Madam, – Congratulations to The Irish Timesaka Tom Humphries for his extremely perceptive Johannesburg Letter (Sport, June 30th). Amid the glossy supplements, blogs and Twitter sites, it proves that there is still a place for that endangered species, the journalist – or even the hack. He succeeded in creating a context for the significance of the World Cup to the majority of South Africa's population. My only regret is that he is not going to be home for the Leinster hurling final on Sunday! – Yours, etc,