Sir, Little, if anything, has been said about the Irish rugby captain opting to play into the wind, and a strong one at that, against Scotland. As any athlete who has run or jumped into a strong breeze will tell you, it saps the energy, troubles the concentration and causes imbalance.concerned there is increased yardage to every kick.
Playing with it in the first half gave the Scots a physical and psychological advantage and saw them finish fresher for the second half. Whereas the wind had a tiring effect on the Irish, which tended to unbalance their technical performance.
The scoring pattern would bear this out, if you give the Scots a 10 per cent advantage from the wind in the first hall, resulting in a 16 to 10 points lead. In the second half the wind advantage to the Irish was cancelled out by the Scots being 10 per cent fresher, adding up to a level, if scoreless, half.
Where one team is decidedly better than the other, the wind factor is not so important, but this wasn't the case at Lansdowne Road. If only in the belief that a good start is half the battle, wind power is best recruited from the start. Yours, etc.,
Moyne Road,
Dublin 6.