game. Returning to Fife after the game was a real pain.

[houstonhibbee]

Why is it that Hibs don't request that our games that clash with Scotland playing at Murrayfield, especially in the 6 nations, don't get moved to the prior or following day of the weekend, or even the Friday night.

There can be no doubt that we lose fans to these games .... ok maybe not serious numbers, but maybe a couple of hundred that would otherwise go to ER that day. Maybe we could even attract a few of the English, French, Italian or Irish bufters to sample the delights of the Leith San Siro as part of their weekend, especially now that we have pods around the stadium selling walk up tickets.

It's obvious why Hearts are never at home when Scotland are, but it seems unfair that Hibs fans who might actually want to go to Murrayfield to watch Scotland are continually given an either / or decision every year. It just doesn't make sense to me why Hibs have never ( to my knowledge ) tried to address this issue even for a season to see if it makes a difference.

IMO it's hardly fair on Hibs that we are the only club in Scotland's top 2 divisions whose games are continually up against a massive international sporting event a minimum of 3 times every season.
That’s a very good point

[JimBHibees]

Why is it that Hibs don't request that our games that clash with Scotland playing at Murrayfield, especially in the 6 nations, don't get moved to the prior or following day of the weekend, or even the Friday night.

There can be no doubt that we lose fans to these games .... ok maybe not serious numbers, but maybe a couple of hundred that would otherwise go to ER that day. Maybe we could even attract a few of the English, French, Italian or Irish bufters to sample the delights of the Leith San Siro as part of their weekend, especially now that we have pods around the stadium selling walk up tickets.

It's obvious why Hearts are never at home when Scotland are, but it seems unfair that Hibs fans who might actually want to go to Murrayfield to watch Scotland are continually given an either / or decision every year. It just doesn't make sense to me why Hibs have never ( to my knowledge ) tried to address this issue even for a season to see if it makes a difference.

IMO it's hardly fair on Hibs that we are the only club in Scotland's top 2 divisions whose games are continually up against a massive international sporting event a minimum of 3 times every season.

Very good point train in from Livingston was a nightmare heaving when got on and like one of those Japanese subway trains

[CallumLaidlaw]

We should definitely be looking at this, not only for the impact on the attendance but also the impact on those traveling to and from the game. Returning to Fife after the game was a real pain.

Yeah it was brutal. Normally back in my house at 5.45. Was 6.45 on Saturday.

I noticed some Union St Gilloise fans at the game on Saturday so definitely any opportunity to attract sports fans that may already be in the area should be looked at.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bod]

3pm Saturday KO for me every time regardless of what’s happening in the city .well done hibs for not requesting it this weekend

[Musselbound]

Fair enough point when the fixtures do clash but Scotland's next home game is on Sunday when we won't be playing. The other is on a Scottish Cup weekend where we might be playing - home or away. I wouldn't imagine there are many fans who follow Hibs away desperate to watch a rugby match instead.

So really this is something that happens very occasionally rather than a minimum of 3 times a season as mentioned.

[Pretty Boy]

Boy in my work who is a Hearts fan says the refusal to have Hearts and Scotland at home on the same day is a relatively new thing.

He recalls before the redevelopment of Murrayfield 5 Nations matches kicking off at 2 because of the lack of floodlights and Hearts kicking off at 3 as usual. Said it wasn't uncommon for a few rugby fans to pile in to Tynecastle for the last few minutes of their game as the stewards had opened the exit gates. A bit digging suggest Hearts were at home the day Scotland sealed the Grand Slam in 1990 but he's convinced it has happened more recently than that.

I get the world has moved on but if Scotland were say a 5.30 kick off I don't see why Hearts couldn't be at home at 2 or 3.

[PatHead]

When hearts beat Cowdenbeath by some ridiculous scoreline in the championship that was on the same day as a Scotland international at Murrayfield.
Also it is not only the Six Nations there is also the Autumn Series so the OP is right about a few games a season.
I know a few folk who attend rugby and miss games.

[Mcbizz1998]

Would be handy for me if they didn’t clash. I was at Murrayfield on Saturday so missed our win v Aberdeen. £450 for the season pass at murrayfield (7 games) too expensive to miss a game.

[TrinityHFC]

Choosing a rugby game instead of a Hibs home game? Nah.

No one seems to give a toss about rugby generally until Scotland play a couple of times a year or so in Edinburgh. Just don’t get it.

[overdrive]

I live in South Gyle and it’s a nightmare getting to the game when the rugby is on. Tried a few different options and timings and it never seems to make a difference. Trams are usually nearly impossible to get on at Bankhead. Trains from either South Gyle or Edinburgh Park much the same. Buses - more of a chance of getting on but nearly all of them are then affected by rugby traffic.

[greenginger]

I live off West Coates and the road from Murrayfield Drive to Haymarket is shut to all traffic for about 5 hours every time there is an event at the stadium.

Its not just the rugby internationals either, the road was shut for the Edinburgh v Glasgow 1872 cup game , the Manchester Utd v Lyon ( I think) game and for numerous music gigs held at the stadium.

it works out about 12 times a year we are locked in or locked out of our street . We have to consider times for getting to airport or returns , parcel deliveries, friends visiting, etc etc for a Quarter of the weekends a year.

Coming back from Saturdays game we sat in the car for the best part of an hour at Haymarket before they opened the road again although we could see there was hardly any foot traffic still making there way from Murrayfield.

[greenlex]

Traffic to and from the game on Saturday was a joke.

[Jones28]

Choosing a rugby game instead of a Hibs home game? Nah.

No one seems to give a toss about rugby generally until Scotland play a couple of times a year or so in Edinburgh. Just don’t get it.

No ones asking you to get it?

[He's here!]

Choosing a rugby game instead of a Hibs home game? Nah. No one seems to give a toss about rugby generally until Scotland play a couple of times a year or so in Edinburgh. Just don’t get it.There were over 40k at the Edinburgh v Glasgow 1872 Cup match at Murrayfield at Christmas.

The Murrayfield internationals are embedded as big Edinburgh sporting occasions. Even the autumn internationals seem to sell out these days. I used to go when (I think) you could just pay at the gate and get on to the terracing. They also used to have something called the schoolboy enclosure, which was basically a few rows of benches right beside the pitch (kids used to flood on to the pitch at full time). It's too expensive for me these days. We still have friends from Wales who come up for the games though and the Six Nations weekends are fun times for a lot of people, especially the Ireland and Wales games.

As you say, it's largely just the internationals which draw the crowds. Different story in Ireland and England where big club games are very well attended. The way the pro game was structured in Scotland kind of knackered the club game here.

[JimBHibees]

Boy in my work who is a Hearts fan says the refusal to have Hearts and Scotland at home on the same day is a relatively new thing.

He recalls before the redevelopment of Murrayfield 5 Nations matches kicking off at 2 because of the lack of floodlights and Hearts kicking off at 3 as usual. Said it wasn't uncommon for a few rugby fans to pile in to Tynecastle for the last few minutes of their game as the stewards had opened the exit gates. A bit digging suggest Hearts were at home the day Scotland sealed the Grand Slam in 1990 but he's convinced it has happened more recently than that.

I get the world has moved on but if Scotland were say a 5.30 kick off I don't see why Hearts couldn't be at home at 2 or 3.

Agree was quite recent they had games on same day with maybe an earlier kick off say 2 as you say.

[Carheenlea]

Folk make choices every week as to whether they attend the Hibs game or not.

Everyone’s diary will have some clashes - holidays, weekends away, concerts, work/business commitments, family events, sporting commitments, school events etc

There was a good crowd inside Easter Road on Saturday. The travel would have been a bit of a nuisance for some which is unfortunate, yet travel to and from Easter Road is rarely without some weekly challenges.

The impact on the attendance with the Six Nations Rugby taking place over on the other side of city would have been minimal.

