It may not have been as packed for the Wales game or Scotland in ten days time but hundreds of fans braved the first flurries of the ‘Beast from the East’ to see the Irish Rugby team take part in an open training session at the Aviva Stadium yesterday.
They probably got more drama than they would have hoped for when Chris Farrell, the man of the match against Wales on his NatWest 6 Nations debut, twisted his knee on the pitch, an injury which means he will now miss the last two games of the Championship.
The open training sessions are a welcome opportunity to get closer to the players than would normally be the case. Two weeks ago a similar session took place at Buccaneers club in Athlone while the team were in camp at Athlone Institute of Technology.
They also provide a chance to gather social media content which is then shared out among the wider fan base.
Irish Rugby’s Social media Manager Barry Cunningham was on hand with his camera team to capture a few words with Conor Murray and Jacob Stockdale, something that would not happen at a normal training session and which has been viewed 25,000 times this morning through the IRFU’s Facebook page.
That’s good news for the fans and for the sponsors with all of the fans yesterday given Vodafone and Irish Rugby flags to wave.
Access to players is perhaps harder now than it has ever been but with social media the reverse is true and that gives a warm glow all around, even as the temperatures dropped.
Sign up today for our free daily news digest covering the commercial world of sport or discover the benefits of becoming a full member alongside the many leading organisations whom we serve.
Image credit: James Crombie, Inpho Photography
