A chara, - I write on the assumption that it is our intention to do more than merely make up the numbers and supply traditional hospitality to our visitors from the United States, Australia, Romania and (possibly) France in the forthcoming Rugby World Cup. But if we are to win the competition we must be confident enough to set out our intentions from the beginning, and that means, in the first place, organising wholehearted support for the team and its management.
Croke Park will be festooned in the colours of Cork (twice), Kilkenny and Meath for the All-Ireland Championships. Why do we suppose that our rugby players need or deserve less support than our hurlers and footballers? Who can doubt that the support Ulster brought with them to Lansdowne Road for the European Final against Colomiers was a big factor in their ultimate triumph? Why cannot Lansdowne Road be festooned in the colours of Ireland, if it can be festooned in the colours of Ulster, or if Croke Park can be festooned in the black and amber of Kilkenny or the green and gold of Meath?
Visiting teams to Lansdowne Road always approached the prospect of playing there with apprehension. Let us do everything in our power to foster these apprehensions, even, or especially, among Australians. Let them feel, and hear, and above all see the strength of our support for Ireland. - Is mise,
Gerald Morgan, Arts Building, Trinity College, Dublin 2.