[overdrive]

Folk make choices every week as to whether they attend the Hibs game or not.

Everyone’s diary will have some clashes - holidays, weekends away, concerts, work/business commitments, family events, sporting commitments, school events etc

There was a good crowd inside Easter Road on Saturday. The travel would have been a bit of a nuisance for some which is unfortunate, yet travel to and from Easter Road is rarely without some weekly challenges.

The impact on the attendance with the Six Nations Rugby taking place over on the other side of city would have been minimal.

Yeah, I know I was moaning about getting in to games when the rugby is on but at least it is well publicised. The past year has been a nightmare in general getting to Hibs games from the west of the city due to Palestine protests in the city centre. You hit the city centre and all of a sudden the tram or bus is stopped for ages.

[Helensburghhibs]

Not for me. If people choose to go to the rugby that's their right and perogative, and as for travelling, it's completely dependant on individual circumstances. I'm much more affected by an early ko at ibrox or parkhead than I was on Saturday. In fact the biggest issue was daft farmers and tractors convoying on the m8

[Since452]

2-1 Hibs

[basehibby]

Why is it that Hibs don't request that our games that clash with Scotland playing at Murrayfield, especially in the 6 nations, don't get moved to the prior or following day of the weekend, or even the Friday night.

There can be no doubt that we lose fans to these games .... ok maybe not serious numbers, but maybe a couple of hundred that would otherwise go to ER that day. Maybe we could even attract a few of the English, French, Italian or Irish bufters to sample the delights of the Leith San Siro as part of their weekend, especially now that we have pods around the stadium selling walk up tickets.

It's obvious why Hearts are never at home when Scotland are, but it seems unfair that Hibs fans who might actually want to go to Murrayfield to watch Scotland are continually given an either / or decision every year. It just doesn't make sense to me why Hibs have never ( to my knowledge ) tried to address this issue even for a season to see if it makes a difference.

IMO it's hardly fair on Hibs that we are the only club in Scotland's top 2 divisions whose games are continually up against a massive international sporting event a minimum of 3 times every season.

Very good point and totally agree.

However I suspect that KO times and dates are primarily dictated (in rough order) by SPFL fixture list, TV schedules, Police input and agreement of opposition to any change - with the wishes of Hibs supporters coming in a distant 5th. Would still be a good thing to bring up in any fan forum though - if we can avoid clashing with the Rugby Internationals then we absolutely should.

[hibby rae]

Traffic to and from the game on Saturday was a joke.

I actually found it to me great, just over 30mins on the 35. Time before that it took double and I still got off at the bottom of the Mile and walked the rest of the way.

[Frazerbob]

Would be handy for me if they didn’t clash. I was at Murrayfield on Saturday so missed our win v Aberdeen. £450 for the season pass at murrayfield (7 games) too expensive to miss a game.

A couple of times? 7 home games this season.

[NAE NOOKIE]

Folk make choices every week as to whether they attend the Hibs game or not.

Everyone’s diary will have some clashes - holidays, weekends away, concerts, work/business commitments, family events, sporting commitments, school events etc

There was a good crowd inside Easter Road on Saturday. The travel would have been a bit of a nuisance for some which is unfortunate, yet travel to and from Easter Road is rarely without some weekly challenges.

The impact on the attendance with the Six Nations Rugby taking place over on the other side of city would have been minimal.
I get that and even acknowledged it in my OP. But it is a fact that there are Hibs fans who would also like to go to the rugby ( I'm not one ) and just like on Saturday the games often clash ... my mates 70 year old dad who isn't averse to following the club to Dingwall on his own and has a season ticket gave Saturday a miss because he wanted to watch the Scotland game on the telly. he's also a big rugby fan.

We have had the SPFL allow Celtic to rearrange games just so they can play a friendly and even had UEFA make us play what was for us a massive glamour tie at a ridiculous 5pm midweek ko time.
I simply don't see why Hibs can't look at playing on a Friday night ( games which have sold very well in the past ) when we clash with Scotland .... to me it makes sense for a variety of reasons ... we think nothing of being forced to switch our games to a Sunday lunchtime to suit the telly, which for me is a gigantic pain in the arse ..... All I'm saying is I don't see why Hibs can't at least look at this issue to see if it does affect the crowd and if the club's fans would also be grateful to be given the opportunity to go to Murrayfield as well if they want.

There is also the possibility, as I have said, that doing that may even attract a few curious walk ups in Edinburgh for the rugby. As far as I know Hibs have never looked into this situation ..... perhaps it's time we did. Is it not the case that businesses undertake 'impact assessments' all the time.

[ancient hibee]

Dare I say it but in the good old days I remember we were at home to Aberdeen in the cup (42,000),Hearts were at home to Rangers(46,000)and Scotland played Wales(about 100,000). No tickets for any of them,public transport no problem.Police perfectly happy.Quite a few Welsh guys at our game.

[PatHead]

I get that and even acknowledged it in my OP. But it is a fact that there are Hibs fans who would also like to go to the rugby ( I'm not one ) and just like on Saturday the games often clash ... my mates 70 year old dad who isn't averse to following the club to Dingwall on his own and has a season ticket gave Saturday a miss because he wanted to watch the Scotland game on the telly. he's also a big rugby fan.

We have had the SPFL allow Celtic to rearrange games just so they can play a friendly and even had UEFA make us play what was for us a massive glamour tie at a ridiculous 5pm midweek ko time.
I simply don't see why Hibs can't look at playing on a Friday night ( games which have sold very well in the past ) when we clash with Scotland .... to me it makes sense for a variety of reasons ... we think nothing of being forced to switch our games to a Sunday lunchtime to suit the telly, which for me is a gigantic pain in the arse ..... All I'm saying is I don't see why Hibs can't at least look at this issue to see if it does affect the crowd and if the club's fans would also be grateful to be given the opportunity to go to Murrayfield as well if they want.

There is also the possibility, as I have said, that doing that may even attract a few curious walk ups in Edinburgh for the rugby. As far as I know Hibs have never looked into this situation ..... perhaps it's time we did. Is it not the case that businesses undertake 'impact assessments' all the time.
Why should it not be Hearts who have to move if their games clash?

[WhileTheChief..]

Folk usually complain when games get moved from 3pm on a Saturday.

For the handful of Hibs fans that might decide to go to Murrayfield, there would probably be multiple times that number that wouldn’t go on a Friday night or Sunday.

Crap idea and one I hope Hibs don’t explore.

[The Spaceman]

I was at Scotland Vs Italy instead of Hibs Vs Aberdeen. Silly to have them on at the same time and Hibs game should have been moved. Definitely will notably impact attendance - rugby is a massive sport in Edinburgh whether people like it or not.

[Mcbizz1998]

A couple of times? 7 home games this season.

Hibs/Scotland Rugby fans have been relatively lucky this time round. Of the 7 games across the autumn and 6 Nations, the only home clash was at the weekend just gone.

I’m missing one other Hibs game but that’s because I’m away to London for the Culcutta cup game.

One clash out of 7 for the home games isn’t too bad and will have had minimal impact on Hibs crowd, basically me and a handful of others! I’m a season ticket holder at ER so not like Hibs are losing any money from my non-attendance, also not an empty seat as I gave my ticket to my mate.

[Brightside]

Why is it that Hibs don't request that our games that clash with Scotland playing at Murrayfield, especially in the 6 nations, don't get moved to the prior or following day of the weekend, or even the Friday night.

There can be no doubt that we lose fans to these games .... ok maybe not serious numbers, but maybe a couple of hundred that would otherwise go to ER that day. Maybe we could even attract a few of the English, French, Italian or Irish bufters to sample the delights of the Leith San Siro as part of their weekend, especially now that we have pods around the stadium selling walk up tickets.

