As you may or may not know I'm a bit of a rugby fan and something came to me watching the Six Nations, what if Ireland had two rugby national rugby teams, representing the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland?
Of course the Irish national side predates the troubles/civil war and is one of the few institutions that remained representitive of ALL of Ireland afterwards with players from both North and South of the border.
Of course this has lead to all manner of fun trivia as a fan of the game, such as them playing a third national anthem before matches (Ireland Calls) instead of the anthems of N.Ireland and the Rep Ireland. Other events include the infamous Ireland vs England game of 1972 (England was the only team that would play them at the height of the troubles) and England vs Ireland game at Croke Park in 2007 that caused problems (The stadium was the site of a infamous British Army massacre of Irish civilians).
But I cant seem to find much info on how/why the Irelands field a united team after the civil war and during troubles and would love to know was a rugby split ever possible?
Of course the Irish national side predates the troubles/civil war and is one of the few institutions that remained representitive of ALL of Ireland afterwards with players from both North and South of the border.
Of course this has lead to all manner of fun trivia as a fan of the game, such as them playing a third national anthem before matches (Ireland Calls) instead of the anthems of N.Ireland and the Rep Ireland. Other events include the infamous Ireland vs England game of 1972 (England was the only team that would play them at the height of the troubles) and England vs Ireland game at Croke Park in 2007 that caused problems (The stadium was the site of a infamous British Army massacre of Irish civilians).
But I cant seem to find much info on how/why the Irelands field a united team after the civil war and during troubles and would love to know was a rugby split ever possible?