Sir, – It is not only problems with the scrum (January 2nd, 3rd, 4th) that have adversely affected the game of rugby.
As a former player, undistinguished (apart from a single fortunate Ulster cap when regular players were laid low) and now in my eighties, I find it very strange that rugby has reached the peak of its popularity at a time when it is a far less exciting spectacle than it was in the Jack Kyle years (my era).
A large part of the game is now given over to a forward advancing a few yards before a loose scrum is formed, the ball recycled and the move repeated. In my day this was a feature of rugby league and is an incredibly boring process to watch and, I imagine, to play.
Back in the good old days there was far more running with the ball and the ability to evade a tackle and keep up the momentum of the game was all-important.
Also the physique of the players, particularly the forwards, has changed due to weight training. Some of the extreme examples are of Incredible Hulk proportions! I played in the second row weighing 12½ stone – nowadays I would be considered too light to be a touch judge!
It was always a rough sport but today’s battering-ram physique makes it a dangerous one. I fear that many of today’s players will pay a heavy price when they get to my age.
And just to complete my qualifications as a dinosaur, I preferred the amateur days. Rugby is unlikely to reach the grotesque extremes of the English soccer Premiership but the principle is the same. – Yours, etc,