Sir, - As a concerned member of the Irish rugby public I feel I must air the surprise and regret felt throughout Ireland at the decision of the IRFU to disregard the services of the mercurial Keith Wood.
Keith Wood's problem with his Irish contract is a valid one and should not be dismissed by Donal Lenihan so easily. We are talking about a world-class athlete who is trying to protect his commercial interests and make as much money as is possible in a relatively short career, something the rest of us are also striving to do in our own professions. Playing for Ireland should be seen as a great honour, but rugby is this man's full-time occupation and if playing for his country is going to restrict him or his earnings in any way then he has the right, even up to an hour before he is due to sign a contract, to query any aspect he is not happy with.
The treatment of Mr Wood underlines the fact that rugby in this country is a professional game being run by amateurs. Until such time as the "old farts" wake up to the fact that in a professional era you must play to win, Ireland will continue to lag behind in international rugby. Having a fit and inform Keith Wood sitting in the stand against South Africa cannot be justified by anyone in the IRFU and I am sure Warren Gatland's view of the matter is very different to that of his governing body. But, as with most things involving the IRFU, we are not privy to that information. - Yours, etc., Mark Kavanagh,
Ashford, Co Wicklow.