Player safety getting left behind in top-level rugby

Sir, – As always, it’s a delight to read Owen Doyle’s Whistleblower column. His assessment of the referees’ adjudication of the two most important games of the rugby season was spot on (“Referees get an armchair ride as Leinster and Ulster crash and burn”, Sport, May 26th).

Doyle highlights the dangers of the game, the foul play and how it was seen by the referees. In the Champions Cup game, one incident was obviously dangerous play – even to my unprofessional eyes – and should have been carded.

The fact it wasn’t carded is not the issue here. It is extremely alarming to read that “the tournament organisers have not bought into” the bunker system. How is it possible that this new rule – a vital one for player safety – is not bought into by all rugby organisations?

Player welfare is paramount in a game where anything can happen in the heat of the moment, unintentional or otherwise. – Yours, etc,

READ MORE

Readers respond to GAA violence debate: ‘Die-for-your-parish’ rhetoric a real problem

---

Want to go on holidays somewhere different? Our writers share their favourite destinations

---

‘I need some help,’ I said to strangers in parked cars in west Cork, explaining our predicament

---

‘We are a food island ... we just want to get that on the menu’: Joe Macken on his new business

---

VICTORIA MADIGAN,

Terenure,

Dublin 6.