It's obvious why Hearts are never at home when Scotland are, but it seems unfair that Hibs fans who might actually want to go to Murrayfield to watch Scotland are continually given an either / or decision every year. It just doesn't make sense to me why Hibs have never ( to my knowledge ) tried to address this issue even for a season to see if it makes a difference.

IMO it's hardly fair on Hibs that we are the only club in Scotland's top 2 divisions whose games are continually up against a massive international sporting event a minimum of 3 times every season.

If they want to move the Scotland games to another day thats fine.

[SickBoy32]

Folk usually complain when games get moved from 3pm on a Saturday.

For the handful of Hibs fans that might decide to go to Murrayfield, there would probably be multiple times that number that wouldn’t go on a Friday night or Sunday.

Crap idea and one I hope Hibs don’t explore.

Totally agree - Saturday 3pm KO’s are rare enough as it is, without actively changing our schedule to suit the 6 nations day trippers.

On a side note, is there a more repetitive tournament in sport than the 6 nations? Boring as **** - and that’s before you even get into the home nations being littered with Oz rejects etc 😂

[Mcbizz1998]

Totally agree - Saturday 3pm KO’s are rare enough as it is, without actively changing our schedule to suit the 6 nations day trippers.

On a side note, is there a more repetitive tournament in sport than the 6 nations? Boring as **** - and that’s before you even get into the home nations being littered with Oz rejects etc 😂

Knew it wouldn’t be long before it turned into a rugby bashing thread.

Don’t like it, don’t watch it buddy!

[SickBoy32]

Knew it wouldn’t be long before it turned into a rugby bashing thread.

Don’t like it, don’t watch it buddy!

Certainly don’t watch it.

Ps it wasn’t meant to be a rugby bashing post either ( 6 nations bashing maybe , a tired format IMO)

Local club rugby can still be well worth a watch 👍

[Mcbizz1998]

Certainly don’t watch it.

Ps it wasn’t meant to be a rugby bashing post either ( 6 nations bashing maybe , a tired format IMO)

Local club rugby can still be well worth a watch 👍

Ah right? I’m confused - you don’t watch it but you know it’s ’boring as ****’? How do you know if you don’t watch?

Can I suggest you give it a watch and then come back with a more informed opinion?

[CropleyWasGod]

Totally agree - Saturday 3pm KO’s are rare enough as it is, without actively changing our schedule to suit the 6 nations day trippers.

On a side note, is there a more repetitive tournament in sport than the 6 nations? Boring as **** - and that’s before you even get into the home nations being littered with Oz rejects etc 😂

The SPFL Premiership?

:cb

[hibby rae]

I was at Scotland Vs Italy instead of Hibs Vs Aberdeen. Silly to have them on at the same time and Hibs game should have been moved. Definitely will notably impact attendance - rugby is a massive sport in Edinburgh whether people like it or not.

Only 4 games this season had a higher attendance than Saturday's fixture, Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, and the £5 Killie game.

In fact, comparing Aberdeen fixtures for the last 3 seasons, Saturday's attendance hits the expected average for those games.

Hard to see how fixtures at Murrayfield are having any real impact on standard attendances at Easter Road.

[Pretty Boy]

I'm a bit indifferent to the whole thing. I'm not really all that interested in the Six Nations, I'll watch it if it's on in the background but wouldn't pay to go to a game.

International rugby, certainly in Scotland, is a bit like a cup final or semi final for Hibs. It's an event a lot of people who don't go week in, week out want to attend as a one off. People can argue otherwise but the attendance at club rugby in Scotland backs up my point. I know there are reasons for it but the end result is the same, a huge chunk of the crowd don't regularly attend games outside the 2 recognised international windows.

With that in mind I think moving games that could potentially inconvenience fans who attend every week isn't the answer. The number who want to attend both won't be a huge number, the number who would actually choose the rugby over football fewer still. Professional club rugby doesn't even stop for the duration of the tournament so moving football about because of it seems a bit daft tbh.

[wookie70]

Would be handy for me if they didn’t clash. I was at Murrayfield on Saturday so missed our win v Aberdeen. £450 for the season pass at murrayfield (7 games) too expensive to miss a game.

I usually apply for accreditation to photograph the Scotland games and it is a pain missing Hibs games on my ST if I get accepted. Apart from anything you can't watch both games live and I would far rather have teh Hibs game moved to a Friday night albeit Aberdeen wouldn't be the ideal visitors for that

[He's here!]

The SPFL Premiership?

:cb

Good shout 😀

[Mcbizz1998]

I'm a bit indifferent to the whole thing. I'm not really all that interested in the Six Nations, I'll watch it if it's on in the background but wouldn't pay to go to a game.

International rugby, certainly in Scotland, is a bit like a cup final or semi final for Hibs. It's an event a lot of people who don't go week in, week out want to attend as a one off. People can argue otherwise but the attendance at club rugby in Scotland backs up my point. I know there are reasons for it but the end result is the same, a huge chunk of the crowd don't regularly attend games outside the 2 recognised international windows.

With that in mind I think moving games that could potentially inconvenience fans who attend every week isn't the answer. The number who want to attend both won't be a huge number, the number who would actually choose the rugby over football fewer still. Professional club rugby doesn't even stop for the duration of the tournament so moving football about because of it seems a bit daft tbh.

I would say it’s more like a football international than a semi final or cup final. Glasgow average attendance last year was around 7k, Edinburgh just under 10k. That includes the matches against each other which drew 40k at Murrayfield and 35k at Hampden. There are certainly fans who attend regularly.

That’s a bigger average attendance than St Mirren, Killie, Dundee, Motherwell, Ross County and St Johnstone. A little less than Dundee United. Of course there are only 2 pro clubs in Scotland but given Rugby is very much a minority sport, I don’t think that’s bad going.

Comparing the rugby annd football as you have, isn’t comparing apples with apples. Test match rugby has always been the pinnacle of the sport, far more popular than the club game. In many ways that’s the contrary in football, with club football tending to be very popular and of a higher standard than many international games.

The 2 international windows you mention account for 7 games, 6 of these sold out with one against Portugal surpassing 50k. Add on the 1872 cup games and rugby in Scotland over the 5 months between November 2024 and March 2025 will have attracted around 530k spectators through the turnstiles across only 9 games.

[Itsnoteasy]

Knew it wouldn’t be long before it turned into a rugby bashing thread.

Don’t like it, don’t watch it buddy!

This is not a rugby bash. But this residency rule for me is 💩. Stay here for 3/5 years & you can be Scottish for the weekend. That's a naw fi me.

[CropleyWasGod]

This is not a rugby bash. But this residency rule for me is 💩. Stay here for 3/5 years & you can be Scottish for the weekend. That's a naw fi me.

I think this rule raises the standard of the game world-wide.

You could have a team of, say, 15 New Zealanders who aren't going to get in the All Blacks side, but who are better players than those in most of the Northern Hemisphere sides. Without the residency and ancestry rules, they are lost to the international stage. The disparity between the NH and SH sides therefore becomes wider, and every WC becomes a NZ/SA slugfest.

Spreading them out across the world helps to create better equality, and much more of a competition.

Also, having these players at the domestic clubs helps our home-grown players improve their own game.

[Mcbizz1998]

This is not a rugby bash. But this residency rule for me is 💩. Stay here for 3/5 years & you can be Scottish for the weekend. That's a naw fi me.

It’s 5 years now, which is quite a long time for a player to live and play in a country. Duhan wouldn’t be an international without that rule and the game would be worse for it, especially in Scotland.

Scotland have the smallest player pool of tier 1 nations, no problem with using residency to supplement. I think it’s Jordan, Schoeman and Duhan who qualify via residency. Not that many, I see why some don’t like it but it’s worked well for Scotland.

[Phil MaGlass]

The clashes with the rugby will soon come to an end, Scottish rugby is pricing itself out of reach of lower to middle income fans anyway. Nae wurries aboot it is affecting our attendances.

