Sir, – In his excellent sports column, Matt Williams quoted statistics in relation to recent rugby World Cup finals. “In four finals South Africa has kicked 18 penalty goals, two conversions and two drop goals. That’s 64 points from the boot and only 10 points from carrying the ball” (“It’s diabolical that the laws of rugby punish the team in possession”, Sport, Analysis, November 4th).
That’s in a game where the ball is generally supposed to pass by hand. In addition, the teams who are victorious have a big and powerful pack, plus a very strong defence.
The result is a less exciting and low-scoring game for spectators and viewers.
Conversely, in Gaelic football, the ball is supposed to be kicked – the clue is in the name. However, the vast majority of passes are delivered via the handpass. Gaelic teams defend with up to 14 men behind the ball and remain within their own 45. With this defence-minded approach the end result is similarly a low-scoring game with less entertainment for the paying public. Surely a change in the rules for both codes appears to be necessary, and soon. – Yours, etc,
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PAT BONNER,
Dungloe,
Co Donegal.