Sir, – The rugby clientele are over-endowed with a reserve not common to the GAA or soccer fraternity. They are not as emotionally invested as supporters of local parish teams or the soccer tribes, and have not been inculcated in the chants and ditties common to them.
It also doesn’t help that we have not one but two anthems more suitable as an anaesthetic than the rousing feet-stomping, blood-curdling French, Welsh or Scottish versions.
We also urgently need a few short, snappy chants as it takes a long time to build to a crescendo singing the Fields of Athenry compared with the French Allez les Bleus.
It is also worth nothing that with the cost of tickets, many attend the prestigious fixtures just to be there rather than to energetically support.
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Attending any sporting fixture is about engagement with the supporters – that is what makes the experience special. Last Saturday the French supporters were more convivial, humorous, knowledgeable and engaging than the locals. – Yours, etc
TOMÁS FINN,
Ballinasloe,
Co Galway