[Mcbizz1998]

The clashes with the rugby will soon come to an end, Scottish rugby is pricing itself out of reach of lower to middle income fans anyway. Nae wurries aboot it is affecting our attendances.

Certainly doesn’t seem that way. Scotland now sell out games that they couldn’t have dreamt of 15 years ago. 50k along to watch a second string v Portugal. Incredible.

[He's here!]

I would say it’s more like a football international than a semi final or cup final. Glasgow average attendance last year was around 7k, Edinburgh just under 10k. That includes the matches against each other which drew 40k at Murrayfield and 35k at Hampden. There are certainly fans who attend regularly.

That’s a bigger average attendance than St Mirren, Killie, Dundee, Motherwell, Ross County and St Johnstone. A little less than Dundee United. Of course there are only 2 pro clubs in Scotland but given Rugby is very much a minority sport, I don’t think that’s bad going.

Comparing the rugby annd football as you have, isn’t comparing apples with apples. Test match rugby has always been the pinnacle of the sport, far more popular than the club game. In many ways that’s the contrary in football, with club football tending to be very popular and of a higher standard than many international games.

The 2 international windows you mention account for 7 games, 6 of these sold out with one against Portugal surpassing 50k. Add on the 1872 cup games and rugby in Scotland over the 5 months between November 2024 and March 2025 will have attracted around 530k spectators through the turnstiles across only 9 games.

Rugby quite often gets lazily dismissed as a 'posh' game, which has some traction in parts of the UK where it's mostly fee-paying schools which offer it as a sport, but it doesn't always hold up elsewhere - and indeed, back in the amateur days you had a truly eclectic mix of backgrounds in the Scotland team. However, I've often thought a bigger reason it doesn't command week-in, week-out attention like football is because the rules are harder to understand. I moved around the UK quite a lot as a kid and the primary school I went to in England (plus one of the high schools) played rugby. I don't know if I'd watch the game otherwise. However, having a basic grasp of the rules is why I can see that it's a great game if played in an entertaining fashion. I don't know if that holds true for all rugby fans, but I'd guess a significant number played the game in some form. In saying all that, while there are many extremely passionate and knowledgeable fans among the Scotland support, the Murrayfield weekends are also well attended by those who simply like the vibe.

Rugby's actually not that hard to understand and I imagine there are many more 'niche' sports with more complicated rules whose participants reckon they're better sports than those which command the media attention.

[JimboHibs]

The SPFL Premiership?

:cb

Absolutely 👍 good shout.

[wookie70]

Rugby quite often gets lazily dismissed as a 'posh' game, which has some traction in parts of the UK where it's mostly fee-paying schools which offer it as a sport, but it doesn't always hold up elsewhere - and indeed, back in the amateur days you had a truly eclectic mix of backgrounds in the Scotland team. However, I've often thought a bigger reason it doesn't command week-in, week-out attention like football is because the rules are harder to understand. I moved around the UK quite a lot as a kid and the primary school I went to in England (plus one of the high schools) played rugby. I don't know if I'd watch the game otherwise. However, having a basic grasp of the rules is why I can see that it's a great game if played in an entertaining fashion. I don't know if that holds true for all rugby fans, but I'd guess a significant number played the game in some form. In saying all that, while there are many extremely passionate and knowledgeable fans among the Scotland support, the Murrayfield weekends are also well attended by those who simply like the vibe.

Rugby's actually not that hard to understand and I imagine there are many more 'niche' sports with more complicated rules whose participants reckon they're better sports than those which command the media attention.

Most football fans don't know the rules to football but it doesn't stop them attending. I think in Scotland the main reason it isn't as well attended is because football is so successful with good attendences even at non league games. There are only so many sports fans and those that like both sports usually favour one and that often means you can't go to watch the other. I really like when Edinburgh Rugby play on a Friday night as I can then watch both them and Hibs.

[WhileTheChief..]

Ah right? I’m confused - you don’t watch it but you know it’s ’boring as ****’? How do you know if you don’t watch?

Can I suggest you give it a watch and then come back with a more informed opinion?

I think he'd rather watch Hibs :confused:

[Mcbizz1998]

I think he'd rather watch Hibs :confused:

That’s fine. But he gave an opinion on the 6 nations and then admitted he doesn’t watch it. Try reading the thread before butting in. Cheers.

[Craig_HFC]

Move the rugby if it’s a problem.

For once maybe the football fans could take priority and not be treated like 2nd class citizens compared to how the jeans & shoes brigade are treated.

[ErinGoBraghHFC]

Move the rugby if it’s a problem.

For once maybe the football fans could take priority and not be treated like 2nd class citizens compared to how the jeans & shoes brigade are treated.

Always find it mental that a minority sport takes precedence over the national sport in this country. But that’s the class system I suppose.


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[NAE NOOKIE]

Certainly doesn’t seem that way. Scotland now sell out games that they couldn’t have dreamt of 15 years ago. 50k along to watch a second string v Portugal. Incredible.

Yup its mental .... When someone told me what folk were paying for these games I thought they were taking the piss. I don't mind rugby, but what folk are willing to pay is insane.
According to the SRU site the cheapest adult ticket for Scotland v Ireland is £69.50 ... the most expensive £131.50 ... and you still have to pay a booking fee. You only have to look at the meltdown on here when cup final tickets hit the £30 mark to see how mad those prices are.

[wookie70]

Always find it mental that a minority sport takes precedence over the national sport in this country. But that’s the class system I suppose.


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We are talking about the National side, at a sell out Murrayfield with a worl wide audience. It is simply a more important event and barring policing I doubt football is even considered.

[Alfred E Newman]

Always find it mental that a minority sport takes precedence over the national sport in this country. But that’s the class system I suppose.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Come down to the Borders and spout your class system nonsense to the local rugby clubs and see where it gets you.

[Craig_HFC]

Come down to the Borders and spout your class system nonsense to the local rugby clubs and see where it gets you.

Will someone have a pish in his pint?

[The Spaceman]

Always find it mental that a minority sport takes precedence over the national sport in this country. But that’s the class system I suppose.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wait, a 65k attendance 6-weekends-a-season event should be shunted for an 18k attendance 16-weekends-a-season Hibs game? Someone better tell Oasis and Taylor Swift as well, awful lot of shoulders with chips on them to consider.

What a dumb post.

[Mcbizz1998]

Will someone have a pish in his pint?

LMAO!!! Good one! 👍👍

[ruthven_raiders]

3pm Saturday KO for me every time regardless of what’s happening in the city .well done hibs for not requesting it this weekend

Absolutely this, why should we move it to a Friday night or Sunday, I'm sure families wouldn't be happy at a Friday night game or me for that matter 😂 Saturday afternoon for football, I live in Edinburgh and had no problems with traffic getting thru the city centre.... kick off times were staggered...

[.Sean.]

Moving a 3pm Saturday kick off to accommodate the Rugger snobs up from the Borders on their yearly piss ups at the egg chasing. Deary me

[The Spaceman]

IQ of a ham sandwich stuff. Close thread.

[Kato]

Come down to the Borders and spout your class system nonsense to the local rugby clubs and see where it gets you.That's the borders though. In Edinburgh it is the posho sport and a lot of the posho "fans" just go to act out at the event rather than give a monkies about the sport itself.

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[Mcbizz1998]

That's the borders though. In Edinburgh it is the posho sport and a lot of the posho "fans" just go to act out at the event rather than give a monkies about the sport itself.

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That’s just not true. You made that up based on your own bias.

[HNA8]

Can we please cut out the personal insults and keep the thread on topic?

Otherwise it will be closed.

[Mcbizz1998]

Can we please cut out the personal insults and keep the thread on topic?

Otherwise it will be closed.

