Sir, – They say that paper never refuses ink (my laser-jet printer sometimes disagrees) but one thing is for sure, the cliché of a posh-boy rugby boor is a reference that will never be excised by an Irish Times subeditor.
Johnny Watterson makes some fair points on what constitutes a “real fan” but my own theory on the mediocre game atmosphere is that rugby now encompasses a fandom that never played the game (“Pints at the Aviva, dinner at Roly’s and the Dart home. Since when has that not been a ‘real’ rugby fan experience?”, Sport, March 22nd).
Personally I found it difficult to grasp the sport until I joined a club as a player (not having attended a rugby school).
Regrettably the number of adults lining out for clubs up and down the country is extraordinarily low, given the massive TV audiences the national team attract, and yet if one proposed that active players be given priority for international ticket allocation, one would be accused of exclusion or even “elitism”.
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The criticism of this championship winning team makes me think many followers expect Harlem Globetrotter-style exhibition games and underlines the dearth of understanding and playing experience that most modern rugby fans have. – Yours, etc,
MATTHEW GLOVER,
Lucan,
Co Dublin.