Sir, – On Sunday, after the last kick of the game I felt like a man shouting in a vacuum behind a great glass wall. My heedless screams were of the pride and admiration I felt for those players wearing the Ireland jersey.
I thanked them for giving me so much by showing the best team in the world that limbs had to be broken before there was a backward step. And what’s more, that it would not simply be fire and brimstone but that through skill and endeavour of the highest order they would turn the All Blacks again and again. What hurt me particularly was that nothing that I could say could make those Ireland players feel better, that my adulation could not console them because of the numbers on a score board. So please, hear me now. Lift up those proud Irish heads and take the applause. You played like warrior gods, you were glorious in that moment when you showed the world that we are Ireland and we can play rugby with anybody. – Yours, etc,
SHANE CRAWFORD,
Station Road,
Kings Heath,
Birmingham,
England.
A chara, – One missed penalty kick by one player does not determine whether we win, lose or draw a rugby match. Our Irish team produced a performance that was beyond heroic on Sunday and their perfect first half display was the best I have ever seen from any Irish team in any sport.
However, the facts are that our team did not score in the second half against New Zealand and our team, not one individual, box kicked, gave away a crucial penalty, missed important tackles, rushed the All Black’s conversion kicker and conceded over half the playing pitch all in the final seconds of this titanic struggle and these collective moments contributed to our courageous team not earning their most famous victory.
Ireland’s day will eventually arrive against the mighty All Blacks and even then Ireland will continue to win as a team, draw as a team and lose as a team, always. – Is mise,
JASON POWER,
Maxwell Road,
Rathgar, Dublin 6.
Sir, – After the foolishness of Ireland's Call and the haka, and all that new stage business in the scrum, the All Blacks in the dying seconds gave us a masterclass in the scoring of a try: rugby is back. Amhrán na bhFiann might still be a step too far: but please, please, while Richard Haass is still in town, could someone ask the Ulster Protestants would they consider The Fields of Athenry as an all-Irish national anthem? – Yours, etc,
ROBIN HARTE,
Strawberry Beds,
Dublin 20.
Sir, – Sunday’s display at the Aviva reaffirms my belief that we are as good at rugby as anyone in the world – except in the two key areas of decision- making and self-belief.
On 30 minutes, we were besieging the All Blacks on their try line for a fourth try. They were on the rack and looking more anxious than I have ever seen them. We were awarded a scrum and then a subsequent penalty for an infringement they made in the tight.
Every time we put together a maul we made at least 15 metres yet at this crucial time when we had an opportunity to really hammer the last nail in, we elected for the “safe” three-point option. This fear-based decision gave them too much respect as our forwards had been bullying them all afternoon up to that point. The possibility of us taking the kick at goal was exactly what the Kiwis had in mind when making their infringement. This was the moment their throats were under our boots but instead we thought that we had done well to have a 19-7 lead on 30 minutes. We didn’t score again.
Again we have sold ourselves short in a fashion I fear will further fuel our inferiority complex. – Yours, etc,
CIAN WALKER,
Termonfeckin, Co Louth.
Sir, – Given the tight fitting jerseys now been worn by our rugby players, it is difficult to "stick the ball up your jumper" à la Munster. May I suggest next time we play the All Blacks we return to the old loose jerseys and hold on to the ball. – Yours, etc,
MG STOREY,
Glenupper, Glencar, Sligo.
Sir, – My first experience of rugby was some 68 years ago when my dear father took me to Lansdowne Road to watch a Leinster Cup match. I do remember spending my time running up and down the terrace oblivious to events on the field. Out of that introduction began a life-long love of the game as a player, an observer, a sponsor and a lover of the greatest team sporting game of all. On Sunday I watched the best performance by an Irish team against probably the best rugby team the world has ever seen. We lost in the most cruel of circumstances. Should we be despondent? Absolutely not. On Sunday Ireland showed it can compete at the highest level. We can hold our heads high with the best there is and we are within an inch of brilliance.
Our performance surpassed any match I have seen in all my years watching rugby. Would that my wonderful father could have shared the experience with me. – Yours, etc,
DEREK Mac HUGH,
Westminster Lawns,
Foxrock,
Dublin 18.
Sir, – Shane Hegarty’s eerily accurate prediction regarding the Ireland v New Zealand rugby match – a last-minute victory to the All Blacks due to some previously unheard of technicality – deserves mention. A transfer to the sports section may be in order. – Yours, etc,
DAVID FOX,
Templeroan Avenue,
Knocklyon, Dublin 16.
Sir, – I have often wondered what it means to me to be Irish.
After watching Ireland play New Zealand on Sunday, I now know. – Yours, etc,
DES DORIS,
Belgrave Square,
Monkstown, Co Dublin.