I regard being referred to as a ‘posho’ as a personal insult. Please delete that post as you deleted mine calling someone silly.

Thanks.

[ancient hibee]

E
I think this rule raises the standard of the game world-wide.

You could have a team of, say, 15 New Zealanders who aren't going to get in the All Blacks side, but who are better players than those in most of the Northern Hemisphere sides. Without the residency and ancestry rules, they are lost to the international stage. The disparity between the NH and SH sides therefore becomes wider, and every WC becomes a NZ/SA slugfest.

Spreading them out across the world helps to create better equality, and much more of a competition.

Also, having these players at the domestic clubs helps our home-grown players improve their own game.
The rules for qualifying for international teams has put me off most international sports. The action of Tom Jordan in coming to Glasgow,qualifying for Scotland and immediately jiggering off to play English club rugby next season is pretty sickening.

[Eyrie]

That's the borders though. In Edinburgh it is the posho sport and a lot of the posho "fans" just go to act out at the event rather than give a monkies about the sport itself.

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I'm not aware I'm posh.

I enjoy rugby because I'm open minded enough to be able to enjoy more than one sport.

There are other sports that don't interest me but I'm not dumb enough to slag them off when other people enjoy them.

[Kato]

That’s just not true. You made that up based on your own bias.No. You're claiming I made it up based on your bias.

Posho sport in Edinburgh - correct.

Some clueless attendees - practically 50% of every corporate package.

Not really bothered about the sport - check club game attendances.

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[Kato]

I'm not aware I'm posh.

I enjoy rugby because I'm open minded enough to be able to enjoy more than one sport.

There are other sports that don't interest me but I'm not dumb enough to slag them off when other people enjoy them.It's pretty simple if you look at it objectively.

Some posh people in Edinburgh like football.

Some non-posh people in Edinburgh like rugby.

Culturally speaking rugby in Edinburgh is the posh people's sport. If you deny that as you personally aren't posh but like rugby you're not really paying attention to the make up of culture of the sport in this city.

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[Mcbizz1998]

No. You're claiming I made it up based on your bias.

Posho sport in Edinburgh - correct.

Some clueless attendees - practically 50% of every corporate package.

Not really bothered about the sport - check club game attendances.

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Just listing out what you said again doesn’t prove anything. You might as well of written ‘FACT’ at the end.

[Kato]

I'm not aware I'm posh.

I enjoy rugby because I'm open minded enough to be able to enjoy more than one sport.

There are other sports that don't interest me but I'm not dumb enough to slag them off when other people enjoy them.PS - if you read what I said properly I'm not slagging people who like rugby at all. Quite the opposite.

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[Kato]

Just listing out what you said again doesn’t prove anything. You might as well of written ‘FACT’ at the end.Point out where I'm wrong.

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[He's here!]

Moving a 3pm Saturday kick off to accommodate the Rugger snobs up from the Borders on their yearly piss ups at the egg chasing. Deary me

It's your post which comes under the 'deary me' category.

[He's here!]

Come down to the Borders and spout your class system nonsense to the local rugby clubs and see where it gets you.

Edinburgh's the UK capital of fee-paying schools, but there have always been a fair few state schools in the city with strong links to rugby, Boroughmuir being historically the most successful. My uncle played for Trinity Accies for a couple of seasons before moving south and one of my son's pals turns out for Broughton most weeks. Royal High also have a long rugby history. Bit further afield Musselburgh, Preston Lodge and Currie have all made their mark.

An Edinburgh team with no school connection are Lismore who were, I think, named after a street in the city. They play at the Inch and host the Lismore Sevens which is a good day out.

[The Spaceman]

Looks like some folk just can’t comprehend that there is a life beyond Hibs for other supporters. It’s the same supporters who get mighty aggro on every match thread, every transfer thread, like it’s the sun their entire world revolves around and will determine their week/month/year. There’s more to life - for some people, that’s rugby. Don’t judge just because you can’t get your head around it?

[Mcbizz1998]

Point out where I'm wrong.

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Undoubtedly, more ‘posh’ people support rugby than football. But then, I could go around saying that football is for chavs, Ned’s, jakeys. I doubt many could argue that football supporters don’t have more of that type than other sports. But I wouldn’t say that because I know the majority of fans are normal people from different backgrounds. Your lazy characterisation of what you think Rugby supporters are, is in the main, wrong. I base that on my experience following Scotland home and away for 30 years (30 this year in fact).

Your points about people apparently being clueless about the sport, with the made up 50% statistic - how you could possibly know that is anyone’s guess.

On club attendances - they can be very high indeed for the 1872 cup, 75k over 2 games in December. The other games can see anything from 6-8k at each game which is reasonable for a minority sport. There’s also the point that you are comparing it to football, I mentioned earlier in the thread that rugby is not the same in that Test matches have always been the pinnacle of the game.

That stems from the game going professional much later, not until the mid-90’s. There were no pro-teams to go and watch, instead support was spread out across the many amateur teams. I grew up watching Edinburgh Accies (don’t worry, I didn’t attend Edinburgh Academy, I went to a non-posho school). Due to the amateur nature of the club game until recently, rugby fans have always followed Scotland much more avidly than their clubs.

So yeah, I think you’re wrong. I may be biased but I base it on my lifelong experience of watching the sport in this country. You are correct that there will be more posh people who support rugby but as I say there are more drug addicts that support football, doesn’t make it a junkie sport now does it?

[Frazerbob]

That's the borders though. In Edinburgh it is the posho sport and a lot of the posho "fans" just go to act out at the event rather than give a monkies about the sport itself.

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I'm not sure the guys at the likes of Leith Rugby Club, Ross High, PL, Musselburgh, Liberton, Portobello, Currie, Trinity, Broughton, Lismore, Forrester etc would agree with you.

[TrinityHFC]

Looks like some folk just can’t comprehend that there is a life beyond Hibs for other supporters. It’s the same supporters who get mighty aggro on every match thread, every transfer thread, like it’s the sun their entire world revolves around and will determine their week/month/year. There’s more to life - for some people, that’s rugby. Don’t judge just because you can’t get your head around it?

I think what you are trying to say is some people prefer other things, such as rugby, to Hibs. This makes them primarily rugby supporters rather than primarily being a Hibs supporter. That’s fine, but this is a Hibs fan site so it is fair to assume most people would see themselves as Hibs fans first and foremost and therefore going to a rugby game instead of a Hibs game is not something they’d consider someone who was primarily a Hibs fan would do.

I’m sure we can all get our head around people not having Hibs as one of the main things in their life even if we don’t associate with that.

[The Tubs]

Undoubtedly, more ‘posh’ people support rugby than football. But then, I could go around saying that football is for chavs, Ned’s, jakeys. I doubt many could argue that football supporters don’t have more of that type than other sports. But I wouldn’t say that because I know the majority of fans are normal people from different backgrounds. Your lazy characterisation of what you think Rugby supporters are, is in the main, wrong. I base that on my experience following Scotland home and away for 30 years (30 this year in fact).



Guilty, your Honour.

[Mcbizz1998]

Guilty, your Honour.

Haha!

[Mcbizz1998]

I'm not sure the guys at the likes of Leith Rugby Club, Ross High, PL, Musselburgh, Liberton, Portobello, Currie, Trinity, Broughton, Lismore, Forrester etc would agree with you.

Definitely Liberton. Played them a few times, think they should be renamed Gilmerton!

All good lads but certainly not posh haha.

[WhileTheChief..]

Totally selfish wanting to move the game to benefit a few hundred folk whilst inconveniencing 10,000+ of us.

I’m guessing we don’t consider the Aberdeen fans in this either?

[The Spaceman]

Totally selfish wanting to move the game to benefit a few hundred folk whilst inconveniencing 10,000+ of us.

I’m guessing we don’t consider the Aberdeen fans in this either?

