Sir, – Gerry Thornley's reflections on last Saturday's rugby test match at the Aviva Stadium between Ireland and the All Blacks perfectly encapsulates the thoughts of all fair-minded rugby fans who watched the match ("Time to address the stampeding elephant in rugby's room", Analysis, November 22nd).
Generous in his praise of the gifted New Zealanders, your correspondent was also refreshingly honest in highlighting instances of appalling foul play by some All Blacks players.
The most technically gifted rugby team on the planet should not need to resort to thuggery to eke out victory in high-stakes and closely contested matches. New Zealand’s approach last Saturday was dangerously manic, and coach Steve Hansen’s post-match tetchiness with RTÉ’s Clare McNamara, who broached the over-robust approach of his team, was telling. Despite their brilliance, the All Blacks won no new fans last Saturday. There is nothing attractive about a “win at any cost” attitude to sport. – Yours etc,
PJ McDERMOTT,
Westport,
Co Mayo.
Sir, – After Ireland beat the All Blacks in Chicago fair and square, I thought Steve Hansen and the All Blacks took their defeat on the chin and with very good grace. I know for a fact that the New Zealand rugby public, who do not see their All Blacks lose very often, certainly took the defeat with good grace, and all around the country, in pubs and clubs, and on talk radio and such like, people were saying Ireland deserved to win, and it is far better to be beaten by the Irish than anyone else, and especially England.
I have to say I thought the reaction of the Irish public, and particularly the Irish rugby media, to the recent Dublin match to have been anything but gracious. Perhaps the victory in Chicago gave false hopes, even expectations? I wouldn’t have thought so for the team, but certainly it seemed so for the public.
Instead of griping and whinging, Irish rugby fans should be asking how their team could have 66 per cent of possession and not score a try. That is the real issue arising from this match. Unfortunate as it was for Rob Henshaw to be so badly injured, anyone watching the replays of that tackle, with both their eyes, will see the first contact was a head clash, and it most certainly wasn’t deliberate.
No gripes about Malakai Fekitoa’s suspension, and I doubt anyone here could have griped if he had been red-carded, albeit it was reckless rather than intentional.
To close, I can tell you New Zealand rugby fans would very much love to see Ireland rumble England in the Six Nations. But let me tell you, you won’t do it if you dwell on past injustices, whether perceived or real, rather than objectively reviewing where you actually went wrong last Saturday. – Yours, etc,
PHILIP CHITTY,
Albany,
Auckland,
New Zealand.