Irish schoolboy rugby match marred by violent scenes outside stadium

An Irish schools rugby match in Dublin yesterday was marred by ugly scenes outside the stadium, with fans of two rival schools coming to blows in the middle of the street.

St Michaels beat Terenure College 25 – 13 in the Leinster Senior Cup, the province’s elite schoolboy tournament, at Donnybrook Stadium in leafy south Dublin.

Following the game a street fight broke out between fans of the two rival private schools outside Leinster’s former home ground.

Manager of local pub Kielys, a longtime favourite with rugby fans, told the Irish Independent newspaper: “It’s an absolute disgrace. It kicked off outside the pub.

“We tried to break it up. I was standing in the middle of it and the owner and his two sons too, trying to calm it down.

It was fairly serious out there at one stage. There was no respect. We called the guards and they arrived.”

Irish schoolboy rugby is one of the most keenly contested and competitive of any Tier 1 nation, and occasional that passion spills over into violence.