More like a few thousand folk. Know a number of the boys sitting next to me like the rugby too. I’m in the West Stand by the way 🤗

[Mcbizz1998]

More like a few thousand folk. Know a number of the boys sitting next to me like the rugby too. I’m in the West Stand by the way 🤗

Posho stand!

[wookie70]

I think what you are trying to say is some people prefer other things, such as rugby, to Hibs. This makes them primarily rugby supporters rather than primarily being a Hibs supporter. That’s fine, but this is a Hibs fan site so it is fair to assume most people would see themselves as Hibs fans first and foremost and therefore going to a rugby game instead of a Hibs game is not something they’d consider someone who was primarily a Hibs fan would do.

I’m sure we can all get our head around people not having Hibs as one of the main things in their life even if we don’t associate with that.
I wouldn't attend a club rugby match instead of a Hibs match but a six nations game is a completely different decision. I like football as much as I like Rugby. I love Hibs and Scotland equally so that is where the competition comes in for me. I can go and watch 40 Hibs games every year but there are only 2 or 3 Six Nations games at Murrayfield. Now if it was up against a Derby match I would choose the Derby all day long. When I look at ER on a normal matchday 1000s of season ticket holders choose to do something else on some matchdays. I never missed a competitive game at ER for a decade up until I started working on Saturdays but once you get out the habit missing the odd one doesn't hurt as much, although I always feel a bit guilty not attending a game at ER

[Kato]

Undoubtedly, more ‘posh’ people support rugby than football. But then, I could go around saying that football is for chavs, Ned’s, jakeys. I doubt many could argue that football supporters don’t have more of that type than other sports. But I wouldn’t say that because I know the majority of fans are normal people from different backgrounds. Your lazy characterisation of what you think Rugby supporters are, is in the main, wrong. I base that on my experience following Scotland home and away for 30 years (30 this year in fact).

Your points about people apparently being clueless about the sport, with the made up 50% statistic - how you could possibly know that is anyone’s guess.

On club attendances - they can be very high indeed for the 1872 cup, 75k over 2 games in December. The other games can see anything from 6-8k at each game which is reasonable for a minority sport. There’s also the point that you are comparing it to football, I mentioned earlier in the thread that rugby is not the same in that Test matches have always been the pinnacle of the game.

That stems from the game going professional much later, not until the mid-90’s. There were no pro-teams to go and watch, instead support was spread out across the many amateur teams. I grew up watching Edinburgh Accies (don’t worry, I didn’t attend Edinburgh Academy, I went to a non-posho school). Due to the amateur nature of the club game until recently, rugby fans have always followed Scotland much more avidly than their clubs.

So yeah, I think you’re wrong. I may be biased but I base it on my lifelong experience of watching the sport in this country. You are correct that there will be more posh people who support rugby but as I say there are more drug addicts that support football, doesn’t make it a junkie sport now does it?So I'm correct more posh people support rugby.

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[Hibernian Verse]

More like a few thousand folk. Know a number of the boys sitting next to me like the rugby too. I’m in the West Stand by the way 🤗

To be fair, you are quite posh ;)

[Mcbizz1998]

So I'm correct more posh people support rugby.

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Yeah, sure. If that’s what you want to take from it 👍

[NAE NOOKIE]

Totally selfish wanting to move the game to benefit a few hundred folk whilst inconveniencing 10,000+ of us.

I’m guessing we don’t consider the Aberdeen fans in this either?

My only concern when I started the thread was what possible financial implications our games clashing with Scotland had for the club. There is absolutely no doubt that we lose fans to the rugby, including season ticket holders, because they go to Murrayfield ... what I would be interested in would be to find out how many on average. Us moving games when it's on, enabling folk to go who would still choose Hibs, but might get to Murrayfield if it was an option meaning they could still see the Hibs game was simply a by product of that.

The questions;

1) How much does Scotland being at home affect us?

2) If our game was moved would we be getting visiting bufters coming to our games?

Its purely about how it affects Hibs commercially which I would have thought as a business they would be curious about .... I don't see whats 'selfish' about that.

[Hibernian Verse]

My only concern when I started the thread was what possible financial implications our games clashing with Scotland had for the club. There is absolutely no doubt that we lose fans to the rugby, including season ticket holders, because they go to Murrayfield ... what I would be interested in would be to find out how many on average. Us moving games when it's on, enabling folk to go who would still choose Hibs, but might get to Murrayfield if it was an option meaning they could still see the Hibs game was simply a by product of that.

The questions;

1) How much does Scotland being at home affect us?

2) If our game was moved would we be getting visiting bufters coming to our games?

Its purely about how it affects Hibs commercially which I would have thought as a business they would be curious about .... I don't see whats 'selfish' about that.

What is a bufter in this context? Or am I missing something completely.

[hibby rae]

My only concern when I started the thread was what possible financial implications our games clashing with Scotland had for the club. There is absolutely no doubt that we lose fans to the rugby, including season ticket holders, because they go to Murrayfield ... what I would be interested in would be to find out how many on average. Us moving games when it's on, enabling folk to go who would still choose Hibs, but might get to Murrayfield if it was an option meaning they could still see the Hibs game was simply a by product of that.

The questions;

1) How much does Scotland being at home affect us?

2) If our game was moved would we be getting visiting bufters coming to our games?

Its purely about how it affects Hibs commercially which I would have thought as a business they would be curious about .... I don't see whats 'selfish' about that.

If you look at my post on page 2, the numbers don't really support that assertion. Basically the Aberdeen attendance was pretty standard for that fixture.

[skankomcphee]

Come down to the Borders and spout your class system nonsense to the local rugby clubs and see where it gets you.

There’s an irony in that some of the darkest chapters in recent club rugby history have arisen in the Borders and Fife (below) as opposed to what some in the thread have described as the more “posh” elements of the rugby Establishment. I’d like to think that this sort of incident is now culturally a thing of the past.


Scottish Rugby imposes heavy bans over sickening initiation ceremony

Richard Bath

The bans are believed to be the heaviest in the history of the game in Scotland

Scottish Rugby has delivered what are believed to be the heaviest bans in the history of the game north of the border when it handed out 347 weeks of suspensions to 14 players, a coach and an official at a Fife club over a sickening initiation ceremony which is understood to have left one player with internal injuries.

The bans - involved the second tier side Howe of Fife RFC - are among the toughest ever imposed anywhere in the sport, and come as the authorities throughout the UK have voiced concern so-called initiation ceremonies are leading to a massive drop-off in participation in rugby.

Charges of sexual assault were initially brought over the Howe of Fife incident, which occurred on board the team bus in September last year, when the Cupar club’s first team were hammered 71-20 at Jed-Forest.

The SRU has refused to comment on reports that the incident involved a bottle being inserted into the victim's anus.

Two officials each received bans of 54 weeks “from any involvement in rugby coaching, officiating or administration” for “failing to exercise reasonable and proper control over the players under their supervision”.

Garry Horne, the club’s former head coach and father of Scotland international Peter, was banned for a year, as was former president Murdo Fraser.

Both men resigned in June after Scottish Rugby announced that it had launched a formal investigation into allegations of misconduct.

The longest bans were handed down to two Howe players, who each received a ban of 84 weeks. Twenty-year-old Angus Guthrie and 22-year-old Robert Douglas are effectively barred from rugby for two seasons, while teammate Stephen Martin received an eight-week ban and eleven further Howe first-team players received six-week bans.

It is understood that the lesser bans are not for actively taking part in the incident, but for failing to stop it.

Following the incident, two Cupar players were subsequently arrested and charged with sexual assault.

Although criminal proceedings were brought, the case was settled through an “alternative to prosecution (direct measure)” - believed to involve a fine being paid - which ensured it never reached court.

Given that the majority of the Howe of Fife first team have been suspended, Scottish Rugby have staggered the suspensions.

However, every office bearer, trustee, director and player at the club who is over the age of 18 will be required to attend a series of workshops to improve the club’s culture.

“The behaviour of those involved in this incident, including several individuals in positions of authority at the club, was completely unacceptable,” said Scottish Rugby’s chief executive Mark Dodson.

“Scottish Rugby has been proactive to ensure a full, independent disciplinary process was conducted and that measures are put in place to deliver a change of culture at the club. “The actions of those involved have absolutely no place in our sport. Significant sanctions have been applied in this matter and Scottish Rugby will not hesitate to take action against any club, official or player behaving in a similarly unacceptable manner.”

In most regards, Howe, who are currently in National League Division 2 after being relegated last season, have been an exemplary community club.

As well as turning out several internationals, ranging from 1960s Scotland and Lions prop Dave Rollo to current Scotland internationals and Glasgow Warriors players Peter Horne and Chris Fusaro, Howe of Fife’s feeder school, Bell Baxter, remains the only state school ever to have won the Scottish Schools Cup.

The club has also raised £1.5m to build a new clubhouse, has a thriving junior section and has pioneered player safety protocols around concussion.

However, the incident is reminiscent of another ugly episode in Scottish rugby, which occurred in 2001 when Kelso second-row forward Steven Rowley ended up in hospital after being stripped and assaulted with a pool cue at his own stag party, held at the club’s Poynder Park clubhouse. After Rowley was left with internal injuries that required hospitalisation, the club captain resigned and was suspended for the remainder of the season by the club, while four further players received four-week bans.

Fifteen years later, the idea that a similar incident would be dealt with by the club rather than by the police and the game’s governing body is unconscionable. Instead, it has led to proceedings and to draconian bans by Scottish Rugby.

[NAE NOOKIE]

Moving a 3pm Saturday kick off to accommodate the Rugger snobs up from the Borders on their yearly piss ups at the egg chasing. Deary me

Borders rugby is many things mate ... snobby aint one of them.

Tell ye something else. No matter how pish Hibs become the folk from the Borders who support the club are still always there, I see the same folk at every game whether we are fighting for 3rd or fighting to stay up. There's plenty of 'fans' from Edinburgh could take a lesson in sticking with the club in adversity from the Borders Hibbies, and lest you forget it's not just a case of jumping on an LRT bus for 20 minutes to get to Easter Road for us.

One thing we face that most Edinburgh kids don't is pressure at school to get into the rugby ... every high school has a rugby team, none of them that I am aware of have a football team, certainly not when I was at school in the 70s and that probably hasn't changed. That's why a lot of Borders kids play, and like, both sports. In my brief time in the Borders pub league there was plenty of folk who played rugby on the Saturday and football on the Sunday.

[NAE NOOKIE]

What is a bufter in this context? Or am I missing something completely.

Not really sure myself mate .... but for as long as I can remember the fitba fans I know have referred to 'rugby bufters' as a tongue in cheek derogatory term. :greengrin

[overdrive]

I've just joined my local rugby club as an associate member (which I think is a fancy term for social member) after we got a leaflet through the door asking for the community to get behind them after some financial challenges. Planning on going for a drink there at the weekend, so I'll report back on everyone's poshness. I'll hand round a questionnaire to everyone to rate their preferences on sandwich fillings to judge it :greengrin:rolleyes:

[WestStandWillie]

Doesn't clash all that often but when it does it's terrible.

Should ask Glasgow if they want to swap having the home of football with the home of rugby. Get a proper meltdown from the weegies and the rugger brigade :cb

[NAE NOOKIE]

I've just joined my local rugby club as an associate member (which I think is a fancy term for social member) after we got a leaflet through the door asking for the community to get behind them after some financial challenges. Planning on going for a drink there at the weekend, so I'll report back on everyone's poshness. I'll hand round a questionnaire to everyone to rate their preferences on sandwich fillings to judge it :greengrin:rolleyes:

If you believe this thread they'll all be called Fraser, Gervais and Torquil with a few Farquhars thrown in :greengrin

[overdrive]

If you believe this thread they'll all be called Fraser, Gervais and Torquil with a few Farquhars thrown in :greengrin

Well there’s definitely one of them as one of those names is my name. I must be posh! :faf:

[nonshinyfinish]

You might as well of written

A deliberate error to burnish non-posho credentials. Well played.

[hibsforeurope]

Having missed Saturday's Hibs game due to being a season ticket holder at Murrayfield also, i would welcome One of them moving to a Friday night.

The 6 nations have Friday night games often, as fans who travel usually make a weekend of it, they will already be in the city the day before, a Friday night fixture would work fine. I would much rather attend Murrayfield on a Friday night than a Sunday.

As the clash is fairly infrequent perhaps alternating Friday night games would be an option. The 1st move would need to come from Hibs for this to happen as Scotland are virtually guaranteed sell outs no matter what day they play.

[monarch]

[QUOTE=overdrive;7886425]Well there’s definitely one of them as one of those names is my name. I must be posh! :faf:[

Tell me it’s not Gervais or Torquill :greengrin

[basehibby]

Folk usually complain when games get moved from 3pm on a Saturday.

For the handful of Hibs fans that might decide to go to Murrayfield, there would probably be multiple times that number that wouldn’t go on a Friday night or Sunday.

Crap idea and one I hope Hibs don’t explore.

It's not just so as folk can go to Murrayfield - I really enjoy the rugby internationals and they are always televised. Hibs get priority for me but wouldn't be so sure if Scotland were in a Grand Slam decider for example.
It makes sense to avoid clashing with 6 Nations games if possible - they are enormous sporting g events that many thousands of football fans enjoy - even if you don't.

[WhileTheChief..]

It's not just so as folk can go to Murrayfield - I really enjoy the rugby internationals and they are always televised. Hibs get priority for me but wouldn't be so sure if Scotland were in a Grand Slam decider for example.
It makes sense to avoid clashing with 6 Nations games if possible - they are enormous sporting g events that many thousands of football fans enjoy - even if you don't.

I’ve never said I don’t like rugby or the six nations, no idea what gave you that idea.

I just don’t want the Hibs game moved so that a few folk can watch it on the telly.

It’s total BS. Why is it always football fans that have to make concessions?

If you want to watch the rugby, crack on. It’s your choice to miss a game at ER that you’ve maybe paid for as a ST holder.

But neither you, nor anyone else in favour of the idea, seem to give a damn about the rest of us, or the away fans.

Anyways, it’s a non starter and I doubt we’ll see the club asking for Friday night kick offs any time soon.

[He's here!]

Having missed Saturday's Hibs game due to being a season ticket holder at Murrayfield also, i would welcome One of them moving to a Friday night.

The 6 nations have Friday night games often, as fans who travel usually make a weekend of it, they will already be in the city the day before, a Friday night fixture would work fine. I would much rather attend Murrayfield on a Friday night than a Sunday.

As the clash is fairly infrequent perhaps alternating Friday night games would be an option. The 1st move would need to come from Hibs for this to happen as Scotland are virtually guaranteed sell outs no matter what day they play.

Sunday games suck, whatever the sport. As a fan you want to be able to go out on the Saturday night after the game knowing that you've got Sunday to recover/reflect etc rather than coming out of the ground on a Sunday evening and having to think about work the next day, or be facing a long journey home with no chance to unwind with fellow fans in the pub.

I'd scrap Sunday games if I could. I remember when they first started appearing in the 1980s and disliking them from the start (might be wrong but my recollection is of Hibs playing Sunderland in a mid-season friendly for some reason circa 1982 and that being one of the first, if not the first, Sunday matches they'd played). But then I'm old enough to remember when you couldn't buy booze on a Sunday and most shops were shut. Pretty much all sporting events, including the Open and Wimbledon used to finish on a Saturday. That originally came down to the Sabbath being observed as a day of rest I guess and famously impacted on Eric Liddell at the Olympics. I'm not a religious person but in today's 24-hour culture I sometimes think a chance to hit pause/reset might not be the worst thing.

[basehibby]

I’ve never said I don’t like rugby or the six nations, no idea what gave you that idea.

I just don’t want the Hibs game moved so that a few folk can watch it on the telly.

It’s total BS. Why is it always football fans that have to make concessions?

If you want to watch the rugby, crack on. It’s your choice to miss a game at ER that you’ve maybe paid for as a ST holder.

But neither you, nor anyone else in favour of the idea, seem to give a damn about the rest of us, or the away fans.

Anyways, it’s a non starter and I doubt we’ll see the club asking for Friday night kick offs any time soon.


It's not just "a few folk" but many thousands we are talking about.

[overdrive]

Tell me it’s not Gervais or Torquill :greengrin

Thankfully, not!

[JimBHibees]

It's not just "a few folk" but many thousands we are talking about.

Thousands?

[WhileTheChief..]

It's not just "a few folk" but many thousands we are talking about.

There no way a few thousand Hibs fans missed the game to watch the rugby.

Not even close.

[hibby rae]

It's not just "a few folk" but many thousands we are talking about.

The average attendance against Aberdeen at ER since the Covid season is 15,965, the attendance on Saturday was 16,533.

If people want to watch Scotland play rugby over Hibs at Easter Road, that's fine. But there's not reason why a 3pm fixture should be moved for a tiny minority of people who would rather be doing something else.

[Jamesie]

Having missed Saturday's Hibs game due to being a season ticket holder at Murrayfield also, i would welcome One of them moving to a Friday night.

The 6 nations have Friday night games often, as fans who travel usually make a weekend of it, they will already be in the city the day before, a Friday night fixture would work fine. I would much rather attend Murrayfield on a Friday night than a Sunday.

As the clash is fairly infrequent perhaps alternating Friday night games would be an option. The 1st move would need to come from Hibs for this to happen as Scotland are virtually guaranteed sell outs no matter what day they play.

Curiously, Scotland is the only 6 Nations team never to have played in a Friday night fixture in the tournament.

[Craig_HFC]

Curiously, Scotland is the only 6 Nations team never to have played in a Friday night fixture in the tournament.

That’ll be because the fans will all be too busy shooting pheasants, playing croquet or fox hunting to go to Murrayfield.

:greengrin

[itslegaltender]

Have a real disdfain for Rugby, especially Currie Rugby Club who basically took over Malleny Park in Balerno and treat it like they own the whole park. Had many arguments over the years. So petty, that if ever I need to park there, I park in one of their committee allocated spaces.

And another thing, its in Balerno, so why keep the name Currie? Egg chasing barstewards.:wink:

[Bishop Hibee]

Is it really £100 for an average ticket to see Scotland v Ireland on Sunday?

[hibsforeurope]

Is it really £100 for an average ticket to see Scotland v Ireland on Sunday?

It’ll probably be more, I have the cheapest bracket of season ticket and that was priced at £60-70 for the Italy game. The 7 games cost £325 overall.
The cheapest hospitality ticket is £750(possibly plus vat)
But for the 6 nations and the chance to see the world champions I think it’s worth it.

I wouldn’t pay the £30 per match to watch Edinburgh or Glasgow however. I’ve seen 1 pro game since the borders were axed in 2007

[Phil MaGlass]

Borders rugby is many things mate ... snobby aint one of them.

Tell ye something else. No matter how pish Hibs become the folk from the Borders who support the club are still always there, I see the same folk at every game whether we are fighting for 3rd or fighting to stay up. There's plenty of 'fans' from Edinburgh could take a lesson in sticking with the club in adversity from the Borders Hibbies, and lest you forget it's not just a case of jumping on an LRT bus for 20 minutes to get to Easter Road for us.

One thing we face that most Edinburgh kids don't is pressure at school to get into the rugby ... every high school has a rugby team, none of them that I am aware of have a football team, certainly not when I was at school in the 70s and that probably hasn't changed. That's why a lot of Borders kids play, and like, both sports. In my brief time in the Borders pub league there was plenty of folk who played rugby on the Saturday and football on the Sunday.

Aye ah just came up from Peebles to Edinburgh for Saturdays game, 1hr.15mins travel due to road works and complete shi22y maintained roads in Edinburgh, nightmare for someone with a hernia, but aye all that travelling to and from ER deserves a medal.The cooncil all deserve a boot in the baws.

[wookie70]

I’ve never said I don’t like rugby or the six nations, no idea what gave you that idea.

I just don’t want the Hibs game moved so that a few folk can watch it on the telly.


I would never watch a Rugby game on the TV at the expense of missing a Hibs home fixture. I presumed we were all talking about actually attending the games

[Bristolhibby]

I’ve done the double header I think three times.

As an out of town fan (from Bath so I also love rugby) I can “kill two birds with one stone”.

Done it both ways.

It was QOTS and New Zealand (had to leave at HT as I realised I’d left my rugby tickets at my uncles, got to Murrayfield for the haka).

Watched us get pumped by Livingston before going to watch Scotland v Georgia in a World Cup warm up.

And have done it in reverse. Watching Scotland v Italy in the early KO before jumping on a tram to watch Hibs. Was pre expansion so had to leg it from Picardy Place down to ER.

I agree de conflicting would make things more attractive for me to come up. Was ummming and ah-ing about coming up last weekend, but couldn’t decide if I wanted Hibs or Scotland. In the end watched them both on the telly.

If there was a split in Kick Offs I’d have defo come up.

J

[hibsforeurope]

Aye ah just came up from Peebles to Edinburgh for Saturdays game, 1hr.15mins travel due to road works and complete shi22y maintained roads in Edinburgh, nightmare for someone with a hernia, but aye all that travelling to and from ER deserves a medal.The cooncil all deserve a boot in the baws.

The Roads from Easter Road to the Borders are shocking. It took me 10 minutes longer to get from Perth to Innerleithen after the St Johnston game than it does getting back from a home game.

[JimBHibees]

The Roads from Easter Road to the Borders are shocking. It took me 10 minutes longer to get from Perth to Innerleithen after the St Johnston game than it does getting back from a home game.

Which way do you go? Agree not easy to get awsy from ER especially when Holyrood park shut

[hibsforeurope]

Which way do you go? Agree not easy to get awsy from ER especially when Holyrood park shut

usually down Caigintinny Road to Sir Harry lauder road and on to they by-pass, once i get to A68 turn off it take less time from there to home then the reverse part of the journey.

i've tried a number of ways but all seem to have some sort of works going on constantly.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Edinburgh's the UK capital of fee-paying schools, but there have always been a fair few state schools in the city with strong links to rugby, Boroughmuir being historically the most successful. My uncle played for Trinity Accies for a couple of seasons before moving south and one of my son's pals turns out for Broughton most weeks. Royal High also have a long rugby history. Bit further afield Musselburgh, Preston Lodge and Currie have all made their mark.

An Edinburgh team with no school connection are Lismore who were, I think, named after a street in the city. They play at the Inch and host the Lismore Sevens which is a good day out.

Not sure about the others but Broughton Rugby Club has absolutely nothing to do with the school.

[He's here!]

Not sure about the others but Broughton Rugby Club has absolutely nothing to do with the school.

It was formed as a club for former pupils of the school, as were each of the clubs I've mentioned. Like most clubs though they've long since ditched the former pupil requirement to play for them. I'd be surprised if there are any strictly FP clubs left in fact.

Incidentally, since my previous post I've attended a presentation at Boroughmuir High School and while waiting for it to start I spotted that they have a display case honouring 'famous former pupil Lawrie Reilly' which includes one of his Scotland caps and a league winners medal with Hibs.